London Grand Prix

[Dave Robson]

This year’s London Grand Prix is filling up quickly, with the closing date being Monday 17th you don’t have long left to enter.

LATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED so get your entries off quickly to avoid disappointment .

Don't forget you can enter online here (https://www.englishtabletennis.org.uk/competitionentry/chooselogin.cfm?competitionId=9)


ETTA

[Richie19rich77]

Anyone know where the draw for the bandings can be found, can't seem to find it on the etta website.

Thanks

[Dave Robson]

ill look into it asap

[Dave Robson]

Does this help ?......................... http://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/table/pdf.gif (http://www.sportfocus.com/reguser/dynabizinfo/download.cfm?number=4832)

[Richie19rich77]

Found it. http://www.sportfocus.com/reguser/dynabizinfo/download.cfm?number=4832#M5

[Martin F]

on etta prob next week some time

[Dave Robson]

the pdf has the link guys on the post two above ....

[Dave Robson]

http://www.sportfocus.com/newsimage/400x400.jpg


The eagerly awaited Tees-Sport (http://www.teessport.com/) sponsored London Open, a Butterfly Grand Prix Tournament is fast approaching. To be held at the popular thirty-table venue of the Redbridge Sports Centre in Forest Road, Barkingside, Essex, over the weekend of the 6th and 7thof December, on paper looks to be the strongest and largest assembled in the series so far.

Upwards of 300 Competitors will be participating in the two-day Table Tennis extravaganza, which includes a truly International field, of quality talent.

Lucjan Filimon from Romania holds pole position, closely attended by Scotland’s own Gavin Rumgay, together with German player Lennart Wehking, and Hong Ming Zhang from China making up the front row. England’s trio of Tim Yarnall, David Meads, and Damien Nicholls, together with another Chinese player Jiang Zhi Tao complete the top eight on the starting grid. The action will be fast and furious in the closing rounds, with the winner surely coming from one of those aforementioned!

It is particularly pleasing to report that England Senior number 1, Jo Parker heads the seedings in the Women’s Singles, in her first appearance in a Butterfly Grand Prix this year. Her main rivals include Xu Shuying, Egle Adomelyte, Lindsey Reynolds and Lui Meihan. The younger players, Emily Bates, Hannah Hicks and Sarra Wang are sure to be in the shake up, coupled with the added experience of players that include Abigail Embling, Sanja Clements and Michelle Cohen, all bound to make it a very intriguing contest.

Other events taking place on Sunday include the Under 21 Men’s Open, with Damien Nicholls filling the top seeding, although he will have to be at his best to repel the strong challenges coming from Wang Zheng, Matt Ware, Alim Hirji and Chris Doran. Other players to mention that will make a immense impact are Mark Simpson, Garth Kinlocke (recently returned from Sweden) with also the in form duo of Will Maybanks and recently crowned double winner of the Stockton on Tees Junior 4 star and team events, Richard Andrews!

The Women’s Under 21 tournament also has “a touch of class” in the 24-player line up, which contain three classic defenders out of the top five seeds. Liu Meihan, Hannah Hicks and Melissa Wright will be chopping their way to the latter stages, and to make this event even more special, we welcome the exciting attacking skills of Sarra Wang and Emily Bates. Adding a bit more spice, four young ladies from Norway are competing to give this event a truly Scandinavian flavour.

Finishing off Sunday’s competitions will be the Mixed Restricted Singles with Remi Petrosius heading the 40 strong entries, and last but not least Mr Abdul Wuraola tops the bill in the Mixed Veteran’s competition.

At 08.45am on Saturday the green light will herald the start of the first of many Banded Event groups, which will feature the Men’s Band 2, 4, and 6, together with the Women’s Band 2. So it will be a very early tournament beginning for many of the first day’s competitors.
John Bispham with Felix Ho, head the seedings in Men’s Band 6, which include three Welsh and two Irish competitors in a 70 strong field, however watchout for “The Legend” Helmuth Osborne, desperate to “break out” of this tough band!

No stranger to the winners enclosure, Ben Larcombe heads 60 entries for the Men’s Band 4, but with so much talent emanating from the likes of Lloyd Gregory, Stuart Williams, Will Bayley, Chris Marlowe, John Magnell, Dave Randall and Myles Collins, plus three Norwegian visitors, who knows the outcome of this fiercely contested event?

The last of the early Men’s groups will be Band 2, with Vytas Rybakas, Richard Andrews, Dariusz Zurowski, and Umair Mauthoor heading the starting line up. With the likes of Ryan Collins, Chris Smith, Ashley Willetts and Tom Maynard all in the hunt, this band will take an awful lot of hard work to come through first to receive the chequered flag.

The Women’s Band 2 competition completes the “early bird” groups. Annabelle Morle, Chloe Whyte, Gosia Muda and Kirsty Wilson top the seedings in this “wide open” event. A very warm Butterfly Grand Prix welcome is extended to four young ladies from Norway, who will make the proceedings very interesting. Jas Ould, Charlotte Carey, Steph Francis together with Josie Bruce will all add that extra sparkle to what looks like being a closely fought tournament.

The last of the Men and Women’s banded events commences around 2pm on Saturday afternoon.

The Women’s Band 1 looks to be wide open with Hannah Hicks and Sanja Clements heading the seedings, closely followed by Michele Cohen and Jurate Brazaityte. Young pretenders Melissa Wright, Emily Bates and Chloe Whyte will all be making their presence felt in a tough event. Women’s Band 3, concludes the Ladies competitions on Saturday afternoon. Charlotte Carey, Josie Bruce, Fefei Pei and Jas Ould are the top quartet, however just for good measure; with four “unknown” Norwegians thrown into the melting pot, anything can happen!

The remaining Men’s Events, Band One, Three and Five, will add the icing onto an already large cake! It is impossible to predict the outcome of the Men’s Band 3, with so many up and coming stars of the future, plus the tournament hardened trio of players the likes of Rory Scott, Ray Jordan and Dave Reeves that will make this competition stand out. Added ingredients include three competitors from Norway, and a quartet of players from the Emerald Isle.

Ninety-seven wannabes contest the largest entry, that of Men’s Band 5. Top of the seedings are Ashley Shaw, with the Channel Island duo of Josh Band from Jersey, Adam Langlois from Guernsey, together with Hampshire’s John Mcbeath hoping to tower over all. As we all know, anyone that can maintain their best form over so many tough matches, will come through this event as a deserved winner.

Last but certainly not least, the Men’s Band 1 closes the first day’s play. You can throw a blanket over several players, who on the day, could come through to top spot on the podium. Anyone of the following competitors that include, Matt Ware, Niall Cameron, Mark Smith, Alim Hirji, Abdul Wuraola, Chris Doran, Garth Kinlocke, Remi Petrosius, Neil Charles and Richard Andrews may be the likelier winner, however with forty four top players, you’re guess is as good as mine!

Before setting off an important note is that car parking will be limited over the two-day event, and a possible alternative is to travel by tube to Fairlop station on the Central line which is a five minute walk from the venue.

Referee Mick Strode and his team that include Doreen Nightingale, Dave Evans, and Jim Kenny will keep the show on the road, and remember that all your table tennis equipment needs will be met by the Tees-Sport (http://www.teessport.com/) trade stand. Food and ample refreshments will be available throughout the two days play, so all it leaves me to say is “ Have a great tournament, and may the nets and edges be with you!”


By Geoff Ware- ETTA Butterfly Grand Prix Press Officer