Table Tennis TOURNAMENT ON JUNE 10

Press, Volume C, Issue 29517, 19 May 1961, Page 17

Table Tennis TOURNAMENT ON JUNE 10

Six Provincial Sides

If present plans materialise, six provincial representative teams will gather in Christchurch on June 10 for a major provincial tournament. The executive committee of the Canterbury Table Tennis Association on Wednesday evening made preparations for this tournament, which will be the biggest in Christchurch since the New Zealand interassociation championships were held in 1959.

Acceptances from teams from Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast were received by the committee, and it was decided that an invitation be also sent to South Canterbury. Canterbury A and B teams will also take part. Play will be held on Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, and perhaps Sunfiay morning.

No action was taken on protests received from several clubs about) the composition of this year's A grade competition. The Linwood, Eagles, Avonside and Dallington clubs wrote criticising the “late” decision to change the form of the A grade, and urging a reversion to a 12-team grade. The grade is now in two sections, with the top six teams in one section and the bottom six in the other, with provision for promotion after the playing of each round. The chairman of the competitions committee (Mr G. M. Leech) outlined the reasons for the changes made by his committee, and the executive committee approved the new system. Representative Blazers

A change was made in the qualification for the award of a representative blazer. The provision was that three matches must be played for Canterbury against teams from other associations, but now the “other associations” have been defined as Wellington, Otago, Hutt Valley, and South Canterbury. Also to count will be the quadrangular tournament (with Otago, South Canterbury, and Southland), the inter-association matches at the New Zealand championships, matches against visiting international sides, and against New Zealand Universities. Other matches may be added if the selectors think fit. Mr R. G. Hart was nominated as sole South Island selector for 1961.