Players get round the table to celebrate 50 years of fun (From Gazette & Herald)

Players get round the table to celebrate 50 years of fun

11:23am Thursday 30th August 2007

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HALF a century of smashes, chops, nets and edges will be remembered when Ryedale Table Tennis League celebrates its 50th anniversary season.

The league began in 1958 with just five teams and has recently undergone a remarkable revival with 30 teams now representing 13 clubs across the area, plus a thriving junior league and representative teams.

The league will be holding a special celebratory dinner in May 2008 and is calling on former players to get in touch to join in the event and bring along photos and other memorabilia from the past. The event will include the showing of a video made up of film clips from tournaments played over the past 30 years, something that's bound to evoke plenty of laughter and memories.

The league owes its current popularity to the hard work and dedication of a small number of highly motivated volunteers.

These include nationally-recognised coach and local police sergeant Cliff Edens, who founded Helmsley Table Tennis Club in 2000. With work in local schools and five weekly coaching sessions in winter, Cliff and other local coaches have introduced a great many youngsters to the sport, a number of whom have gone on to achieve success at both regional and national levels. Notable amongst these is 14-year-old Edward Fambely from Kirkbymoorside who is Yorkshire junior champion and rising up the national rankings.

In total, Ryedale table tennis volunteers have been awarded grants of over £20,000 to provide new equipment for local clubs and schools and to fund community coaching sessions in village halls around Ryedale. The league is also sponsored by a number of local companies and new sponsors are always welcome.

Norton College is the venue for the Ryedale Junior League which is open to all secondary-age students in the area and is run by coach Paul Stansfield (contact details below). The league runs on Wednesday evenings from October to March and holds an annual tournament. New players are always welcome and coaching is provided for those just starting out.

The very friendly senior league is also keen to attract new players and everyone is welcome. All standards are catered for in the three divisions from beginners to county level and there are teams right across the area, many based in villages.

One of the great strengths of table tennis is that it is one of the few fast athletic sports that can be played by older participants; Ryedale league has many excellent players in their 60s and even 70s as well as two teams in the Yorkshire Veterans (over-40s) League. The sport is a fun way to stay fit and enjoy competition, whatever your age.

If you are interested in playing table tennis contact Ryedale League match secretary Andy Seed on 01653 696704 or email andy@cannybooks. com.

To find out about the junior league contact Paul Stansfield on 01944 738714 or email paulstansfield@btinternet.com

More information is available on the league's website www.ryedalett.net

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