Hello and Happy Spring to all of the Auburn Table Tennis Club,

Good Luck in the upcoming Reno Tournament if you are headed up the hill Saturday April 4, 2009. You might want to coordinate a bit Monday and/or Wednesday for rides. Some will be up Friday evening.

22 players hitting this past Monday – all 7 tables set up! I think things moved along well and I appreciate the “2 out of 3” games for that stretch of time between about 7 and 7:45 pm when it is busiest. Doubles stay at best 3 of 5. We have a new net set-up, so all tables have grade A equipment.

Table maintenance date: April 15. File your tax return, then head over to the club to take out your frustrations. We have a couple of wheels to attend to (I believe), and also 2 or 3 bolts to replace or repair. Tom Spesick will direct traffic and it would be helpful to have 4 or 5 people in attendance; show time is 6pm sharp, maybe a few minutes ahead of that. Email Tom at spesick@comcast.net if you can help out. Regular round robin will follow; we’re not repairing the space shuttle.

Fourth Anniversary - Auburn Table Tennis Club. April 29, 2009. Mark your calendar and tell your friends. A flyer is being prepared and we will use this evening to hit a few (format to be ironed out shortly), and to invite new players to try us out, including offering some informal lessons. Pizza is a must and will be provided. Normal playing fees will apply, although 1st timers (per our new playing policy) remain free for Wednesday play.

2nd Annual Tournament in Auburn? Barney Reed did say he would return. Of course, he took home the serious 1st price money in the “Open” division. This would be an October event. See me or Tim Aquino, if you are willing to help out on this.

Publicity – in concert with our Anniversary get-together. If you are reading this bit of “News” you are on the radar to help spread the word “Table Tennis – Good.” Volunteer now and you can have your choice of the best assignments (CNN, ABC News, etc…); if you are drafted into service, likely you will have to go to cub scout meetings and Rotary.

Missing in Action/ Part III: Not that we are unlocking the vault – but it is time to hear from Greg Diaz, Steven Fender and Hunter Korver (Cavanna clan), not to mention Eric Cavanna; also Josh Tyson, Bryan Twardus and Brian Vagg (we see you at the Auburn Raquet Club – you better not be using any tennis gear, this could interfere with table tennis). Very nice to have a visit from Jerry Sacks this past week; next time, paddle in hand and victims in his gunsights.

For Wednesdays - If you think you will be late for the round robin (i.e. after 7 p.m.), please call Bill (916) 275-0899, or Tom (530) 613-0101. (This week – only call Tom; I am out of town!) If you reach us, we will put you on a table.

Congratulations to 3/25/09 round robin group winners: Tom Spesick, John Hanna, Ricky Pisanu and Tim Aquino.

Bill Kochenderfer

Greetings Auburn Table Tennis Club-ers,

Sacramento tournament March 14th – spies report seeing a number of us there: Tyler and Tom Spesick, Mark Copeland, Hong Moon, Dave Mead in doubles with Mike Gaynor, John Hanna (setting a record for Most Events Played), Laszlo Kertesz, Bob Hemming, Glenn Johnson, Chebu Herrick. JZ and Brian, as well, both of whom need to pay us a visit in Auburn soon. Some bling was carted off: Dave and Mike prevailed in their doubles (only to find out that their trophy had been pinched by somebody .. ouch). I happily managed to make it to runner-up on Under 1700 (to find out the next day that I had been given the runner -up trophy for the Under 2000 event; well, it was a fun promotion while it lasted). I know JZ made it to Under 2350 finals. Still scouting for reports from others.

2nd Annual Tournament in Auburn? This was discussed with enthusiasm in our February meeting. We had 60 plus ranked players last year, for USATT “2 Star” inaugural event. We also had 120+ who came for the following day’s recreational tournament. I expect ARD would accommodate us for a date in October, 2009 if we wish to conduct another weekend tournament like this. Interested in helping out? See me or Tim Aquino, for starters.

Time for some publicity! Keep your eyes open and, if you have an inclination to assist in promoting the Club, talk to me (or email me at wkochenderfer@cs.com). I am making the periodic “rounds” at various local publications (Auburn Journal, Sentinel), and need some assistance in tapping the Roseville press. If you live and/or work in Roseville, shoot me an email and I would be grateful if you would grab a copy of local publications there, so we can get the good word out to them.

Next up: Fourth Anniversary of Auburn Table Tennis Club. When we celebrated the 2nd, we had a grand time including having pizza and managed to get some good press, too. We are looking at April 29th for this and have several great suggestions for making this an evening that would encourage new players to try us out, and also provide for competitive play. Stay tuned.

Thank you Good Samaritan for noting Table #6 has a badly bent bolt – we will replace that Monday 3/23. Table maintenance “official” inspection of each table will be Wed. April 15. More details to follow. “Old” players, be sure to help educate “new” players on table & net set-up and take-down.

Looks like Friday evening is the favorite for possibly adding a night of play. A few hurdles to get over to make this happen.

Missing in Action/ Part II: In case you thought you were left out: Randy Chandler, Curtis Mao, Jose Perez, Dave Walters, Ahmed Aboudkhil, Jeff Graden – dust off those paddles and pay us a visit soon! We can place a bounty if that is what it takes.

For Wednesdays - If you think you will be late for the round robin (i.e. after 7 p.m.), please call Bill (916) 275-0899, or Tom (530) 613-0101. If you reach us, we will put you on a table.

Congratulations to 3/18/09 round robin group winners: Bill K., Tyler Spesick, Micah Chavez and Doug Vaughn.

Bill Kochenderfer

Hello table tennis nuts one and all,

We are continuing to receive and invite more feedback on a possible 3rd session for play. Still in the formative stages, and we will know in April (we expect) what ARD will be charging for the room rentals. If there is enough interest, we will do it! Email me (wkochenderfer@cs.com) if you have a preference (Friday evening vs. Sunday afternoon), or let me know in person.

Table preventative maintenance – if you are setting up or taking down a table and/or nets: Remember, use caution, the tables are very heavy. We will schedule a table-by-table inspection in April. However, if you notice any loose bolts (or bent ones), or anything that does not look right, do please let someone know – tap Jon Saunders, Bob Grittner, Tom Spesick, or myself, to let us know. We have replaced a number of bolts in several tables, and have more to use, as needed.

I’ll have a full report next “News” on the Sacramento tournament held March 14th. Reno tournament coming up April 4th is linked at our website; entries are due this week.

Our new playing fee policy continues: If you are playing Monday and know you will be playing on the immediately following Wednesday, pay for both Monday and Wednesday for the flat fee of $5 (otherwise, Monday remains $3, and Wednesday remains $4). Make a note on the Monday sign in sheet please! 1st timers are free Monday, and 1st timers are also free Wednesday!

Missing in Action? A few names come to mind – we miss you and hope to see you soon: Gary Cates, Kumar Jayaraman, Jay (and Evan) Cotrone, Tulio Robinson. Long time no see. Don’t force us to send representatives to your homes and businesses for a personal explanation. That could be embarrassing.

Reminder on Monday play: Play best 2 of 3 (or play equivalent time for practice) if tables are full and players are waiting. Winner can stay on for a 2nd match. If you wish to challenge a table, let the players know and place your paddle under the table. All doubles matches remain 3 of 5 games.

For Wednesdays - If you think you will be late for the round robin (i.e. after 7 p.m.), please call Bill (916) 275-0899, or Tom (530) 613-0101. If you reach us, we will put you on a table.

Congratulations to 3/11/09 round robin group winners: Lu Li, John Hanna, Shu Zhau and Fred Myers.

Bill Kochenderfer

Greetings one and all,

Welcome Eric Landgraf, joining us for the first time Monday, March 2, and to Bob Hemming, finding his way up to Auburn for Wednesday’s round robin! Judy Payne and John Hanna, respectively, are responsible for these fine players coming in. Thank you! Welcome back to Mark Watson, too. We checked Mark, and you were last “regular” July/August 2008. We hope to see you meting out some punishment in the round robin from now on.

Interested in hitting another night in Auburn? We are exploring adding a night/afternoon of play (occasionally or on an ongoing basis). If this excites you (no contracts signed in blood or anything), send an email to wkochenderfer@cs.com and let us know what day/time frame you would consider. If we have enough players, this would be fun. So far it looks like Friday evening or Sunday afternoon are primary targets.

Good luck to all who are playing in the Sacramento tournament March 14. Free admission to see this, if you are interested in seeing some excellent play (and plenty of exciting play overall). Check out the link on our website to this tournament. Also, note there is a tournament in Reno on April 4. Still time to sign up for this (also linked on our website). They have put on great tourneys in the past.

Quick thanks to several among the many who assist the club: Greg Cehan, arranging for the new barriers; Jon Saunders, for the thankless task of getting tables set up most evenings as he is such an early bird to the club.

Our new playing fee policy continues: If you are playing Monday and know you will be playing on the immediately following Wednesday, pay for both Monday and Wednesday for the flat fee of $5 (otherwise, Monday remains $3, and Wednesday remains $4). Make a note on the Monday sign in sheet please! 1st timers are free Monday, and 1st timers are also free Wednesday!

Reminder on Monday play: Play best 2 of 3 (or play equivalent time for practice) if tables are full and players are waiting. Winner can stay on for a 2nd match. If you wish to challenge a table, let the players know and place your paddle under the table. All doubles matches remain 3 of 5 games.

For Wednesdays - If you think you will be late for the round robin (i.e. after 7 p.m.), please call Bill (916) 275-0899, or Tom (530) 613-0101. If you reach us, we will put you on a table.

Congratulations to 3/4/09 round robin group winners: Bill K., Dave Mead, Ricky Pisanu and Jon Saunders.

Bill Kochenderfer