Newcomers make their mark

Newcomer Grzegorz Strojny’s reward for consistent performances was the title at the latest Cippenham Table Tennis Club Grand Prix. Strojny competed in the last five of the weekly events and his results grew stronger over that time period. Starting with a seventh place in his first outing, he then was fifth, third, third again and finally second to gain 215 points and the title. This was the lowest number of points with which the thirteen Grand Prix events so far has been won with, but the main factor behind this was the sheer success of the event with a record total of 48 participants to share the points between.

In joint second place were Alan Farral and Eddie Mitchell, two established performers who each won both of the events they entered. The other events were won by Tony Andrews and Tony Stead but neither of these players backed up their wins with further substantial points winning appearances. Fourth place was gained by Ricky Hardcastle and fifth by Gavin Williams.

The Cippenham Grand Prix is an increasingly important part of the local table tennis club’s activities as it has proved to be an ideal vehicle for integrating new members. In fact, of the top ten performers in the latest series, only Mitchell and Farral have ever represented the club in match play and six of the ten are players new to table tennis in this area.