It’s been a busy few weeks for the team at British Para Table Tennis, with an open event in Draycott, launch of the new Futures Programme and the squad dominating the Lignano Master Open in Italy!
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The BPTT Nationals are rapidly upcoming on April 8-9 in Grantham. The titans of the BPTT team will be there showcasing some spectacular Paralympic play! There’s still time to register for this event, with the deadline on March 25. Click here to enter online.
Events
The BPTT Open was hosted on February 18-19 in Draycott. A great weekend organised by Dave Cochrane showcased some of the best Paralympic players in the country.
Shaun Marples opened the weekend with a free training day for aspiring athletes to get some top tips. There was a great turnout, with some new faces enjoying what British Para Table Tennis has to offer! The Sunday was the competition, with some amazing play, including Paralympic gold medallists Will Bayley MBE and Rob Davies MBE.
A team of 12 from the performance and the pathway squads headed to Italy on February 27 for the Lignano Master Open, held March 1st-4th. It was a huge success for the British Para squad, with four bronze, one silver and two gold medals.
Romford teenager Jack Stockdale made a winning start to his international career in Para table tennis by taking gold in the men’s class 10 singles at the Lignano Junior (U23) Open. Paul Karabardak won gold in the men’s class 6 singles, with the rest of the GB team performing strongly. Tom Matthews (men’s class 1), Sue Gilroy (women’s class 4-5), Martin Perry (men’s class 6) and David Wetherill (men’s class 6) all took bronze in their respective classes. Tom Matthews added a team silver on the final day, alongside his partner Endre Major.
The Table Tennis England Nationals showcased some fantastic Para play on March 4, with the top British Para Table Tennis squad in attendance. Paralympians Aaron McKibbin, Kim Daybell and Jack Hunter-Spivey came out on top in the round robin Para classes, after some intense play.
News
The new futures programme is here! Shaun Marples will be leading up this new initiative, working closely with the Home Nations to develop potential athletes.
Together, in partnership with the Home Nations and coaches, the talent shall be nurtured to develop athletes to be best prepared for the transition into the GB Pathway programme. The Futures programme will be electronic based, sharing educational knowledge and supporting the future athletes in becoming the next GB Para Table Tennis athletes.
Throughout the year, the GB Pathway Manager will send monthly updates to each athlete on the programme. This will include online learning, video analysis and tournament updates. There will also be a Futures Programme Camp which will take place during the selection camp on a yearly basis. If you want more information on this, please contact Shaun Marples on: [email protected]
Congratulations are due to European Medallists Billy Shilton and Tom Matthews, who recently were promoted to the Performance Squad having narrowly missed out on Rio 2016 qualification.