auburn table tennis club news

attc news

hello and happy new year to all at the auburn table tennis club -

welcome – meimei fowler, and her parents jina and don, hitting monday the 28^th and returning the 30^th! also, welcome back kirk gipson, after quite a long vacation from the club.

note please: starting january 6, 2010 – we will be setting the round robin brackets wednesdays at 6:45 p.m., so we can begin play very promptly at 7pm, at the latest. call if you will be later than 6:45 p.m. to assure you have a place.

the year in review; the year ahead: we leave the speeches to paid politicians – suffice to say 2009 was a satisfying year for our club. we had a number of new players find us, and decide to stick around as regulars. this assures a healthy, sustaining population of genetically superior table tennis players. no shortage of ego, apparently, as well.

thank you’s – mark holabird – semi-regular monday player – tipped off david ho to our club; david has not missed many wednesdays ever since, and has brought a few players along as well. there are quite a few folks to thank in this regard – including the steady group of placer high students. bottom line is this: mondays and wednesdays have both seen a decent (and diverse) group playing, and we hope to keep it that way. lots of beginners, lots of younger players; we need both! thank you to all who have made a point of letting others know about our club.

2010 - first job on the agenda is the new table, due mid to late january. we will also replace a couple of net sets (and build some parts and make a few repairs as well, so we have some spare nets ready). second job: play, play, play. if you have suggestions for an event or modifications to the format(s), don’t be bashful. let us know. talk to bill k. or tom, or send us an email. if this kind of talk excites you, be sure to attend the club’s general meeting (coming up in february).

2^nd half of 2009 – most improved/best record. see top players page. although our new software significantly streamlined the recordkeeping process, the results on-line did not include (we tried, promise we did) the week by week presentation of “best record” and “most improved” results. these are categories we customarily recognize on a semi-annual basis, as to the top 3 finishers. we alternate between medals/trophies and table tennis gear, as the token of club recognition.

most improved – this recognizes the biggest rating gain over the prior 6 months of play (to qualify for this and for “best record” awards, you must play at least 15 round robins, however). it is fitting that a couple of our regular new, young players capture two of these: dominic moon (gaining 127 points) and max fagan (gaining 86 points), are 1^st and 3^rd respectively. anson kwong gained 92 points and is the 2^nd place finisher. nicely done anson; we know it gets tougher and tougher to gain points.

best record - well thankfully for tom spesick and bill k, the end of the year came along speedily, as grant began slicing and dicing the field, the colder the weather turned. this is likely no indication of how 2010 will turn out, but with winning percentages of 62.96% and 61.76%, bill and tom, respectively, narrowly edge out the 1^st and 2^nd places. grant connell takes 3^rd with 61.47%. lots of contenders on this one: anson (60.71%), john hanna (60%), dominic moon (60.53%).

awards will be made january 13^th, 2010. plus we will take a handsome photo and airbrush as needed, and put it on the website. and you will then have to spend the next 6 months living up to the award …. no pressure.

wednesday round robin results – by the way - closing out 2009, we found dylan moon going 5-0, edging max 3-2 in the main event in group d. in group c – ricky pisanu, employing the “hug at all costs” strategy in the holiday spirit, also blasted through 5-0, losing only a single game (nice work jon saunders, it would have been unbearable if ricky skunked the group). matthew blom sweeps group b with a 4-0 showing, and table 1 awaits. in group a – john hanna, allegedly being the #4 seed in the group, sweeps through 4-0, helping bring this “gang of six” back closer together on the ratings. we now have a 1651 rating for grant, bill k., and anson; john hanna and tom have a slim lead at 1672 and 1690, and patrice tournier keeps nailing the unwary, picking up an average of 25 points a night over the last 6 weeks.

tournament: sacramento is hosting a usatt sanctioned tournament saturday january 30, 2010. here’s the link: http://www.sactabletennis.org/index_files/tournamentdetails.htm

sign ups due by january 22, 2010.

note please (again): starting january 6, 2010 – we will be setting the round robin brackets wednesdays at 6:45 p.m., so we can begin play very promptly at 7pm, at the latest.

wednesday check-in reminder: there is a master roster of players (we add any new players by hand, at the end), for each wednesday round robin. in the interest of getting to warm-up promptly, please when you come in on wednesday, 1^st thing, put a check mark next to your name so we know you are present and hitting in the round robin. hold on putting money in the box until bill (or whoever is in charge) is at the table getting things lined up. he will take the money from you in person. this will help keep the accounting straight, thank you.

for wednesdays - if you think you will be late for the round robin (i.e. after 6:45 p.m), please call bill (916) 275-0899 or tom (530) 613-0101. if you reach us, we will put you on a table.

bill kochenderfer

results for 12/30/2009: latest round robin results

greetings new year anticipators of the auburn table tennis club -

still reminding you: tournament news: sacramento is hosting a usatt sanctioned tournament saturday january 30, 2010. here’s the link: http://www.sactabletennis.org/index_files/tournamentdetails.htm

sign ups due by january 22, 2010.

the report from nationals: it is safe to say the united states table tennis association is an organization with a few challenges. the “nationals” are held annually (they have been in las vegas for a number of years), and are limited to citizens of the us (the “open” is each june). well, as you may know if you have poked around on the internet, this is a sport of passion, grace, intelligence and power. it is not a sport played for money (or at least, not much money). nobody ever heard a young kid in a deprived neighborhood talking about “looping” his way out of poverty.

so what happened at nationals, you ask? in the open rating bracket (i.e. the top players), when the final 8 players in the field had made it to their matches, 6 of those 8 players went on strike, demanding the puny $3,000 (for 1^st place) be bumped to $10,000, among other things. sounds like it made for an interesting meeting of the administrative staff of the usatt. bear in mind, this is an organization on a shoe-string budget, with no meaningful sponsors that come anywhere close to the monetary support most other sports see (well, we can exclude badminton, i guess; we probably kill those poor slobs). usatt survives mainly based on volunteers and fanatics who can’t get enough or do enough for this sport.

long story short – the 2 that were reluctant or unwilling to “strike” took defaults from the 6 others, played a match, and we have a 15 year old from new york who was crowned “national” champ. say what you like, you have to give credit to the kid for making to the final 8, and also beating a higher ranked player in the “final.”

what does this tell us? we hit for fun; we work for money; we live for love. can’t be much simpler than that. quote us if you must.

wednesday round robin report: christmas gifts were unwrapped for grant connell, at least, that is what we heard from tom, bill, anson and larry, all of whom fell to the unyielding looping grant seems to think is a good thing. grant takes group 1 and will have one more date in 2009 to defend this domination. will he have the courage to appear? will he strike before playing his last match, demanding more prize money? will he forget there is no prize money in the first place? will john hanna be forced to resort to exclaiming “good boy!” on his winning shots, to keep his confidence high? if you have not been to the club on a wednesday lately, december 30 will be a good night to show up, if only to see how things turn out in this battle. limited seating available.

group 2: patrice sliced and diced, and will join the fray on table 1 this coming week. eric stefanic regrouped and found 40 new rating points as he continues to get in synch with a new paddle.

group 3: the dark horse candidate jon saunders, prevails in the tie with doug vaughan. table 2 awaits you, jon (how do you like the way we worked in a horse reference for you).

group 4: dominic moon and max fagan – both going 4-0. no match result recorded for the dominic v. max duel, unfortunately! could they still be hitting at deuce in the 5^th, 305 to 305? leaves us without a clear winner on the table(!)

technically – the winner of the match is the person who must assure the result is recorded.

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.

bill kochenderfer

p.s. – having taken a shot at badminton early in this edition of the news, we wanted to attempt some right of redemption: matthew blom, a fast rising table tennis player who calls grass valley his “home” club, also happens to be (we are told) a first rate badminton player. he is putting out the word for the formation of a playing group, and we wish to pass this along. their first play date will be this tuesday december 29^th, at 2:30 p.m. they will play at nevada union high school west gym. for information call matthew at 510-712-6395.

results for 12/23/2009: latest round robin results

greetings auburn table tennis “dead-o-winter” players -

we are open monday december 21 and wednesday december 23! also open the following monday (28^th) and wednesday (30^th). always a jovial holiday-like atmosphere at the club this time of year. and plenty of table tennis.

tournament news: reminder: sacramento is hosting a usatt sanctioned tournament saturday january 30, 2010. here’s the link: http://www.sactabletennis.org/index_files/tournamentdetails.htm (also linked under “tournament info” on the attc website).

meanwhile, we know john hanna and a few others are spending some quality time in las vegas this week, hitting at the nationals. we look forward to the reports. much like good fishing stories, the facts tend to become more and more interesting as the fables get retold.

round robin report: i obtained the results via e-mail, in pdf format, in penmanship so clear it brought a tear to my eye. thank you tom. i am away from the essential software for a few days, so i will update the web site next week. in the meantime, i do see the results give us a group 1 winner – grant connell. i feel somewhat comforted knowing that the open play last monday, where i felt the bottom of grant’s shoe 9 out of 10 games, was not an isolated example of grant’s resurgence to fighting form. can a tournament be far off? group 2 – larry scott prevails. nice to see, however, ricky pisanu has dusted off enough snow to reach us, and, in addition to that feat, is starting to claim a few victims with the hardbat. group 3 – jon saunders ekes out the table victory. group 4 – kevin quinn – tied with peter porata with 2-1 records; however, in the head-to-head combat, kevin edged peter 3-2, and therefore kevin takes table 4, and happily (we presume) advances to table 3 next week as his reward. kevin, nicely done. patience, persistence and perspiration (and some cheating if absolutely necessary), pays off.

round robin note – the software will bump up the table winner automatically, to the next table (must be the next consecutive week). in the event of a tie between 2 players in a group, the winner in head-to-head match is the group winner. if a 3-way tie, no winner is declared and nobody advances. i wish we had the capacity to re-rate or adjust ratings, as is done in usatt tournaments (where, for example, you have a very low rank player who mops up in 2 or 3 matches against highly ranked players, which is an indication that the low ranked player should have been higher ranked to start with). we do not, however, so we live with the rankings as they come. if this enhancement is made, we will certainly use it.

equipment re-reminder – keep an eye on the net assemblies. we have a few signs of wear and tear, nothing too serious. the net fabric can be repaired or replaced, if they take a beating. some of the handles and hardware need a little extra care, though, so do make sure all the bits and pieces stay together. if in doubt, call for reinforcements. we will be getting a new net set or two in january, to replace some bits and pieces and also see if we can make some sturdy repairs to some items.

last word (recurring feature): a hit in time saves nine. profundities to know and share.

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.

bill kochenderfer

results for 12/16/2009: latest round robin results

greetings bravers-of-the-weather of the auburn table tennis club -

tournament news: sacramento is hosting a usatt sanctioned tournament saturday january 30, 2010. a link is on our website under “tournament info” or here: http://www.sactabletennis.org/index_files/tournamentdetails.htm

these are always fun, and convenient location too. if you want to know more about tournament play, and how things work, etc… plenty of players in the club go to these and have attended many tournaments over the years. singles (all levels) and doubles too, will be played. along those lines – good luck to john hanna who is heading to nationals in las vegas next week. john, no gambling except on the occasional loop attack.

welcome: new players - karl conrad, finding us from the hp crowd (karl, please invite all those hp table tennis nuts to auburn!), and kodie vega (thank you emmanuel delarosa for spreading the good word of this sport).

snow last monday and freezing temperatures wednesday kept our numbers down, but spirits are always high around here. ricky, you must have had 2 feet of snow up the hill … dig out and sled down to us soon.

round robin wrap up: clear winners in all groups – congratulations to tom spesick sweeping group 1; john hanna sweeping group 2; bob hemming (not a sweep, but close enough) in group 3; and dominic moon (yes, sweeping, there were lots of brooms out this past wednesday). a few upsets (nicely done jon saunders) and maybe a spot of revenge (perhaps, larry scott). we had time and played some doubles and singles after the round robin, too.

equipment caution – keep an eye on the net assemblies. we have a few signs of wear and tear, nothing too serious. the net fabric can be repaired or replaced, if they take a beating. some of the handles and hardware need a little extra care, though, so do make sure all the bits and pieces stay together. if in doubt, call for reinforcements.

whatever happened to ….? yes, not forgotten, and hopefully with the club still in their thoughts – tom douglas, paula dwelly, josh tyson … just a few “old timers” along with phil joffe for that matter. rick close – we know pickle ball is on the sidelines with this weather, so by golly we should be seeing you with that wacky paddle hold not to mention left handed trouble maker to boot. mark watson - chebu too – don’t make us issue a warrant. if it takes a “pizza night” you let us know. we won’t deliver, but we can have it delivered to the club for you.

last word: january 1, 2010. tony moskana. new grip. just confirming this. we have not yet set the penalty fee for his failure to abide by his announced new year’s resolution.

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.

bill kochenderfer

results for 12/9/2009: latest round robin results

greetings snow lovers of the auburn table tennis club -

your reporter is traveling this weekend, so a short blast of "news" this go-around.

calendar notes: we are open and hitting the 23rd and the 30th of december! heat will be on as needed.

still seeking the dvd - "balls of fury" - missing in action. if you have it (this is a club loaner, donated by greg cehan), toss it in the bag with your gear and we will put this up for loan again.

wednesday rr results - congratulations patrice tournier - a tidy 100 point gain; nicely hit and we look forward to more of this in the near future. interesting round robin this past wednesday - 3 of the 4 group winners actually lost rating points overall. group 4 - stephan wolf wins (loses 1 rating point); group 3 - michael carlson wins (loses 30 rating points); group 1 - bill k wins (loses 27 rating points). group 2 - anson prevails, and neither loses nor gains any rating points.

see you monday and/or wednesday!

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.

bill kochenderfer

results for 12/2/2009: latest round robin results

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