At the pre season Lancashire trials two Bolton juniors came out on top in their respective age groups. Callan Tollady winning the under fifteen group, and Matthew Fields the under thirteen’s. They will now progress to the regional trials as well as representing Lancashire this season. Both players are a product of the Hilton Centre in Horwich, where junior coaching for all standards is available on a Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm
Any youngster who is interested in playing table tennis and wishes to attend these sessions can contact the centre on 01204 413309 after 7pm.
On the local front, following an entry of sixty two teams, split into four divisions of twelve, and one the division of fourteen, three teams withdrew before the league programme started. Burning Desire A from the Premier Division , Grubba Fans from division two and Markland Hill from division four. Grubba Fans have now reversed their decision and have been reinstated.
Reigning Premier Division champions Ramsbottom A kicked off with an 8-1 win over Radcliffe CC. The triumph featured three wins by Mick Moir and three by new signing Richard Lightowler, plus two from Mark Ramsbottom. Last season’s runner up, Hilton A, beat Ramsbottom B 6-3 with Mark Gibson, Ron Pennington and Dave Pickard each scoring two wins. Newly promoted Ramsbottom C won 5-4 at Burning Desire, with two wins by Keith Jackson and Graham Young and one by Graham Hoy. Lindsey Reynolds was unbeaten for the losers. Caroline Hallows enjoyed three wins for Tameside who beat Little Lever B 6-3, while Little Lever A players, Ron Durose, Graham Jeffries and Steve McNicholas won two each in their 6-3 win against St Catherine’s A who were formerly Hilton B.
Likely Division One title contenders St Catherine’s B opened with an 8-1 win over promoted Meadow Bank, with three wins by Stuart Wallis and new signing Kristof Pinter and two by Paul Bradwood, Richard Hinchcliffe winning the Meadow Bank set. Three wins by Dave Bolton, two by Craig Bradbury and one by Alex Waring gave Ladybridge A their 6-3 win at St Catherine’s C. Newly promoted Ramsbottom D made an excellent start to their season with a 5-4 win at Nomads A who were relegated from the Premier Division. Martin Holt and Tom Ryan winning two apiece and Ken Hayes one for the winners, Dennis Collier and Derek Watmough two each for the losers.
Division Two possible title contenders Nomads B and Heaton D both kicked off with 9-0 wins. Nomads at Hilton C, which featured trebles by Gareth Palmer, Dave Holden and Brett Haslam. Heaton against new team Farnworth TTC A, with Alan Crompton, John Scowcroft and Bill Fairhurst unbeaten. Three wins by Alan Bradshaw and two apiece by Tony Eardley and Gary Hilton gave Hilton D a 7-2 win at Heaton E. Promoted Coburg won 6-S at Hilton E, each of their three players Bob Bent, Mark Speakman and Jimmy Hewitt winning two, while Steven Ross was unbeaten for the losers. Promoted Ladybridge B beat Heaton F by the same score with two wins from their three players John Birchall, John Cole and Brian Greenhalgh. Three wins from Mark Martin and two by Alan Lansdale gave Little Lever D their 5-4 win over BEN A.
In Division Three BEN B ran out 8-1 winners against Ladybridge C which featured three wins by Alan Hibbert and Alan Calvert, and two by Mike Aspinall. Hilton G also scored an 8-1 success at promoted St Paul’s Peel, with trebles by Adele Spibey and Jim Eardley plus a double by Richard Reading. Three wins by Brian Young two by Gary Hibbert and one by Baz Young gave Hilton F a 6-3 win at Farnworth SC for whom John Kofi scored two wins and John Ainley one. A Tony Mason hat-trick proved decisive for Hilton H who beat St Catherine’s E 5-4, he was supported with one win each from Malcolm Wilcock and George Berry. Roy Alty and Beth Farnworth winning two each for the losers.
In Division Four, Hilton J beat Brass 7-2, with three wins by Min Le and two apiece by Andrew Morey and Jeff Thomas, Eugene Mutebwa winning the two sets for Brass. Heaton G beat St Catherine’s F 6-3 with three wins by Phil Beales two by Clive Walsh and one by Dave Jones, Lewis Smith two wins and Adam Chappell one for the losers. New team Farnworth TTC B defeated Heaton H 5-4 with a treble by Matthew Leach and a double by Daniel Harris. Two wins for Martin Hulton and one apiece for David Heaton and Robert Bury for Heaton.