This week saw the opening round of the Team Handicap Cup in the Burnham & District Table Tennis League. 

The Handicap Cup is played across the whole league using the old-style first to 21 scoring system with players giving a handicap based on their playing level.

It’s supposed to provide a level playing field, but like any subjective assessment the arguments on who got a generous or harsh handicap continue long into the night after the sport has finished. 

Cold Norton B are the absolute masters of this form of the sport having won a variety of tournaments across Essex last season, and they continued where they left off with a mainly comfortable 5-0 victory over Blackwater C from Division 3.

As an example of the handicap system in play, Cold Norton’s Ian Wall (-18) had to start with a deficit of 24 points against Blackwater’s Chris Rolison (+6) but still managed to win 21-16, 21-19 – long games for sure! 

The only real trouble for the holders was in match #4 when Jacqui Treacy (+7) came out all guns blazing against Dan Anderson (-12) and everything she hit went on to take leg 1 21-15. Wily Anderson dug in deep and started to wear down the Treacy attack to take the final two legs 15, 12 but he certainly knew he had been in a battle.

The biggest upset of the week was Division 2’s Blackwater B destroying one of the league’s top teams Cold Norton A in straight sets. Poor Cold Norton didn’t even get to register a single leg won on a night to forget for the boys from Latchingdon. Noah Sage (-1) was the star player for Blackwater with a singles victory over Neil Want (-11), plus two good doubles wins with partners Simon Quelch (-3), and Gary Smith (+1).

But what of the other top division sides – well Woodham C go through on a walkover, and Woodham B had to work hard to overcome the challenge of Cold Norton D. Terry Hyland (-2) was on great form for the Cold Norton crew and this showed through in his opening match with Daniel Patynski (-12) as he gave away his 10-point lead in the opening 10 points of leg 1 before he got his eye in and started to compete with some ferocious forehand hitting. Patynski eventually won the first leg 21-16, but then struggled to close the gap in the final 2 legs losing out 11, 17 with Hyland a deserved winner.

That levelled up the match score at 1-1 but that was the end of the scoring for Cold Norton despite a couple of tough games for Woodham’s highest scoring player on the night Eamonn Hall (-5) who had to overcome the dogged Roy Gandy (+1), and then faced Hyland fresh from his impressive display earlier in the evening. Hall eventually caught up the handicap at 20-20 but Hyland hit two great winners to take the opening leg. Hall then got into his stride, restricting the Hyland forehand and hitting his own winners from either side of the table to take the final two legs 8, 10.

The Woodham Club are looking good for this year’s Cup with all four of their teams progressing to the quarter-final stage. Woodham D did well to come out on top against a generously handicapped St Lawrence trio. Not surprising there were a lot of long games in this one as the Woodham trio had to play catch-up in every match.

For Woodham the only unbeaten player was Peter Harverson (0), an improving player who is likely to have a negative handicap in future years. He contributed to the opening doubles alongside Mal Henstock (-4) as they defeated Dave Bateman (+9) and Nigel Brand (+12) in 3 long sets – St Lawrence unlucky not to go through having taken leg 1 and getting to match point in leg 2 before losing out. Harverson also won his singles against Brand but went all the way to 24-22 in the winning leg.

The closest contest of the whole week was betwixt Blackwater E of Division 3, and high-flying Maldon B of Division 2. Blackwater got off to a flyer taking the opening two matches, both in three sets, but this did not dampen the Maldon spirits as they fought back courtesy of captain Steve Aspland (-9) with a straight sets triumph over Phil West (+7).

Having watched Aspland play his captain’s role to perfection the Blackwater supremo Kath Little (+9) took to the arena a little anxious but held on as she battled her way to a very tight victory over Kym Eames (+9) to put her team into a 3-1 lead, both sets going all the way to 23-21.

Maldon took the next doubles to close the gap before Little (pictured top of page) went back into battle, this time against Garry Eames (-1) and used her handicap points advantage to good use for a straight sets victory. Staring down the jaws of defeat the Maldon team rallied and Aspland and Kym Eames took the next two matches to set up a winner-takes-all final doubles encounter, with Deb Ginn (+5) & the unbeaten Little for Blackwater versus Garry and Kym Eames for Maldon.

Each pair took a leg to extend the tension and the evening into a final leg decider. Off we set and Little and Ginn quickly extended their three-point handicap to open up the gap and this allowed the pair to relax and hit their shots more freely, going on to record a final and winning set margin of 21-13.

So on to the quarter-final stage – where we have four teams from Woodham, three from Blackwater and the lonely Cold Norton B. With Cold Norton the heavily backed odds-on favourites, surely they have a chink somewhere in their considerable armour?