193,9 Table Tennis Season

Southland Times, Issue 23793, 15 April 1939, Page 15

193,9 Table Tennis Season

By

SPIN

Table tennis should again have a successful season, as prospects appear to be excellent for a greater number of teams taking part in the various competitions as compared with last season. Several new clubs have been formed and will take part in matches. The strongest of these are Railway and Southern. At the end of last season the association gave un the lease of the club room in Spey street, this being brought about through the loss sustained during the summer months the previous season. Unfortunately the room has now been leased otherwise and the association will probably have as its headquarters the room previously used at Everybodys. The room there is very comfortable and to the majority of players is very suitable but to some the run back is rather short. However, only a few of the matches will be played there as the association has in mind playing as many matches as possible at the various private club rooms about the City.

Several gains are reported among the clubs, the main gain to Southland being that of L. Brown, of Dunedin. Brown is a South Island doubles champion and at the last Otago championships he was beaten in the final of the singles by R. Algie only after five closely-contested games. Brown has already had several games with leading players in Invercargill and his form at this stage of the season shows that he will be a hard player to defeat. Another Otago representative in Stewart has also been transferred to Invercargill and although he has not yet reach-

ed the standard of Brown he is a very promising player and will go far in the sport.

It is rather early in the season to know how the different clubs stand for players but the holder of the men’s A grade, Star, has the same four players to represent it and this club should have a successful season as most of the members have been playing through the summer. Loudon has now changed over from the pen-holder grip to th» tennis grip and reports are that he 1$ doing quite well. Robson has not changed over and apparently he is playing as well as ever. He should again prove hard to defeat. The Star Club will this year enter at least one women’s team and although Miss N. Dixon has gone to Nelson it should have a strong team. St. Marys, provided it can enter its best players, should have a good chance in the A grade. Miss E. Crowe and Miss P. Keppel are two young players who should have a good season. At the present time it is doubtful whether Alliance will have a team but Rata should again have a strong four. Civil Service, winner of the B grade last year will probably enter in the A grade and it should do quite well. Of the other men’s teams, St. Mary’s will have a good four and it has gained a good player in Coup, from Auckland. Coup showed good form against Corkery in the recent St. Mary’s tournament and as Corkery is one of the most promising players locally Coup, when he strikes his best form, should have a good season. Wright, Stephensons will have much the same team as last year and as several of its players are improving rapidly it should give the best sides some good games. Matches will be played practically the same as last year, the only alterations being that clubs will supply their own balls and the doubles matches are to be the best of three games, as in the singles. The ball to be used for all matches is to be the same as last year.