This week the first local league matches of the season were played. We are very fortunate in this area to be able to readily compete in several different table tennis leagues, including the Portsmouth league, the Gosport & Fareham league and the Southampton league.

As usual, Generation 2 has entered teams in a wide variety of leagues and divisions – offering club members an opportunity to compete at a level, and in a geographical area, that suits them best.  This year, the club entered the following teams into the various leagues:

Portsmouth league

Division 1 – 2 teams (Platinum and Rhodium)

Division 2 – 2 teams (Iridium and Gold)

Division 3 – 1 team (Titanium)

Division 4 – 1 team (Copper)

So, all levels of play within the Portsmouth league are covered, offering challenges for both our most capable players, and those much newer to the sport. Some of the lower level teams are geared particularly to encouraging our young players to gain experience in competitive table tennis.

Gosport & Fareham (G&F) league

Premier – 2 teams (Comets and Asteroids)

Division 1 – 1 team (Planets)

The G&F league includes only two divisions, so again the club offers play at both levels.  The Gosport & Fareham table tennis league includes a very diverse range of players, and requires minimal travel – with most away matches being held at Knowle Village.

Southampton league

Premier division only.  The premier division of the Southampton table tennis league offers play of a very high standard, enabling our top players to go toe-to-toe with some of the very best players in Hampshire.

We are always pleased to hear from potential new club members, whether they are interested in joining one of our local league teams, or if they are looking for a relaxed and friendly environment to play table tennis without the competitive element.

Please click here to contact us if you would like to know more:

Contact Us | Generation 2 Table Tennis Club (gen2tt.com)

Competitive play is about testing yourself against others, and the stronger the other players, the greater the test. On 30th September, Generation 2 club members Mike Cooksley, Danny Lucking and Gareth Scaddan were joined by guest player Paul May to kick off the first weekend of high-level competitive play at Cippenham in Division C of the Senior British League.

On the Saturday morning Generation lost out 8-1 to Bristol Associates. Scaddan took the only win, but many of the other matches were close – with several going the distance to 5 sets. On a different day, the final score could have been very different. In the afternoon, the veteran team took on Joola Plymouth 2 – a team made up of top level (UKCC level 4) coach Paul Whiting, and a selection of his up-and-coming junior players. Unfortunately in this case youth trumped experience and the result was again an 8-1 defeat, with Scaddan managing the only win in a close game with Joola Plymouth 2’s number 4.

On the Sunday the Generation 2 lineup changed slightly to replace Scaddan with the younger but still experienced Callum Shipp, playing as number 1, allowing Paul and Mike to take on (slightly!) less challenging opponents. Unfortunately the competition, Horsham Spinners 3 and Cippenham 2 (two of the top three teams in the league based on current results) proved too strong, with Generation suffering 9-0 defeats both morning and afternoon. Again though, the final scores don’t reflect some of the individual performances, with many of the matches going to 4 or 5 sets.

The next British league weekend is 25th/26th November, where the team will look to improve on this first weekend’s performance.

The summer months are traditionally a period of rest and training for table tennis players.  But for some, the competition continues with the Summer league.

For 2023, Generation 2 entered teams into each of the three divisions of the South East Hampshire summer league.  All teams performed well, with Generation Gamma taking 3rd place in Division 3, behind joint winners Phoenix Pluto and Soberton & Newtown C, and Generation Beta taking joint 2nd place in Division 2 – tying with Knowle Victory behind winners Phoenix Saturn.

In Division 1, Generation Alpha took joint 1st place alongside Soberton & Newtown A.  The two winning teams achieved near 100% performances against all the other teams, and when facing off with each other managed one victory each for the tied first place.

There were strong individual performances from the players, with Ian Brown winning 100% of his matches in Alpha, and all other Alpha players managing at least 80% win rates.