All details here… be in to win! To enter watch here.
The 2024 Wellington Veterans Open took place on 16 March and was enhanced by the best turn out of players for many years. Joining the locals were seven players from other Associations and they added to the occasion with their presence and play.
In the morning, the Over 50 and Over 70 events were held and got things off well before the Over 40 and Over 60 events provided much of interest in the afternoon. Of particular note was the Over 40 Singles which saw chaos in the round robin phase with a number of matches going against the seedings making for a slightly unusual look to the post section phase. There were also some excellent doubles during the day which featured close finishes and made for good watching.
Generally, there were events which saw many competitive matches, demonstrating that we had a number of players of a similar good standard, ensuring an anything but boring day’s table tennis. Congratulations to the winners and also to all the others who participated in a good day. Thanks also to Maggie Dyer who put in her usual high quality day.
| Winner/s | Â Runner/s Up | |
| Over 40 Singles | Daniel Rosner | Darrell Brown |
| Over 50 Singles | Depak Patel | Harry Chen |
| Over 60 Singles | Zhidong Yu | Harry Chen |
| Over 70 Singles | Tony Rutledge  | David Scott |
| Over 40 Doubles | Daniel Rosner & Sabine Westenra | Ben Collins & Swapneel Dias |
| Over 50 Doubles | Ian Talbot & Lindsay Ward | Heath Murdoch & Depak Patel |
| Over 60 Doubles | Ian Talbot & Zhidong Yu | Tony Rutledge & Martin Young |
| Over 70 Doubles | Kerry McGeehan & David Scott | Averil Roberts & Tony Rutledge |
The first Summer Competition designed for individuals rather than teams has finished after an interesting five weeks. With the match format each week being based on accumulated points from previous weeks, it provided players with different challenges to move up the table from week to week.
The final week saw Manish Ahlawat extend his almost unassailable lead and finish comfortably ahead of his nearest challenger, Yang Low. There was an interesting tussle for the bronze medal with up to half a dozen possibilities, dependent on the various wins and margins on the night. Even after most had left, two or three were in with a chance. In the end, it was Jacob Hawker who with several very good wins, outshone the competition to finish ahead of Depak Patel and Darrell Brown.
Thanks to all those who participated, particularly those who lasted the distance. I hope you enjoyed the format.
-Kevin
We have some tournaments coming up too:
- TTNZ Regional Qualifier 2 on the weekend of 9 & 10 March (entry but see below).
- The 2024 Wellington Veterans tournament on Saturday 16 March (entry).
- The 2024 Wellington Autumn Open on the weekend of 4 & 5 May.
Also note the TTNZ Vets in Taupo (29/3-1/4), for entry in a team ping us directly (for individual events enter here). See here for all the details on the TTNZ vets event.
More generally, for events across NZ check out the TTNZ Calendar.
The TTNZ Qualifier event is part of a series of tournaments set up by TTNZ to provide high level competition for current and prospective New Zealand representative candidates. It is designed to assist with selections for New Zealand teams and training squads for players eligible to represent New Zealand.
As a result, there are criteria which apply to players entering this tournament. Please read through the Prospectus below which goes through the criteria and which also has the in depth details of the tournament itself. If you have any queries about the criteria, please contact TTNZ. I am happy to handle queries about the tournament structure.
Entries for these tournaments are via the Tournament Planner website only. The March tournaments are already available for entries. The details around timetables and other conditions can be found on the website.
Be sure to pass this along to anyone you know who could be interested!
What TABLE TENNIS Junior club with coaching
Where Wellington Table Tennis Stadium, Alexandra Rd, Newtown
When Thursdays 5-7pm
Cost $5 per session
Bring Soft-soled shoes & water bottle
Enroll or find out more by email
This annual Veterans event hosted by the Manawatu Veterans Table Tennis Club will be held on Saturday September 30. It is open to anyone over the age of 40 (as of Dec 31, 2023). It will be held at Barber Hall Waldergrave Street, Palmerston North. Enter (by Sep 27) per the form below.
Congratulations to the winning premier Empire Entertainers team (below) and also the Waterloo Wombats (Division 1 winners)!
A small contingent of Wellington players went to the Hawkes Bay Open on Saturday 1st July. Everyone came back with a measure of success.
- Tom Christie Semi-finalist in the Men’s Open
- Om Thakur and Paul Solt runner up in the Men’s Open doubles
- Om Thakur and Scott Higham winners over 40 Doubles
- Scott Higham runner up over 40 singles
- Scott Higham and Paul Solt winners in the over 50 Doubles
But the honours went to our youngest player 11 year old Zoe Mildenhall.
- Runner up under 13 Girls Singles
- Runner up under 15 Girls Singles
- Runner up Under 15 Girls Doubles with Ruby Wei-Solt
- Runner up Under 15 Open Doubles with Ruby Wei-Solt
- AND… Winner Open Mixed Doubles with Matthew Ball !!
Sad news with the recent passing of Alan Costley, a long time stalwart managing the Waterloo club for too many years to count and a loyal supporter of local table tennis and servant to the Hutt Valley and Wellington associations not just during the years when he was on the committee.
The service for Alan Stewart Costley will be held held on Tuesday July 4th (Croft Funeral Home) from 3pm, they have a live streaming page.
Also passing earlier in June was Warren Evans who started out in table tennis in 1952 and ended up winning five NZ Junior Titles and even reaching the NZ Open Men’s Singles Final in 1970. Be sure to check out our article Warren Evans – A lifetime in table tennis.
Over the weekend the Wellington Team of Manish Ahlawat, Mohsen Kafi, Daniel Rosner, & Depak Patel completed in Auckland at the 2023 North Island Teams event in the B Grade, finishing 6th!
Two of our junior Wellington girls travelled to Christchurch on King’s Birthday Weekend to play in the 2023 Canterbury Open Table Tennis Tournament.
Ruby Wei-Solt got a bronze in the under 13 Girls Singles and Ruby and Samantha Xu also got bronze in the under 13 Girls Doubles! Congratulations also to Paul Solt for third-equal in the O50 Mens Doubles (with Abhay Joshi).
Much thanks to Nick @ JB Roofing Maintenance and Repair Ltd!
The first Series of Winter Interclub 2023 finished with the Titan Terriers winning the Premier Division unbeaten, with the Empire Eagles the nearest competition. For the Terriers, it was a true team effort, with all three regular players having strong performances. Particular mention should be made of the evergreen veteran Lindsay Ward who was unbeaten, despite some strong efforts to topple him by other players.
Division Two was won by the Empire Emperors, narrowly from Waterloo Wombats. Again, this was a close competition, coming down to the last night. Sai Murali of Karori Kaboom was unbeaten in her appearances, while Emperor’s Ethan Attewell had an excellent season.
Division Two players had a Grade Championships to conclude the competition with sixteen entrants. The Singles event was taken out by Tony Rutledge who outlasted Andrew Maguire late in the evening. Ethan and Doug Westmoreland were the beaten semi-finalists. Jeremy Evans beat Craig Gear in the Consolation event.
Is happening at the Empire hall from 7pm (no later than 7:10pm) Wednesdays May 17 for six weeks.
Entries for remaining events:
Qualifier 2 – Wellington – 29th and 30th April – closing date 24th April
Qualifier 3 – Blenheim – 13th and 14th May – closing date 5th May
All information can be found on the TTNZ website events page.
Whanganui is hosting a 2 Day Training Camp Open to any and all players BUT limited numbers.
Facts: coach Matthew Ball, May 20 & 21, $20/day, at the Jubilee Stadium, London Street, Whanganui.
Contact: Larn Sweeney (larn_sweeney@hotmail.com)
**RESULTS**
* Men’s Singles Timothy Choi bt. Matthew Ball 11-4, 11-2, 7-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-9
* Women’s Singles Lisa Gear bt. Sai Shruthi Murali 12-10, 4-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-3
* Men’s Doubles Matthew Ball & Max Henderson bt. Kelsey Amor & Andrew Palmer 11-7, 11-2, 11-4
* Women’s Doubles (round-robin) Tracey Hsia & Sai Shruthi Murali, runner-up: Gemma Buzzard & Maia Cavanagh
* Under 19 Boys Singles Timothy Choi bt. Payas Jajal 11-7, 11-8, 11-8
* Under 19 Girls Singles (round-robin) Jocelyn Lam, runner-up: Mei Mun Teh
* Under 13 Boys Singles Oscar Du bt. Lucas Yang 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, 11-9
* Under 13 Girls Singles (round-robin) Tracey Hsia, runner-up: Grace Looi
* Under 15 Boys Singles Payas Jajal bt. Ethan Yin 11-8, 11-5, 11-9
* Under 15 Girls Singles Jocelyn Lam bt. Lisa Gear 8-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-5, 11-6
* Over 40 Men’s Singles Depak Patel bt. Daniel Rosner 11-9, 11-3, 7-11, 11-9
Per-event result-summaries here
Info: https://www.sporty.co.nz/2023nzvets
Some of the ​​​​​​​Test Teams vs Australia include some Wellington players:
| AGE CATEGORY | NEW ZEALAND | AUSTRALIA |
| Over 50 Men | Craig Dye (C), Heath Murdoch  | Walter Ly (NSW), Michael Bowrey (ACT) |
| Over 50 Women | Kris Alisch (C), Sabine Westenra | Anne-Louse Stewart (QLD), Rosalie Brooks (QLD) |
| Over 65 Men | Lindsay Ward , Gregg Davey (C) | Jing Peng (NSW), George Abdilla (SA) |
| Over 75 Men | Willie Weinstock (A), Bryan McConnochie | Thomas Samuelsson (QLD), Mick Wright (VIC) |
Table Tennis Wellington 