Table tennis celebration

Marlborough table tennis took a trip back in time, albeit with a brand-new trophy to play for, late last week.

As part of the association’s centenary celebrations a Centenary Hard Bat Tournament was staged at Simcox Stadium.

Twenty four players and administrators turned out to recall the days when bats had only a pimpled rubber covering, before a spongy layer was added under a smooth rubber surface.

To mark the Centenary, and this tournament, a new trophy to honour the association founders, George and Gladys Perry, was donated by their granddaughters Diane Dwyer, Linda Mortimer and Andrea Burns. The trophy was presented at the tournament by Diane and Linda, Andrea now resident in Australia.

The trophy’s first recipient is Ollie Phipps, who won the hard bat final over Matt Millar, 31-28. Matt reached the final by beating Nathan Cross 31-21 in the one semi-final while Ollie beat youngster Finnbar Duncan 31-22 in the other semi.

Centenary celebrations 1926-2026

Preparations are well underway for the centenary celebrations which are scheduled for 16-17 October this year.

Interested people have until the end of July to sign up with Secretary Nathan Cross and President Barbara Burkhart, along with the organising committee, keen for a huge turnout to celebrate Marlborough’s wonderful table tennis history.

For information, and for registration go to mtta.org.nz/centenary