Fleckney Spinners Table Tennis Club

From March to the end of the season, the Spinners made progress yet again with great wins for Mike Wilson, Steve Reeve and Mike Miles against Desford Village’s second team whilst a valiant battle between our fourth team and Winstanley Wizards 5 resulted in a draw.

It was a tough night for our third team against the Wizards with a 10-0 defeat but our first team defeated Knighton Park 8 with good wins for James Robertson, Nick Wyche and Rob Bateman.

It was a close match between our third team and Knighton Park 10 with a 6-4 win and happiness for Dillon Kearney and Jan Nix in close matches.

Our second team drew against Winstanley 5. There was a great finish to the season with brothers Callum and Drew Harbidge showing the value of our coaching programme by making fantastic progress since January resulting in a 6-4 victory over Regent Sports 3 for them and Ian Prentice. Fleckney 1 played Regent Sports 2 in April with a 7-3 win, starring Pete Wilson, Steve Reeve and Nick Wyche.

This was a great effort as two of the players were playing up, and it was a second-place finish for our first team in Division 4.

It was great to see Pete Wilson playing again after an injury.

Two spinners took part in the Leicester Junior League Championships, Isaac Wong and Dillon Kearney. This event attracts the top young players in the county. Both boys put up a good show making life difficult for their opponents. Isaac was actually 2-0 up against the county’s number 4 before eventually losing 3-2.

Both Spinners therefore went into the Consolation Event where Isaac won all his matches, ironically beating Dillon in the fifth deciding set. This meant that, in theory, Isaac would be graded fifth in the county with Dillon sixth. Their overall play was most impressive, both boys showing they can play with control when needed.

During the summer there is a handicapped Summer League, and in the 2022-23 season we anticipate having a fifth team.

At the moment, 16 of our 38 members play in the league and the others play socially. In the new season starting in September, we anticipate adding a fifth team with 6 – 9 people playing in the Leicester League for the first time.

Approximately half of our members play socially and half play in the League, and we are always interested in welcoming new players, both juniors (under 18s) and seniors. Several of us are in our 70s and our youngest member is 10 years old.

There is Saturday morning coaching for those wishing to improve their technique as well as club nights every Monday and Wednesday (7.15 -9.15pm.)  There is also an open session for members and non-members on Thursday mornings (9.30 – 11am.) If you haven’t played since schooldays do come along and join us, we’d love to see you. Bats and balls are provided.

(Contact: Miriam Wohl (07890 950087).