CALENDAR: CLUB AND EVENT DATES UPDATED REGULARLY 
Winnipeg & District Super League on the Home Stretch
The Winnipeg & District Super League will end on June 14 th
after about 28 weeks of super-competitive play.
In this league, players play for themselves moving up or down divisions
based upon their results the previous week.
After 21 weeks of play, Jeremy Tran is in firm control with a 37 Win/ 3
Loss record for a 93% average. In second
place is young Anna Liu with a 75% win / loss record. A reminder to all players that the League
final standings count as a double weight for the overall 2018-2019 Manitoba
Circuit Standings…hope to see everyone out as the countdown begins. Results, click here.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Sport Manitoba "Night of Champions"
Last season the M.T.T.A. nominated Darek Mikita as our
nominee for the Official of the Year and unfortunately, he did not win. For the 2018 program season, we nominated
Matthew Lehmann for Athlete of the Year based upon his strong season playing
abroad in Europe and his subsequent qualification for the team representing
Canada at the 2018 World Team Championships in Sweden. Well, again, unfortunately Matthew did not
win, losing out to Andrew Harris of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers…as the saying
goes…better luck next year! Thanks to
the “Chicken Producers of Manitoba” for supporting this excellent awards
program run by Sport Manitoba and no doubt in a round-about-way they also
support one of our sponsors-“Mary Brown’s Chicken & Taters”…very yummy I
must add, the chicken burgers are excellent! Ron Edwards Reporting
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2019 Tournament of Champions
The top 16 players from the Open, Active 4 Life (>40),
Junior Boys and Junior Girls categories were invited to compete in this season
ending event held on Saturday April 13 th. Referee for the event was Gregory Chan and
his Deputy was Greg Dzioba and this tournament they oversaw had some intense
play for sure! Matthew Lehmann bested
Biruk Bekele to take the Open crown and to pull himself into a tie for the overall
Circuit title with only the league results to still factor in. Thadeus Jimenez had some excellent upset wins
to make his first Open semi-final and he toped this off by defeating arch rival
Michal Rybak to claim his first Over 40/ A4L Singles title. Jeremy Tran won the Junior Boy’s title – this
wasn’t surprising as he has dominated this event all season – but what was
surprising was his close semi-final 5 set victory over Benji Dueck from Morden
who had himself upset Devin Chong in the quarters. In the final, Jeremy defeated Jeremy Huang
who had defeated Yunyang Deng in the semi’s and he had also bested Yunyang in
the Open Singles event as well. So it
was nice to see a couple of the U15 category boys knock off some of the
U18’s! In the Junior Girls final,
Nibusha Loganathan claimed her first crown by knocking off top ranked Grace Qi
in straight sets. This was the last
tournament of the Manitoba 2018-2019 calendar with just the League running to
mid-June. A lot of players will travel
to the Sitco Team event in Saskatoon in May as preparations for the Canadian
Junior Championships in July in PEI heat
up. Click here for TOC result, and click here for Circuit Standings (and to the link at the right).
Ron Edwards Reporting
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10th Annual Frontier High School Games
Table Tennis Results
The 10th Annual Frontier High School Games were
held this past April 1st – 4th in Cranberry Portage. The High School Games started up after the
success of the Frontier Games that concluded their 45th edition this
past March. By starting the High School
Games, it allowed for continuity for the kids from the 40 plus schools that
make up the Frontier School Division to continue with participation in not only
Table Tennis but also Archery, Volleyball, Trap Setting, Badminton,
Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing.
For the first few years of the High School event, we were getting 60-70
kids signing up for table tennis which became just too unwieldy a number to
handle especially since they could also compete in other sports. For this year’s event, each of the 6 Regions
could enter a maximum of 2 boys and 2 girls into each of the junior and senior
varsity events. These 24 athletes
represented the North, East and West sport regions of Manitoba.
RESULTS: JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS: GOLD: Diamond
McKenzie, Mel Johnson School, Wabowden; SILVER: Kendall
Jonasson, Mel Johnson School, Wabowden; BRONZE: Thea
Bird, Black River School.
SENIOR VARSITY GIRLS: GOLD: Kassidy
Tobacco, Frontier Mosakahiken School, Moose Lake; SILVER: Tiffany
Paul, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, Norway House; BRONZE: Juliet
Simpson, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, Norway House.
JUNIOR VARSITY BOYS: GOLD: Jayden
Flatfoot, Minegoziibe Anishinabe School, Camperville; SILVER: Brady
Trumbula, Rorketon School; BRONZE: Jonathan
Fourre, Mel Johnson School, Wabowden.
SENIOR VARSITY BOYS: GOLD: Morgan
Campbell, Mel Johnson School, Wabowden; SILVER: Josh
Chartrand, Minegoziibe Anishinabe School, Camperville; BRONZE: Luke
Folster, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, Norway House. Thanks to Ted Smook from the F.C.I. Table Tennis Club as
well as Brian McMillan and Heather Lowe from the Frontier School Division. Ron Edwards Reporting.
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Companies Setting the Table
Winpak Tournament
More and more on TV these days-both in advertisements and
various TV shows and movies-you will notice table tennis! The word is that table tennis is ultra-cool
these days based upon more and more media stars (music/ screen/ stage/
politicians/ sports stars) partaking in the game at the various table tennis
bars that are springing up across North America. In Winnipeg, some companies have taken notice
as well. The employees of Manitoba
Mukluks partake in table tennis on a regular basis and last fall HEB Manitoba
employees did a team building exercise focused around table tennis that was
held here at the Sport Manitoba Qualico Training Centre. Then, in early April, employees from Winpak
held their company tournament at the Centre:
congratulations to Ariel Begelfor who defeated Geoff Desposeda in the A final
and to Andres Cruz who defeated Franco Villarin to capture the B title. Most recently Head Coach Arvin Tronco and
W.T.T.C. Coach Terry Zhang travelled to Volume Freight Solutions where they
conducted a 2-hour clinic for employees on the company table that is getting
pretty worn-out. Ultimately table tennis is an easy sport to
play but most difficult to master…but while you try, you exercise the body
while simultaneously enhancing thought processes, mental functions and hand-eye
coordination. Stay tuned for a possible
fall Heart & Stroke table tennis fundraiser tournament.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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2019 Senior Canadian Championships
On March 6th,
Team Manitoba - consisting of Terry Zhang, Biruk Beleke, and Matthew Lehmann,
along with Arvin Tronco - headed to Markham, Ontario, for the 2019 Canadian
Senior Championships. In mixed
doubles, Lehmann partnered with Sabrina Chen of Ontario, and had two upset wins
on the way to the quarter finals before falling to a BC pair. In men’s
doubles, Beleke and Zhang made it to the quarter-finals, before losing to the
eventual silver medalists from Quebec. Lehmann was partnered with David
Xu from Ontario, losing a hard-fought 3-1 match in the quarter-finals as well.
In men’s singles, Beleke finished second is his
group, sending him to the C Division. Zhang had the chance to move into A
Division, losing 11-9 in the 5th and final set against David
Xu. Beleke and Zhang both finished their tournament at the quarter-finals
in C Division. Lehmann topped his group, moving onto the A Division with
two 3-0 wins. In the round of 16, Lehmann won 3-0 again, moving to the
quarter-finals to play Canadian Olympian Eugene Wang. Lehmann fought
hard, winning the second set (one of only two players in the tournament to win
a set against Eugene) before losing 4-1. Matthew Lehmann Reporting
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45th Annual Frontier Games Table Tennis Titles Decided
This year marked the 45th hosting of the annual
Frontier Games which is a sporting event that brings together 400-500 athletes
aged 10-14 years from 40 schools scattered across the East, North and West
Sport Regions. The dedication of the teachers,
staff and kids to this event is amazing…imagine travelling on a bus for say
about 18 hours from Beren’s River to Norway House etc. Players that made these Games in Norway House
are the best from the Frontier School Division’s six geographic areas. Sports contested this season were Archery,
Cross-Country Skiing, Volleyball, Indoor Soccer, Trap-Setting, Badminton, Snow
Shoeing and of course Table Tennis. 24
athletes again contested the table tennis titles; 12 boys and 12 girls, the top
2 finalists from each of the 6 area’s Games.
When the ball finally stopped bouncing March 7th the results
were as follows: GIRLS SINGLES: Gold: Natahsa
Disbrowe, Brochet School; Silver: Liviyah
Semple, Beren’s River School; Bronze: Deja
Tait, Mel Johnson School, Wabowden. 
BOYS SINGLES: Gold: Curtis Flett,
Mel Johnson School, Wabowden; Silver: Owen
Hunnie-Menow, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, Norway
House; Bronze: Leslie
Azure, Wabowden. Congratulations to all players and especially to players
from Mel Johnson School and to their Coach Mason Campbell who was one of the
players in the M.T.T.A.’s 2019 Canada Winter Games Training Program. Kudos as always to Heather Lowe and Brian
McMillan from the Frontier School Division for their tireless efforts in
allowing these kids to compete in sport year after year. Also, thank you to M.T.T.A. Referee Mr.
Gregory Chan for running the event and to his young helper from Nicaragua Mr.
Carlos Cuadro…I had told Carlos that we had a big province and that he was
going to see a lot of snow, ice, rock and trees on the way up…he had warm
clothes, ear plugs and said that he was not disappointed. Ron Edwards Reporting
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April 13th - The Crusty Bun Tournament of Champions Player Invitation
The Player Invitation for the Crusty Bun Tournament of Champions can be found here.
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Manitoba Open Titles Decided
The 2019 Manitoba Open was held this past March 2nd
and 3rd at Daniel MacIntyre Collegiate. This event was our last “Open” event of the
season and now the top 16 players from the season long Circuit in the
“Pro-Open”, “>40 Active 4 Life”, “Junior Boys” and “Junior Girls” events
will be invited to compete April 13th in the Tournament of
Champions. This year’s event was also held immediately prior to the
Canadian Senior Championships. Top
Provincial male players Matthew Lehmann, Biruk Bekele and Terry “Tian” Zhang
all making the semi-finals along with U of M player Yi Fan Lu. Matthew defeated Biruk in three straight to
claim the title and positively prep himself for the Nationals that starts March
7th. Michal Rybak won the >40 event making it now four out of
four titles for the 2018-2019 season.
Number two, Thadeus Jimenez will no doubt go back to his P.C.C.M. club
to rethink his strategy. Jeremy
Tran-fresh off his 10th place singles finish at the Canada Winter
Games-bested team-mate Gordon Chow in four games to take the Junior Boy’s title
and Grace Qi defeated Anna Liu in a very tight 5 game nail bitter to claim the
girls crown. RESULTS FROM THE OTHER
EVENTS are linked here and to the right.
CIRCUIT STANDINGS are also linked
to the right. M.T.T.A. sponsor-Andreas Ingenfeld from THE CRUSTY BUN, will have some exciting prizes for the April
event. Ron Edwards Reporting
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Table tennis coach pleased with Canada Games performance
After
a pair of fourth place finishes in table tennis, Team Manitoba head
coach Arvin Tronco says the tournament was a major success for his
team. “I’m very proud of my athletes,” Tronco said. “Everyone
had some ups and downs in their matchups. They lost some tough matches
but came back strong.” “These kids work hard,” he continued.
“They practice four times a week…I know they put a lot of effort in to
win.”
Doubles
partners Jeremy Tran and Carol-Jean Wong narrowly missed out on a
bronze medal, losing to Alberta on Thursday morning. Tran also played
in a men’s team event bronze medal match earlier in the week. “Disappointing I lost both of them but overall it was still a pretty good tournament,” Tran said. With the tournament now complete, Tran says he enjoyed his experience in Red Deer. “It
was fun,” he said. “Met a lot of new people, you get to know people
from different places in Canada, trade pins, obviously that’s a lot of
fun. Now we get to relax and go watch other sports.” Tran, 17, has now played in two Canada Games. He says he wants to stay involved with the sport in some capacity moving forward. “I’m
definitely going to stick around, maybe not competitively, but
definitely just as a hobby, go out and have some fun, maybe coach a
bit.” Tronco added that the sport is growing in Manitoba, with 60-100 players competing on the Manitoba circuit every year. Like Tran, Tronco enjoyed the Canada Games experience. It was his first time as a head coach at the event. “Lots
of planning and organizing, it’s overwhelming and it’s stressful but at
the same time it’s enjoyable,” he said. “I enjoy coaching kids, I
enjoyed watching them. I felt good every time they won a match. The
most important thing for me is to see them at their best, that’s a good
reward on my part.” Now that the competition has wrapped up, Tronco is looking forward to getting back to Manitoba. “Yeah, I miss my daughter,” he laughed. Interview courtesy of TEAM TOBA ---------------------------------------------------------
TTEAM TOBA at Canada Winter Games 2019: 5th Overall
CANADA
WINTER GAMES 2019 fever has finally come to an end! It's been a
week since we got back here in Winnipeg but seems like I still didn't
recover with all the excitement and unforgettable experience when I'm
coaching everyone during games. I would like to congratulate you all
for a job well done!
I guess I already said all the things I want
to say in my interview at Sport Manitoba/ “TEAM TOBA” press so I
would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for a great
performance at the Canada Winter Games. Even though we
didn't bring home any medals, I’m proud of you all. "It's all
about the journey, not the outcome." At the end of the day, the
finish line is not the goal. The goal is to have the best start to
finish you can possibly have. If you give everything in your game, then
you've won, regardless of the matches you came up short in. When you
have the best journey, you win!
Here is my short message to all of you:
GORDON
CHOW - Every match, every game, every moment is a blank canvas. What
you do with your opportunity can either be a kindergarten finger
painting experience or it can be The Persistence of Memory. Whatever
you do with those opportunities defines the way you’ll be remembered as
an athlete and as a competitor.
YUNYANG
DENG - when you are in competition, you have to leave everything on the
table of competition. You can’t hold back and hope that you have enough
for tomorrow. The best competitors leave the table with no regrets and
with nothing left in their tank. That’s the type of effort you have to
give every match.
JEREMY
TRAN - When you have the ability, that is the first part. Next, you
have to develop your mental strength and intestinal fortitude. That’s
what pushes you to reach the next level. When you have nothing left in
the tank, your mind can reach down into the depths and pull out another
round you didn’t even know was there.
CAROL
JEAN WONG - Everyone wants to win. You never run into someone who is
trying to lose or even happy to lose. When people say “it’s how you
play the game,” they quit a long time before that. Preparing to win is
much more difficult than wanting to win. Preparing to win starts in the
mind and the heart and then it proceeds into the training room and the
practice field.
Anna
Liu - That's what learning is, after all; not whether we lose the game,
but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take
away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing,
in a curious way, is winning.
Nibusha
Loganathan - When you reach that next level, it’s when you believe in
yourself. You simply know that you’re better than your opponent. It
doesn’t matter how talented they are, you have to face them down and
reach inside to give more than you have. When you finally bring that
maximum effort, you will unlock your fullest potential.
CANADA WINTER GAMES 2019 RESULTS:
Jeremy Tran - Boys Singles 10th place out of 33
Yunyang Deng - Boys Singles 17th place out of 33
Gordon Chow - Boys Singles 19th place out of 33
Carol Jean Wong - Girls Singles 13th place out of 33
Anna Liu - Girls Singles 26th place out of 33
Nibusha Loganathan - Girls Singles 21st Place out of 33
Boys Doubles - 8th Place
Girls Doubles - 6th Place
Mix Doubles - 4th Place
Boys Team Event: 4th Place
Girls Team Event: 6th Place
TABLE TENNIS FLAG POINTS STANDING: 5TH OVERALL
Coach Tronco Reporting
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P.C.C.M. to Host Table Tennis Coaches Course - April 20, 2019
The Philippine Canadian Centre of Manitoba, 737 Keewatin
Street, will host a coaching course for all parents, teachers, players,
community club workers who want to learn about table tennis. Registration is $50 but it is restricted to
the first ten sign-ups. The Course
Conductor is Mr. Mario Potvin who is the Coach Development Manager for Table
Tennis Canada. On hand to help, will be
Mr. Arvin Tronco-of the P.C.C.M. and Head Coach for the Manitoba Table Tennis
Association. CLICK HERE FOR THE SIGN-UP FORM. Hope to see you out.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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The Ball Keeps Bouncing in La Broquerie
This past Wednesday February 6th Ron Edwards,
Coach Tronco and visiting player Carlos Cuadra from Nicaragua travelled to the
Hylife Centre in La Broquerie, Eastern Sport Region to drop off a third table
for their table tennis program and to do a coaching/ skills clinic for the
local kids and Club Coordinator Ian Dickey.
The club got started last winter when the M.T.T.A. donated 2 tables,
nets, paddles and balls with funding we
receive from Sport Manitoba under it’s “Sport Initiation” level of
programming. Last year the after-school
club was a great success with an average of 10-12 players per night. This Wednesday the response was pretty good
considering how cold it was and the kids were enthused by the games, drills and
robot that we utilized to introduce this group of players to the sport. The club will run after school this year on
Wednesday nights from 3:30 to about 5/ 5:30 pm and interested local players can contact Ian Dickey at the Leisure
Services office at 204-424-5251 for more details.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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U of M Table Tennis Players Dominate Golden Boy Open
Matthew Lehmann took the Men’s Singles title this past
February 2nd at the Golden Boy Open.
Matthew, a University of Manitoba student and organizer of the local U
of M table tennis club, was expecting to face perennial opponents Biruk Bekele,
Terry “Tian” Zhang or perhaps top Junior Jeremy Tran. However, this was not to be. Instead, he faced fellow U of M player and
his sparring partner Yi Fan Lu in the final.
Lu, who had bested Bekele in the semi’s, was no match for his
school-mate falling in three straight sets.
Lehmann teamed up with young Grace Qi to capture the doubles title over
Bekele and U of W player Phuong Nguyen.
Jeremy defeated his Canada Winter Games team-mate Yunyang Deng to take
the Boy’s Under 18 title. On the Junior
Girl’s side, Grace proved too strong for Anna Liu who fell in four games. Michal Rybak continued his season-long
dominance over Thadeus Jimenez to take the over 40 years singles title. Although the weather was cold, the turnout
was good with players from Morden, Warren, St. Andrews making the trip. Complete
results can be found here.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Area 3 Regional Frontier Games - Table Tennis
Wanipigow School in Hollow Water played host to the
Regional’s this past January 30th to February first. Despite the frigid temperatures, athletes
from 7 schools contested table tennis, badminton, archery, volleyball, soccer,
trap-setting, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. The table tennis event featured the top 11
boys and 10 girls who had qualified from their schools. Three schools captured two medals each. These were Beren’s River, Little Black River
and Falcon Beach. Congratulations to the
players from these schools and their coaches Florencio Castillo, Richard Shead
and Sven Divay respectively…and again a loud shout-out to Heather Lowe and the
Frontier School Division for making this excellent and unique sporting event a
reality ever year! The winners from this
Regional event advance to the finals’ March 6-8th in Norway House against
the winners from the 5 other regions…and, last but not least, thanks to
Danielle Brown and her Phys. Ed. partner Anthony Seymour for the excellent job
they did hosting these games. Table Tennis
Results – Boy’s: GOLD: Nathaniel Bird,
Little Black River;
SILVER: Tyvon
Disbrowe, Beren’s River;
BRONZE: Challen
Carlson, Falcon Beach. Table Tennis
Results – Girl’s: GOLD: Liviyah Semple,
Beren’s River;
SILVER: Delany
Turner, Falcon Beach;
BRONZE: Kadence
Starr, Little Black River. Ron Edwards Reporting
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Manitoba Sets the Table For Canada Winter Games
After three eventful tryouts that commenced last March,
Manitoba announced its lineup for the 2019 Canada Winter Games: Boy’s
Under 18 Team: Yunyang Deng,
Jeremy Tran, Gordon Chow and first alternate Devin Chong. Girl’s
Under 18 Team: Anna Liu,
Carol-Jean Wong, Nibusha Loganathan and first alternate Joyce Liu. Congratulations to these athletes and a thank
you to everyone who tried out at the Manitoba Games last winter and this past
fall at the Red River and Manitoba Championships. Good
luck to all and Head Coach Tronco and Coach/ Manager Nguyen who depart for Red
Deer, Alberta on February 14th with play kicking off on the 15th. Go TOBA GO! Phuong Nguyen Reporting
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Quebec Circuit Canada Winter Games Warm-up Event
After three years of missing the “Big Bang” tournament in
Quebec, TEAM TOBA finally came back to Laval to play Quebec’s Circuit #4 this
past January 25th and 26th. Exams prevented Carol and Yunyang from participating,
so we brought dedicated up-and-comers Grace Qi and Jeremy Huang to round out
our team. Both these youngsters played
well in their single’s matches on the first day and on the second day, they two
ended up beating three teams to win first place in their team group match. Anna
and Nibusha both played very well in singles matches as well and had super
close team matches, almost beating all the teams in their group. The older boys Jeremy and Gordon were in tough
but overall played well in both singles and team event. It was great to be back
in Quebec surrounded by so many players and parents. We hope to be back soon to
face the many, many competitors Quebec has but first it will be off to the
Canada Winter Games!
Phuong Nguyen Reporting
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Manitoba Closed Championships ... Upsets Abound...
The Manitoba Closed Championships and the third and final
Canada winter Games tryouts were held on Saturday December 15th at
Daniel MacIntyre Collegiate. In the Open
Singles final, Biruk Bekele defeated Jeremy Tran in three sets to one; top
ranked Matthew Lehmann couldn’t compete due to a University examination. Jeremy’s backhand seemed to be on fire but
his forehand deserted him. Biruk looked
to be in very fine physical condition and Jeremy had no chance without to win
without being able to keep forehand pressure on Biruk. The upsets in the Open were recorded by young
Benji Dueck of Morden. In group play he
knocked off Yunyang Deng and followed by Nhoel Manalo in the knock-out stages
to claim sixth place overall. Not bad
considering he was ranked 14th heading into the event.
The Boy’s Canada Winter Games tryouts also featured some
upsets. In group play, Jeremy Huang bested
number four seed Devin Chong to take top spot in his group. This gave him a preferred spot in the quarter
finals where he bested Jason Li.
Meanwhile, Devin’s loss meant that he would be drawn against a group winner. As luck of the draw would have it, he drew
top seed Jeremy Tran. Wow, Devin’s game
was spot on and he prevailed over Jeremy in a tight 5 setter but lost to Gordon
Chow in the semi’s. So in Boy’s play,
top seeded Jeremy Tran finished fifth, Jeremy Huang forth, Devin Chong third,
Gordon Chow second and Yunyang Deng was the champion.
In Girl’s Under 18 play, Grace Qi claimed top spot and Anna
Liu took second; they both had upset wins over Carol-Jean Wong.
Complete results can be found to the right as well as the
Circuit Standings after two events and the combined final standings for the
three Canada Winter Games tryouts.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Lehmann Bounces Back & Canada Games Tryouts Continue
Doubles Finals: Yi Fan Lu, Alejandro Pelaez, Matthew Lehmann, Carol-Jean Wong Manitoba’s top-ranked player-Matthew Lehmann-is back in Winnipeg
after two years of training and competing abroad in Europe; his
experience was capped with his participation in the World Championships
last spring in Halmstad, Sweden. Matthew is now entering his first year
of study at the University of Manitoba where he is of course heading up
the U of M table tennis club where he hopes to challenge the University
of Winnipeg team headed up by his female counterpart Phuong Nguyen…but
more on this another time…. Saturday November 17th saw
the first Manitoba tournament of the year come down-the Red River Closed
and Canada Games Tryout’s #2. Participation was good with 56 players
from the Winnipeg, South, East and West sport region’s competing.
Matthew was entered in two events-the Open Singles and the Open Doubles.
In the Open he defeated Biruk Bekele three straight at 11-9, 11-8,
11-8. He then partnered with Carol-Jean Wong to defeat U of M doubles
players Yi Fan Lu and Alejandro Pelaez in four games. Carol for her
part easily won the Girl’s C.W.G. Tryout’s #2 besting Anna Liu 3-0. In
Boy’s C.W.G. tryout action Jeremy Tran defeated Yunyang Deng 3-1 to
virtually assure his spot in February in Red Deer. In the
>40 Years/ Active 4 Life Circuit event final, perennial favorite
Michal Rybak defeated Thadeus Jimenez of the Filipino Club 3-1. It
was good to see so many young up-and-comers…lots and lots of players
pushing the older more established ones across all of the events. CIRCUIT
STANDINGS, WINNIPEG & DISTRICT SUPER LEAGUE STANDINGS, COMPLETE RED
RIVER CLOSED RESULTS and of course CANADA WINTER GAMES TRYOUT STANDINGS
can all be found and linked to below right. Keep you rubber fresh, hope to see everyone out and active at our many clubs and programs. Ron Edwards Reporting
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Annual General Meeting - October 24th
NOTICE: ANNUAL MEETING OF MEMBERS & 2017-2018 SEASON AWARDS will be held Wednesday October 24th, 6-10 pm, at Sport Manitoba, 145 Pacific Avenue. Click here for complete details.
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New Outdoor Tables for Morden!
Tim
Harsant, Facility Maintenance and Rick Paracholski, By-Law Officer were
the first to try the new table at the Access Event Centre.
The
City of Morden is adding three new outdoor ping pong tables to the
line-up of recreation opportunities residents and visitors can enjoy.
The three tables will be set up at the Lake Minnewasta
Campground, Morden Park, and at the Access Event Centre.
“We
love to bring new options to Morden to help people stay active,” said
Morden Community Services and Events Manager, Clare Agnew. “As with
tennis, please bring your own paddle and balls if interested in playing
ping pong.”
Imperia Management and the Clark Elder Memorial Fund sponsored the purchase of the three ping-pong tables.
“Thank
you to Clare Agnew and City of Morden for providing Imperia Group with
the opportunity to fund the outdoor ping pong tables. We, at Imperia,
are excited to see the growth of the community, and wish that people of
many backgrounds will have hours of fun playing ping pong!” said
Volodymyr Shynke from Imperia.
“The ping pong tables are a great
use of the Clark Elder memorial funds. His sister Brooke Thiessen and I
hope that they are a source of community recreational enjoyment for
many years to come,” shared Clark’s mom, Cheryl Digby.
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2018 Canadian Table Tennis Championships
The
2018 Canadian Table Tennis Championships were held July 3-8 at the
Fortius Sport and Health Centre in Burnaby, BC. Please read the ' Coach's Corner' for Coach Arvin's report on the event. Congratulations to all Manitoba athletes, coaches and officials!
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Winnipeg Super Leage & Manitoba Circuit Titles Decided
Earlier
this summer, the ball stopped bouncing in the year-long Winnipeg &
District Super League and the Manitoba Tournament Circuit. Winnipeg’s
young Jeremy Tran -a leading candidate for Manitoba’s 2019 Canada Winter
Games Team- won three out of the three titles that he was in the
running for. In the Winnipeg Super League, he had a record of 88 wins
and only 3 losses to claim victory over Aldwin Dinoso of the Filipino
Table Tennis Club who had a record of 57 wins and 26 losses and young
up-and-comer Grace Qi in third place with 34 wins and 19 losses. With
his win in the Super League -and it’s double weighting for the Manitoba
Circuit- Jeremy vaulted past Manitoba table tennis royalty Terry “Tian”
Zhang and the cagey veteran Biruk Bekele. Jeremy also won the Youth
Circuit crown finshing ahead of top female player Phuong Nguyen and
Junior team-mate Yunyang Deng. All in all, young Jeremy took home $500
of the total pot of $2,500! Well done! Complete final standings are linked on the right under “2017-2018 Results.” Ron Edwards Reporting ------------------------------------------------------------
MTTA Summer Junior Camp
This
is the last week to register for the MTTA Summer Junior Camp.
The Beginner Camp is open to young players who are new or
relatively new to the sport. The Intermediate Camp is for more
experienced players - please contact Matthew Lehmann if you are
unsure which camp to register for.
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Winnipeg Table Tennis Training Centre Now Open!
Hello
all Winnipeg table tennis and “ping pong” players. For decades
now, the Manitoba Table Tennis Association has been running programming
for athletes of all ages and abilities from the entry level up to
Provincial Team level. We travel to schools and deliver
fundamental coaching clinics, we book gym time at local schools and
community centres and offer Junior Developmental lessons for those
recruits who want to try. We run comprehensive training programs
for athlete’s hoping to make Manitoba’s provincial teams (the
“Hopefulls” Program) and of course our Provincial Squads Training
Program to develop our best players to represent the province at
Canadian Championships and the Canada Winter Games. We also book
gym time for recreational play 3-4 times a week at our “Active 4 Life”
program and run the $2,000 Manitoba Tournament Circuit and the $500
Winnipeg and District Super League. However much this is, it is
often not enough…a lot of our programming happens evenings and weekends
at local schools and community centers. What about persons on
shift work, what about players of all ages that are really keen and
would love to play even more, what about those players who would love
to take private lessons in their quest to become the best…
...well,
it has arrived. THE WINNIPEG TABLE TENNIS TRAINING CENTRE opened
their doors earlier this month at 3525 Pembina Highway as you enter St.
Norbert on the right-hand side. The club is affiliated with the
M.T.T.A. and offers semi-private and private lessons for players of all
ages and ability levels. Players receive instruction and lessons
from 4 x Canadian Cadet Champion Terry “Tian” Zhang, Shaun “Xiang” Guo
and Poyz Riankasemsakul. All these coaches are N.C.C.P. and
R.I.S. certified (National Coaching Certification/ Respect In Sport)
and they are in constant contact with Provincial team Head Coach Arvin
Tronco to ensure that players get the best programming possible.
To get MORE INFORMATION PHONE 204-890-5139/ EMAIL;
Winnipegtabletennis@gmail.com or click on their log/ link on the bottom
left side under Partners.
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Manitoba Dominates the SITCO International Teams Open
This
past May long weekend, the Manitoba team went to compete in the annual
Saskatchewan Teams Tournament called “SITCO.”. It was a great
experience for many of the younger players (whom for many was the first
time going on a trip with the team), and a great opportunity for the
older players, and our beloved Coach Arvin to show off their skills. We
all played our hardest and we won 2 out of the 3 divisions only losing
to Saskatchewan in the finals of the B Division.
The
higher-level players played some impressive matches, making amazing
shots, and had us all awed. Of course, the younger players also won
many heated matches. They played against some talented young Edmonton
players and in the end prevailed. Myself and my team members Jason Li,
and Julian Liu made many upsets against some higher rated players too
and surprised them by taking many games where they thought they had us.
We also had some good teaching moments as Coach Arvin made some of the
higher-level opponents look like Childs play.
At the end the
results were more than decent. In the C Division we had our girls’ team
“Demigodz” consisting of Anna Liu, Grace Qi, and Joyce Liu coming in at
second place only losing to another one of our teams, the “Titanz”
which was made up of Benji Dueck, Hongjun Feng, and Kieran Buchburger.
My team which was called “We Smash Hard” came in at 2nd place in the B
division, with myself (Jeremy Huang), Jason Li, and Julian Liu putting
up a good fight against the Saskatchewan Team for the finals. Finally,
we have team “Battle Pass” consisting of Jeremy Tran, Gordon Chow, and
Yunyang Deng coming in at 1st place in Division A pulling of a
extremely close 5-4 win against some of the top players from Alberta or
Saskatchewan?... ( I don’t know which province Jeremy and the others
played against for the finals)…but I do know they won $750 first place
prize…should they pay their Coach?...maybe buy him a drink at least?
We
all enjoyed the trip and had some fun too. We went out for some amazing
food every day and tried some Asian Cuisine as well. Shout-outs to
Coach Arvin for coaching us when we needed it the most, I would also
like to thank Song, Trevor and Norman for driving the long trip here
and back. I would like to thank the MTTA and everyone who organized the
trip for giving us such a great opportunity, and learning experience.
Jeremy Huang Reporting.
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World Team Championships
 
From
April 29 to May 6, I had the honour of competing at the 2018 World Team
Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad, Sweden. I was one of five
Canadian Men sent to be a part of the team representing Canada at the
tournament. Canada also sent a team of 5 women.
The
Table Tennis Team World Championships take place every two years.
This edition had 87 different countries participating and 595 players
competing! Fans from around Sweden and the world flocked to
Halmstad to see the event live.
The small city of Halmstad was
completely transformed for the event, with signs and posters on every
street and in every shop window in the city centre.
There
are 3 divisions at the World Championships. Canada competed in
Division 2. It was a tough division for a very young team.
We will be working hard to come back stronger in two years!
I'm
back to training now, and am looking forward to representing Manitoba
at the Canadian Championships in British Columbia in July!
Matthew Lehmann
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Welcome to Andi Ingenfeld and "The Crusty Bun"
When
one thinks of Germany you often think of delicious cold beers,
tremendous football teams (i.e. “real football” that is in Canada
called “Soccer”) top level table tennis players and also yummy food
products. Well, here in Winnipeg we have a combination of the later
two. Andreas Ingenfeld – or Andi – for short, is one of the M.T.T.A.’s
most active recreational players. When he is not out knocking the ball
around, he can usually be found at one of his two bakeries…The Crusty
Bun on St. Mary’s Road or the second location on Headmaster Row. The
M.T.T.A. welcome Andi and “The Crusty Bun” and we invite you to drop in
to either location for coffee and freshly baked goods. www.crustybun.com
Ron Edwards Reporting
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President Mikita Honoured at the Table
Long-time
M.T.T.A. President Darek Mikita was recently doubly honored.
First-off, he represented Canada as our Blue Badge Umpire on duty at
the Commonwealth Games held on Australia’s Gold Coast and he was then
nominated for Sport Manitoba’s Official of the Year Award. Here
is a picture of Darek with his compatriots in Australia; Darek is
immediate top-left off of the “G” in Gold Coast. Well done
Darek. Next up - Darek, Gregory Chan and Greg Dzioba - will be
working at the Canadian Junior Open in Vancouver and Greg Dzioba is off
to the Australian Open in July. Congrats to Darek and the rest of
our Blue Badge International Level Umpires.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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9th Annual Frontier High School Games
On
April 18-20th the town of Leaf Rapids hosted the Games. Table
tennis was contested along with Snowshoeing, Cross Country Skiing,
Badminton, Archery, Basketball and Trap Setting.
Entries this
year in the table tennis event were capped at 12 boys and girls in each
of the Junior and Senior Varsity categories; thus the top 48 players
form the world’s largest school division were present to do
battle! Players were pooled into 4 groups of three for each event
with the top 2 advancing from each group to the quarter finals.
When the last ball was struck, the results were as follows:
Junior Girls:
Gold: Kassidy Tobacco, F.M.S. / Moose Lake
Silver: Krista Bird, Black River
Bronze: Tiffany Paul, H.B.O. / Norway House
Senior Girls:
Gold: Autumn Dixon, H.B.O. / Norway House
Silver: Shekinah Bradburn, F.C.I. / Cranberry Portage
Bronze: Juliet Simpson, H.B.O. / Norway House
Junior Boys:
Gold: Peter Dorion, F.M.S. / Moose Lake
Silver: Jason McKay, Birdtail Sioux
Bronze: Parker Apetagon, H.B.O. / Norway House
Senior Boys:
Gold: Terrence Campbell, F.C.I. / Cranberry Portage
Silver: Luke Folster, H.B.O. / Norway House
Bronze: David O’Quinn, M.A.S. / Camperville
Thanks
again to Heather Lowe and Brian McMillan from the Frontier School
Division who host this amazing event. Also, Mason Campbell from
Wabowden, I am truly sorry that you and your team-mates couldn’t
compete…I know you would have given your cousin Terrence a run for his
money!
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Manitoba Tournament of Champions
Bekele Bounces Zhang!
Saturday April 14, 2018
Daniel MacIntyre Collegiate
On
Saturday April 14th the top 16 Pros’, Juniors, Cadets and >40 Years
stars were invited to compete in the $500 TOURNAMENT OF
CHAMPIONS. Invited players accumulated points in the Manitoba
Closed, Red River, Golden Boy and Manitoba Open events. This
prestigious event is our season “finale” and our last event before we
select teams for the Canadian Championships and Sitco Team events.
In
the “Pro-Open” event, Terry “Tian” Zhang was coming off three straight
victories in the Closed, Golden Boy and Manitoba Open events. As
per at the Open, his final opponent was the always cagey Biruk
Bekele. This time round, Biruk had a relatively easy 4-2 final
romp to claim the TOC Pro-Open Title and cash and trophy.
However, the win left him still in second place overall in the Circuit
Standings with young Jeremy Tran nipping at his heels…
…speaking
of Jeremy, for the third Circuit tournament in a row he came up short
against arch-rival Yunyang “The Hammer” Deng losing easily at -3, -8, 6
and -7. Jeremy, however, did best Yunyang 2x at the recent Canada
Winter Games tryouts so the fierce rivalry continues.
The
biggest surprise occurred in the >40 Years Active 4 Life
event. Perennial powerhouse and 2016 Canadian Champion in Men’s
>50 – Michal Rybak – failed to advance to the final. He was
bounced in the semi’s by P.C.C.M. player Nhoel Manalo who lost in the
final to club-mate Thadeus Jimenez.
In the Cadet Singles event,
young Benji Dueck from the Morden Table Tennis Club took home the title
besting Ben Vu in a close 5 games. Benji’s coolness under
pressure reaffirmed that his recent Canada Winter Games tryout results
(4th overall) was not a fluke and the result moved him into a tie for
second in the Cadet Circuit standings.
The Winnipeg &
District Super League counts for double weighting in the Circuit and so
it is the last chance for players to earn points towards the final
season ending cash payouts…young Jeremy Tran is apparently already
smacking his lips together in anticipation of a big payday….COMPLETE
RESULTS ARE ATTACHED LOWER RIGHT-SIDE.
Next up for players is
the Sitco Team event in Saskatchewan on the May long weekend followed
by the Canadian Championships in July.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Valley Gardens School Table Tennis
Each
winter, teacher and Community Initiation certified table tennis coach
Elizabeth Edwards runs a table tennis program deep in the bowels of
Valley Garden School. Down there the school has 10-12 table
tennis and “ping Pong” tables in varying conditions. Anyways,
each spring after she delivers the program, she runs some tournaments
for the grade 6-7 students. This spring the winners were as
follows:
GRADE 7 TOURNAMENT: 1ST= Lucas Prezniak/ 2nd=Corbin Sutton/ 3rd=Gurshan Ubhi.
GRADE 6 TOURNAMENT: 1ST=Jordan Johnston/ 2nd=Easton Kutcher/ 3rd=Marina Hagos.
Marina Hagos, one of the happy winners
Congratulations to all players.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Frontier Table Tennis Titles Decided
Joseph H. Kerr
School in Snow Lake played host to the 44th Frontier Games. This year’s event attracted 386 athletes,
coaches and chaperones from 30 different schools. The table tennis event was contested by the
top 12 boys and 12 girls who qualified through their Regional playoffs; top 2
boys and top 2 girls from each of six regions. This represented athletes from
11 different schools from Norman, Eastman, Parkland and Westman Sport Regions.
Again, the level
of play was improved over the previous season with all of the best 3 out of 5
matches well contested. The only
negative was that the number of “legal” paddles used was at about an all time
low…many, many players with straight wood paddles or those with the top rubber
sheets peeled off. Results: Girl’s
Singles: Gold:
Maureen Thompson, Philomene Chartrand School, Camperville; Silver: Jane
Bird, Black River Anishinabe School, O’Hanley; Bronze:
Chantara Ettawakapow, Frontier Mosakahiken School, Moose Lake.
Boy’s
Singles: Gold:
Bradley Branth, Chan Kagha Otina Dakota Wayawa Tipi School, Birdtail; Silver: T.
J. Menard, Philomene Chartrand School, Camperville; Bronze: Jamie Anderson, Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre,
Norway House.
Thanks to former Provincial Team player Ted
Smook for helping run the event and for all of his expertise and patience for
playing countless points against countless challengers. Also thanks to Brian MacMillan and Heather
Lowe for having the M.T.T.A. up to help run this outstanding Manitoba sporting
event. Ron Edwards Reporting
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Manitoba Winter Games - Results
The details for the 2018 Mantioba Winter Games (schedule, results, volunteering opportunties) can be found here.
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Seniors Still Competing at Table Tennis
See CBC article about the 'little' sport doing big things at a Toronto retirement home - here.
Coaching Course - April 28, 2018
Arvin Tronco, MTTA Head Coach will host a one day work-shop for all
players, parents, teachers, parks & rec. workers who want to learn
how to teach beginners the sport of table tennis. Click here for more information and registration form.
Golden Boy Open - Tran Bounces Bekele!
The
Golden Boy Open was held this past February 10th at Daniel MacIntyre
Collegiate lower gymnasium. Players from Winnipeg, Interlake and
Central sport regions contested the medals. In the Pro-Open
Singles, 30 players competed. Matches from the group stage
through to the finals were hard fought. 2019 Canada Winter Games
hopeful Jeremy Tran had an up and down tournament. After easily
losing the Youth final to team-mate Yunyang Deng in straight sets (-5,
-6, -7) he played the match of his life to best 2016-2017 Circuit
Champion Biruk Bekele in the semi-finals in seven games. The
champ was knocked out and Jeremy advanced to face the always dangerous
Terry “Tian” Zhang in the final. No contest, an exhausted Jeremy
lost to Terry in 4 straight games. Newcomer Richard Elendu
continued to impress by making it three out of three for reaching the
finals in the Active 4 Life > 40 years event. This time
however, 2016 > 5o Years Canadian Champion Michal Rybak was absent
and Richard was up against Thadeus Jimemez. Thadeus prevailed in
a close four setter. The youngsters from Morden continue to
improve with Benji Dueck taking second in the Cadet A Division losing
to Jason Li and his teammate Joel Geake took bronze in the Cadet second
division. Top female players Phuong Nguyen lost her ¼ final match
in the Pro-Open and Anna Liu took 2nd spot in the Cadet B
Division. The next open tournament is the Manitoba Open on March
17th & 18th. Complete results and Circuit Standings are
located to the right.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Manitoba Athletes Get Canada Cup Experience
This
past January 20-21 the MTTA sent our top 3 junior boys to participate
in the CANADA CUP held at the Fortious Sports and Health Centre in
Burnaby, British Columbia. It was a great experience for Jeremy
Tran, Yunyang Deng and Gordon Chow to play in such a competitive
tournament where they had a chance to measure their skills against
some of Canada’s best players.
Jeremy reached the round of 16
in the U-2150 rating event and the round of 32 in the MEN’S OPEN; 51
players entered this event. Yunyang and Gordon both advanced to
the round of 32 in the U-1750 rating event and were knocked out of
their groups in Men’s Singles play. Yunyang got an opportunity to
play against Canadian #14 Meng Gu from British Columbia and did a great
job of not giving up any easy points… he made some incredible shots
with his “cold blooded backhand drive” and had Meng shaking his head
wondering where these backhands were coming from. Gordon showed
his “never back down” mentality against some good players and never got
intimidated regardless of whom he was playing against. Jeremy
played at a high level losing his round of 32 Men’s match 13-11 in the
fifth game to a player from Alberta.
In general, it was a
perfect event to gain experience on how to play in a high-level
environment. It was also an eye opening for our junior boys to
motivate themselves to grind hard in practice because there are a lot
of good players they know about and maybe some others from other
provinces that they don’t; they must be prepared to play their
best against all-comers.
Coach Tronco Reporting
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US Open Table Tennis Championships
Greg Dzioba Umpiring on Court 1
With
over 130 tables in one venue, show courts, vendor displays, and more
than 850 athletes from over 25 countries - the US Open it is a sight to
behold! There are table tennis events for all athletes and all
levels - with rating events, age group events, team events, doubles,
singles and even `sandpaper` and `hard bat`events. This year the US Open was held in Las Vegas December 17-22 (a great time to escape Manitoba's winter!). MTTA
officials were at the US Open in full force. Like athletes,
International Umpires need to be at the top of their game, and
that experience comes from officiating at top level events.
Darek Mikita, Greg Dzioba, Royle Derbitsky, and Gregory Chan were in
Las Vegas to officiate and to be evaluated which is required to achieve
and maintain their Blue Badge and White Badge designations. With athletes from BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, Canada was well represented. Manitoba
athlete, Matthew Lehmann, focused on doubles at the US
Open. In Mens Doubles, teamed with Edison Huang (BC), the
MB/BC team reached the quarter finals. The MB/BC team was
up 2-0 against eventual finalists Kanak Jha and Bob Chen of the
US. The fourth game was a 15-13 loss, giving Jha and Chen a
run for their money, but Lehmann and Huang ended with a 4-2 loss. Huang/Lehmann vs Jha/Chen
In
mixed doubles, Lehmann was teamed with Andrea Pavlovic
(Croatia). Lehmann and Pavlovic had the unfortunate luck of
meeting eventual US Open mixed doubles champions Kohei Morimoto and
Yuki Shoji (Japan), losing 4-1 in the round of 32. [Of
note, Morimoto was a finalist in Men's Singles, and Shoji won Women's
Singles.]. Pavlovic/Lehmann vs Shoji/Morimoto
From
a spectator standpoint, the US Open is always a fun tournament with so
many interesting people, easy access from the hotels to the venue, and
a chance to watch high-level table tennis. Mark Lehmann reporting
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Terry's Revenge at the Manitoba Closed Table Tennis Championships
Sam Charach receiving award from Coach Tronco at the MB Closed
On
Saturday November 18th, young Terry Zhang was up 3-0 in the best of
seven final against wily veteran Biruk Bekele when somehow the
unthinkable happened and he dropped 4 straight games to lose in the
Pro-Open final 3-4…”really?...people were thinking…”Terry, up three
straight and he lost?” What was going on?
Well, on Saturday
December 16th, the Manitoba Closed Pro-Open final again featured Terry
against Biruk. In the semi’s, Terry made it past former #7 Woman’s
player in Canada Rongge Zhang with a convincing 4-1 win; however,
Rongge was far from top form…but that’s a story for another day. Biruk
meanwhile, dropped up-and-comer Jeremy Tran in 4 straight sets; young
Jeremy still doesn’t have the strength nor power nor guile to best the
big boys. On to the final…an exciting seven-setter 11-5, 4-11, 11-7,
11-6, 9-11, 7-11, 11-7. Well done Terry to outlast the always dangerous
Biruk who seems to be playing better and better…if only Coach Tronco
could get him into the gym more often so that when the Nationals rolls
around he could compete for the Canadian title?
In the Youth
final, Jeremy bested Phuong Nguyen in 4 sets after Phuong bested each
of Harkaran Singh-Sohal and Yunyang Deng in 5 sets in the quarters and
semi’s respectively.
The Active 4 Life final was a repeat of the
Red River final with Michal Rybak besting newcomer Richard Elendu in
straight sets. Richard promises to figure in the Pro-Open mix in the
future once he gets his physical conditioning in order.
Canada Winter Games female hopefull Anna Liu bested a fast improving Jason Li 3-0 to capture her first Cadet Singles crown.
Sweet
revenge and more dollars flowed into Terry’s pocket as he and Gordon
Chow bested Biruk and Michal Rybak in the open doubles final.
Complete results are attached below right.
Next
up for Manitoba is the US Open Championships where Matthew Lehmann is
competing for Manitoba and Canada and we have four International
Umpires there as well…Darek Mikita, Gregory Chan, Greg Dzioba and Royle
Derbitsky.
Cheers for the holiday season,
Ron Edwards Reporting
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King Bekele Starts Defence of His Crown
Biruk
Bekele was the Pro-Open Singles Circuit Champion for the 2016-2017
season. However, some argued that he was “King by Default” in that
“Crown Prince” Terry “Tian” Zhang only played in 3 out of 5 events last
year and he won all three finals over the King. Saturday, at the Red
River Open, hosted in the bowels of Daniel MacIntyre Collegiate, it
looked like the King was about to drop his crown. Having lost the first
three games in the best of seven by scores of -4,-7 and -5, King Bekele
somehow won the next four games in a row by scores or 10, 5, 10 and 8
leaving the large crowd of onlookers speechless. Terry was up 3-0, how
could he lose?...it is table tennis, things happen in the blink of an
eye! Well done to both players for an excellent match played. In the
Active 4 Life, >40 Years, Michal Rybak was in top form defeating
this time not Alex Mendoza (who had to work) but rather newcomer
Richard Elendu who made it to his first finals. Jeremy Tran defeated
Phuong Nguyen to capture the Youth <21 Years crown and Sparsh
Agrawal defeated Jeremy Huang to capture the Cadet title. Well done to
all players and I hope to see everyone out at the Manitoba Closed on
Saturday December 16th. Complete results can be found to the right.
Ron Edwards Reporting.
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Athletes Wanted
The Rady JCC is recruiting Jewish athletes to be a part of the Team Winnipeg delegation joining over
2,000 participants at the JCCA Maccabi Games August 5-10, 2018 in Orange County, CA.! More details can be found here.
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Continued Success in Europe
At
the Angby International Table Tennis tournament in Stockholm (November
3-5), Matthew Lehmann had the home court advantage with his Angby club
cheering him to victory in the Mens Category 1 Singles. In
other play, Matthew took the eventual winner of the U21 Men's singles
to the fifth game before bowing out in the second round of Men's U21.
Matthew
will continue to train in Sweden this month and compete in the
Stockholm Closed, as well as the ITTF Swedish Open, before returning to
Bulgaria for team match play.
Ron Edwards Reporting
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Congratuations Coach Tronco!
Cheers
in store for M.T.T.A. Head Coach Arvin Tronco and his wife Gerardine on
the birth of their baby daughter Marizza!
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2016-2017 Season Table Tennis Awards
&
Annual General Meeting
Our
Annual General Meeting was a big hit on Thursday, Oct. 5th. With such a
big turnout, it was to my surprise that everyone came on time, which
turned out to be an exciting and organized AGM. Ronnie Edwards, our
Executive Director, was a little upset that so many people came and ate
most of the food before he could get his hands on some himself.
Everyone knows how the AGM goes, we do the awards ceremony and then
discuss what’s in store for the up-coming season. There were a lot of
familiar faces we haven’t seen in a while, so it took some time for
everyone to get settled in and focused on the meeting.
Starting
with the awards presentations, can I just say what we were all
thinking? Wow did Biruk Bekele look handsome! He really rocked that
blue suit. Congrats on that bronze medal at Nationals Biruk! Biruk and
16 other athletes - 17 including the coach - received the Order of
Excellence award. A few people were unable to make it, but they still
deserved it nonetheless. Speaking of someone who was unable to make it,
Jeremy Tran had one of the biggest nights of his life! Winning not one,
not two, but five awards! That’s got to be some kind of record? One of
the first awards he won was first place in the League standings, with
Alex Mendoza, Czar Caguoia, Naomi Tran and myself behind him. Biruk,
showing off that flashy blue suit, came up to receive the Pro-Open
Circuit Singles Overall Champion award with Jeremy Tran taking in
second place. It’s great to see that the “Active 4 Life” (>40 Years)
athletes are still working hard and competing with the same amount, or
with maybe even more intensity, than us younger athletes and that Alex
Mendoza finally rose to the top and beat out Michal Rybak for the
overall Over 40 Category. Youth Singles Overall Champion was Jeremy
Tran and Yunyang Deng in second place…with Jeremy winning another
award, his sister Naomi was getting a little dizzy going back and forth
in his place. Congrats to Ben Vu for being the Cadet Singles Overall
Champion and Sparsh Agrawal for coming in for a close second.
Now, on to the bigger awards.
One
of our Filipino members shocked everyone and gained 694 points this
season winning the Most Improved Player award - congratulations to
Irwin Raymundo. Junior Male of the Year went to, you guessed it, Jeremy
Tran. Junior Female of the Year went to a small but energetic young
athlete who has always been dedicated to table tennis and was shocked
when she won the award, Ms. Anna Liu. Volunteer of the Year went to a
very deserving coach who helped Coach Arvin and I out a lot last
season, Mr. Meng Yu. For the Mike Partyka award, I’d like to give
thanks to the Executive and to everyone else for the endless support
and for honoring me with this award. The Liam Barclay Junior
Sportsmanship Award went to two individuals who were always in the gym
and who were eager to learn and play…these two athletes absolutely
deserved this award! Congrats to Kieran Buchberger and Nibusha
Loganathan. Another young athlete who loves the sport and was very
dedicated to the league was Hongjun Feng. Congrats for winning the
“Ironman” award for the most matches played in the District League last
season. Everyone should follow Hongjun’s example and come out to league
every Friday night! Last, but not least, Jeremy Tran winning the last
award there was to win…the “Player of the Year Award”. Jeremy may have
been a little distant from the gym at the start of the season but for
the second half of the season he was one of the most dedicated
athletes. It was a bummer you had to miss the AGM, but it was clear
that your hard work throughout the season paid off. Congrats again and
keep up the hard work!
Congratulations once again to all the
winners of last year’s season. You guys and gals should be proud of
your accomplishments. For the people who didn’t receive an award, this
should give you motivation to get in the gym more and work even harder
this upcoming season. Let’s all have a goal to become more present in
the gym and more focused when we’re at practice and to keep a
consistent level of intensity throughout the entire season.
The
last portion of the meeting was dedicated to the annual update of the
Executive and Committee teams. Somehow, my mom unintentionally got me
onto the Executive while knocking herself out. There were a couple
changes to the Executive members this year. Royle Derbitsky went from
Secretary to Secretary/Treasurer. Don Kokan went from being the Athlete
Representative to one of the Member’s at Large. While my mom wanted the
Athlete Representative position, I was nominated in her place because
only an athlete could have the position, sorry mom! The last change to
the Executive was adding a second Member at Large position that went to
long-time member Gregory Chan. Darek Mikita, Greg Dzioba and Osama Zaki
retained their senior positions. A complete listing can be found to the
top-right side of www.mtta.ca.
Overall, this was one of the more
successful AGMs we have had in a long time and it was a terrific way to
start off the 2017-2018 season. Hope to see everyone out at the gyms
and tournaments!
Phuong Nguyen Reporting
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"Lefty-Lehmann" Reaches Podium in Europe for 1st Time!
 
This
past October 14-15 weekend, Matthew Lehmann from Winnipeg competed in
the Albena Open on the shores of the Black Sea in Bulgaria. Matthew had
former M.T.T.A. Head Coach Milcho Uzunov in his corner as he reached
the semi-finals in the Men’s Open event against world ranked players
from Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine and Romania. Coach Uzunov said Matthew’s
attack was very effective as he won all three of his qualifying group
matches and then three more elimination-round matches until bowing out
in the semi’s. Matthew now returns to his Austrian training base, as he
prepares for matches with his Swedish club in Stockholm. However, he
will return to Bulgaria later in the fall to
compete with Milcho for the “Nedelino” Team in the Bulgarian Super
League. They will both be eagerly watched by former M.T.T.A. Head Coach
George Damianov. Both Milcho and George miss Canada and their former
players and pass on their regards to Terry, William, Freddy, Victor,
Carol-Jean, Victoria, Gordon, Euwe, Jacie, Naomi, Jeremy, Phuong, Tina,
Bryanna, Kaitlyn, Shaelynn…Milcho says they apologize to those they
missed as they had such a good time with the lot of you and he was
saddened that so many had quit our great sport.
Ron Edwards Reporting
---------------------------------------------------------------
Table Tennis Season Start Up and Annual General Meeting
Hello
all Manitoba Table Tennis enthusiasts. Well, school is back in class so
that means that table tennis is not far behind! We are still awaiting
word from several school divisions on some facilities…but, in general,
the gyms, time-slots and programming will be about the same as last
year. I hope that most clubs will open the week of September 18th and
our first tournament is scheduled for November 18th.
There will
be some minor fee increases this year due to both some funding cuts
from the Provincial government to sport as well as some school
divisions increasing user fees. MORE INFORMATION WILL BE POSTED IN THE
COMING WEEKS AS PROGRAMMING FINALIZED.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 5TH, 6
PM, SPORT FOR LIFE CENTRE, 145 PACIFIC AVENUE: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
AND AWARDS PRESENTATION FOR 2016-2017 SEASON…HOPE TO SEE YOU OUT!
Ron Edwards
Executive Director
----------------------------------------------- Reporters Wanted Contribute to the sport you love, write
an article and get it published right here!!!
We
would love to get stories and articles from the people that are
involved in the sport of Table Tennis. If you are a player,
coach, parent, umpire, referee, spectator, or involved in the sport in
any capacity, why not tell us your story, share your experiences,
provide some tips and knowledge. If you have something to
share,
we would love to hear from you. Submit your story, articles,
ideas to Ron Edwards.
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2016-2017 News Archive
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2015-2016 News Archive
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2014-2015 News Archive---------------------------------------
2013-2014 News Archive
2013-2014 news and articles can be found here.---------------------------------------
2012 News
Archive
Old news and articles can be
found here.
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2011 News
Archive
Old news and articles can be
found here.
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