GCTTA Senior Open delivers Surprises and Flair
By Filipe
The 9th June turned out to be a day where forty hardy Table Tennis enthusiasts braced the cold to deliver brisk stroke play, hot ball delivery and stirring administrative skills. And that in a nut shell was the tenure for the day during the GCTTA Senior Open Tournament that was recently held at the Boskruin Community Centre courtesy of the City of Johannesburg.
The only disappointment of the day was the fact that only five ladies turned up to play, which meant that the Tournament Referee and Tournament Director had to reshuffle the planned play schedule. In the end, the ladies opted to participate in the men’s groupings thus providing a colourful flair to the overall proceedings.
Using Active Table Management principles, the Tournament was kept concise and lively throughout the day.
The surprise of the day was Allet Moll who blocked and counter-drove her way through to the Semi-finals of the group B schedule, knocking out many a surprised male in the process. The other was Imraan Gardien who smashed his way through the tenacious field to face Osuji in the hard-fought final of the group A programme.
Overall, the Tournament delivered many challenges, brilliant play and some fiery tempers, much to the chagrin of the Tournament Referee; but such is the nature of Table Tennis.
Given all that transpired, once again, a well run and administered tournament that will keep attracting Table Tennis enthusiasts for years to come.
The final results are:
Doubles:
| Bronze | Phillip Roux (EG) | Ben Smith (GN) |
| Alon Argaman (GC) | Paul Wernich (GC) | |
| Silver | Ronald Vice (GC) | Dale Withers-Lancashire (WG) |
| Gold | Simon Dimant (GC) | Chijioke Osuji (GC) |
Singles:
Pool B
| Bronze | Donald Pearton (GC) |
| Allet Moll (GN) | |
| Silver | Richard Powell (EG) |
| Gold | Phillip Roux (EG) |
Pool A
| Bronze | Uwe Hohl (GC) |
| Alon Argaman (GC) | |
| Silver | Imraan Gardien (GC) |
| Gold | Chijioke Osuji (GC) |
Thanks to:
Sarel Oberholster (Tournament Referee,) Vivian Reddy (Tournament Director,) Jose da Silva, Umair Jassat, Gavin Heffer, Moegamad Isaacs and Margie Luckay (Administrators,) Jenny Morrison (Catering,) Rolf Horsthemke and Blue Fountains TT Club for the kind use of equipment and facilities, all Umpires and Athletes, and to Lotto for the financial aid that helped upgrade the lighting system at the Boskruin Community Centre.
