A Diary of Sport TABLE TENNIS TITLES

Southland Times, Issue 24163, 27 June 1940, Page 14

A Diary of Sport TABLE TENNIS TITLES

Championships Of Southland INTERESTING EVENTS this Week

By

SPIN

The entries for the Southland Table Tennis Association’s sixth annual championships constitute a record and in all events so far competition has been very keen. The championships yet to be held are as follows:— Tonight: Mixed doubles. /Friday and Saturday: Men’s and women’s singles and doubles. In the mixed doubles there are several strong pairs and there should be some keenly fought games before this championship is concluded. S. Robson and Mrs S. Robson are both good doubles players and they will be a very difficult pair to dispose of. J. Ferguson and Miss T. Ferns are another strong pair and as they were runnersup last year to Robson and Mrs J. Marriott they must be given every consideration. Marriott and Mrs J. Marriott are playing together this year but they have been drawn in the strongest section and in the first round meet a strong pair in T. Breayley and Mrs E. Blacke. The winner of this match should on form meet Robson and Mrs Robson in the semi-final. D, Hamilton and Miss M. McGrath are good players individually and if they combine they should do well. In the men’s singles championships entries are excellent and as there are several players from Otago competing spectators should see some brilliant table tennis. M. Friend (Dunedin), the holder of the title, is again competing and as he recently beat R. A. Algie in a club match, Friend must be playing particularly well and will be favoured to win the title. In the same half of the draw are D. Miller (Dunedin) and J. Ferguson, both of whom will be expected to do well. In the other half of the draw W. Fogarty (Balclutha) will be expected to reach the final but Robson, Breayley and Hamilton are all capable of springing a surprise. The women’s singles championship should again prove an interesting contest and there are several players who might win this title. The holder, Miss T. Ferns, is again competing and though her form of late has been disappointing she always does better in championship events and it would not surprise if she retains the title. Of the other players Mrs J. R. Marriott should prove difficult to beat and the same applies to Miss M. McGrath. Mrs A. R. Macnee has been showing good form of late and her chances will be favoured by many, while Mrs S. Robson is another player capable of causing an upset. MEN’S DOUBLES The men’s doubles championship will be another interesting competition and the final should be played between Friend and Fogarty and the winners of the Robson and Loudon-Ferguson and Breayley match. The latter match should be one of the highlights of the championships and as both pairs are experienced doubles players a great match should eventuate. Robson and Loudon played particularly well together in a recent match against St. Mary’s when they beat a strong pair in Marriott and Coupe very easily and they may have a slightly better combination than Ferguson and Breayley who ha'e not been playing together in matches.

There are several good pairs in the women’s doubles championship but as a combination Mrs S. Robson and Miss T. Ferns, the holders, appeal. Several of the pairings in this event are different from the usual matches and as a result it is difficult to know how the players will combine. Previous holders of the championships are:— Men’s Singles.—l93s, S. Robson; 1936, J. H. Miller (Dunedin); 1937, R. A. Algie (Dunedin); 1938, M. Friend (Dunedin); 1939, M. Friend (Dunedin). Women’s Singles.—l93s, Mrs R. Ferguson; 1936, Mrs R. Ferguson; 1937, Miss K. Coughlan (Dunedin); 1938, Mrs J. Croad; 1939, Miss T. Ferns. Men’s Doubles.—l 936, G. and I. Claridge (Dunedin); 1937, J. Loudon and D. Bray; 1938, S. Robson and M. Friend; 1939, A. Breen and M. Friend. Women’s Doubles.—l 936, Mesdames Croad and Colbert; 1937, Miss K. Coughlan and Mrs O’Driscoll (Dunedin); 1938, Miss T. Ferns and Miss N. Dixon; 1939, Miss T. Fems and Mrs S. Robson.

Mixed Doubles. —1936, J. H. Mcßride and Miss M. McGrath; 1937, S. Robson and Mrs J. Croad; 1938, S. Robson and Mrs J. Croad; 1939, S. Robson .and Mrs J. Marriott.

COUNTRY DAY BASKETBALL

Fixture To Be Held On July 6 By ATTACK Seven entries have so far been received for the Country Day basketball tournament to be held in Invercargill on July 6. The entries are from the following sub-associations: —Central (2), Eastern (2), Menzies (2), Northern (1). Usually about 14 entries are received for this fixture. However, the Southland Basketball Union has not yet had any communications from Waiau and Awarua and the entries for these sub-associations will probably bring the total to 10. Play on Country Day will begin about 10.30 o’clock. The committee that has been appointed to grade the teams and make out the draw for the tournament will meet at Duke street on Saturday at 10 a.rn. No inter-club matches will be played on Country Day. This decision has been made to give players and officials the opportunity of seeing the Rugby match between Southland and the Army team, the proceeds from which are to be used for patriotic purposes. Tire union has sent a letter to Otago suggesting Augpst 3 or 10 as the date for the annual inter-provincial matches, which are to be played this year in Invercargill. No reply has yet been received. Mr A. Kinross, has been appointed selector of the first grade team and Miss M. Shand and Miss M. Hutton will select the second grade side. These games with Otago may afford the selectors an opportunity of trying out new material.

Representative practice will begin next Tuesday night, from 6 to 7 p.m. There will also be another practice time, and this will probably be 1.30 on Saturdays. ; The evening tournament to be held m the Drill Hall on July 23, will be con-

ducted on the two-lifc: system. The Riverton Sub-Association has suggested that a meeting of Referees be held on Country Day, but the union is waiting to see how many entries are received for the tournament. The game between High School and Rata B on Saturday v/as an outstanding one and High School thoroughly deserved its win. A pleasing feature of the game was the comparative absence of infringements. The High School attacks played a bright game—their play has improved considerably in the last few weeks—and A. Walker was responsible for many good goals. The members of the defence third also performed well and M. Forde was again prominent. M. Cook and M. Adam showed in the Rata attack third. Rata A and Collegiate, the two leading teams in the senior grade, will meet on Saturday and the match should be full of interest. On the season’s performances Rata could be favoured to win, but Collegiate’s play has greatly improved and the final scores should be close.

Country referees are taking a keen interest, in the interpretation of the rules this year and the union has received many inquiries recently. Several of these were dealt with at the last meeting of the union. The following are some more of the interpretations issued by the New Zealand Referees’ Association:— Must the centre toe the line with both feet? The centre may toe the line with either or both feet.

May the two wing-centres stand both on the same side of the court? The wing-centres may take up their positions anywhere in the centre court. Is the opposing centre free to move from the 9-ft line as soon as the whistle blows, or must she continue to toe the line until the pass is taken? As soon as the whistle sounds all players except the centre taking the pass are free to move