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Table tennis athletes get into the swing, 12 October 2011
In only its second year as a Gippsland Sports Academy program, athletes from the table tennis continue to develop at an exceptional pace.
Three Academy table tennis athletes recently competed in the 2011 Junior National Championships held at the Hurstville Sports Centre in Sydney.
Wonthaggi’s Britney Taylor, Leongatha’s Michaela Campbell and Darcie Morton from Marlo took up to the best of the best seeing the first gold medal coming back to Victoria, the first one for the Academy.
Britney Taylor was selected to represent Victoria in the President’s A team in the Under 15 age section. This team is put together to offer additional opportunities to state and territory players. In an absolutely unexpected outcome the team brought home gold defeating all of their competitors with their toughest opponent being the highly fancied New South Wales seeing a scoreline of 16 games each but the President’s team won 5 matches to 4.
In the Under 13 girls double Darcie Morton and Michaela Campbell progressed through the initial round robin draws to enter the main knockout draw with Darcie impressively making it through to the semi finals.
In the teams event however Darcie Morton took it one step further with her team winning a silver medal. Darcie then paired with fellow Victorian Ishani Chakrabarti to win another silver medal.
“We are extremely proud of these young girls, this is only our second year facilitating the program and it continues to go from strength to strength thanks to the support of the local table tennis associations, our head coach Alois Rosario and Table Tennis Victoria” Gippsland Sports Academy’s Chief Executive Officer Judi Buhagiar said, “we have a very dedicated team giving up a lot of their time to see these young people achieve” she added.
Head Coach Alois Rosario said “It was extremely pleasing to see the great result of the Gippsland Sports Academy Table Tennis squad players at the recent National Junior Championships. I knew they had come a long way but they have really achieved beyond expectations. The program will receive a big boost in confidence form these results. It is a great reward for the three players but also for all the players in the squad.”
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Table tennis three make state teams, 9 August 2011
Gippsland Sports Academy table tennis athletes, Darcie Morton (Marlo) and Michaela Campbell (Leongatha) have once again been selected to represent Victoria at the upcoming Australian National Championships to be played at the Hurstville Aquatic & Leisure Centre, Sydney from 24th September to 1st October 2011.
Brittney Taylor (Leongatha) was named in the Victorian Presidents Under 15 girls team. This is a composite team comprised of nominations from the various State Associations Presidents.
Darcie and Michaela represented Victoria last year at the national titles both coming home with medals from the championships.
“We are really looking forward to following these young female athletes in their endeavours to make their mark in the sport of table tennis” Gippsland Sports Academy Chief Executive Officer, Judi Buhagiar said, “there’s no better feeling than when you arrive at work to be greeted with news like this” she added.
All young athletes work very hard in a tough Academy training regime under head coach Alois Rosario, who travelled to the recent Commonwealth Games as assistant coach of the Australian Table Tennis team.
"This is a great thrill for the program and is a fitting reward, not only for the 3 girls selected but also for the work of all the athletes, coaches and support staff involved in the programme. These selections will hopefully encourage other players in the region to work towards then next round of academy selections," head coach Alois Rosario said.
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Bright future for table tennis, 10 November 2010
The Gippsland Sports Academy Table Tennis Programme has successfully completed its first year. Academy athletes from all over Gippsland came together recently to be proudly presented with their graduation certificates by Member for Morwell Mr Russell Northe and Latrobe City Mayor Cr Kellie O'Callaghan.
“It's their turn to shine, they've worked hard all year and really left their mark on the sport of table tennis” Academy Chief Executive Officer, Judi Buhagiar said, “it was really gratifying to see their faces when they were being presented certificates by two respected community leaders such as Russell and Kellie”, she added.
Mr Northe congratulated the Gippsland Sports Academy on the wonderful job they do to ensure Gippsland athletes are given the best possible opportunity to reach their full potential and congratulated the athletes for making the most of the opportunity they were given.
Buhagiar also said “It's been a very successful year with two of our players bringing home bronze from the National Championships held in Queensland, another athlete being named as an emergency and our head coach was in Delhi at the Commonwealth Games as the assistant coach to the Australian Table Tennis Team. We couldn't have done it without the support of the volunteers from Leongatha, Traralgon and Bairnsdale Table Tennis Associations and Table Tennis Victoria.”
“We are in the planning stages for the 2011 programme and already we can see an improvement with the inclusion of the Wonthaggi Table Tennis Association. We are really excited about what 2011 will bring”.
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Australian medals for table tennis two, 19 October 2010
Michaela Campbell and Darcie Morton were members of a successful Victorian team at the recent Australian Junior Table Tennis Championships.
Michaela plays with the Leongatha Association, and Darcie, who is from far East Gippsland, in the Orbost Association. Both are members of the Academy's first Table Tennis Squad which was established earlier in the year.
Michaela and Darcie were both Victorian medallists during the season with consistently good under-13 results during the season. They have also been highly competitive against older players, and their results at the Victorian Junior Championships in August secured them team selection.
In the national teams competition the under 13 girls' side finished third behind the two top New South Wales sides. The bronze medal achievement was a fitting reward for the girls who both had good match results throughout the competition.
In the individual competition Michaela and Darcie again played well. However, the round robin format made progress into the advanced draws extremely difficult and neither was able to make finals.
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Table Tennis two selected into Victorian team, 17 August 2010
Table Tennis Victoria has named two Academy Table Tennis Squad members in its just-announced its Junior Teams.
Darcie Morton and Michaela Campbell have both been selected for the girls' under 13 side. A third Academy member, Stephan Joseph, has been asked to indicate his availability for the under 13 boys and he may also be selected.
The Victorian Team will compete in the Australian Junior Championships in Queensland during September. Selection will involve team members will be involved in preparatory training sessions in Melbourne.
The good news followed our Squad's sound showing at Saturday's Victorian Junior Championships. In recent tournaments there has been a strong field of Victorian and interstate players focusing their preparation for the national titles, and the Championships were no exception.
Against testing opposition, our players were competitive in their age events although none were able to go beyond the round robin eliminations in the singles. However, in the doubles Michaela Campbell was a silver medallist in the under-15s, and Luke Blythman and Jake Goodluck made the semi-finals of the under-18s.
There were far better results in the divisional singles events. The knock-out draw favoured the Academy players and several worked their way up into the finals rounds.
Thomas Curtis made the semi-finals of division 4, while in division 5 Luke Blythman and Stephan Joseph both made quarter finals. Kane Armistead lost in the last elimination round and was unlucky not to be with them. In division 6 Stefan Joseph also reached the semi-finals.
The results were rewarding for Academy players who are now becoming more confident and competent in state-level tournaments. And they will also be delighted and inspired by Darcie's and Michaela's selections.
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Table Tennis titles – terrific! 19 July 2010
In the highly competitive Victorian Junior Open Championships a doubles win to Michaela Campbell and runners-up placings to two others were outstanding achievements for the Academy's Table Tennis Squad members in just their first year.
As an open tournament the event attracted a number of interstate contestants who competed against Victoria's best in preparation for the Australian titles in September.
Academy players had difficulty overcoming seeded players in the singles round robin eliminations and achieved better results in the doubles.
Michaela's win was in the under-13 girls' doubles where she was teamed with an Albury-Wodonga player.
Michaela's partnership defeated Darcie Morton and her Melbourne partner in the final. Darcie had a second runner up result in the next age level as well, the under-15 doubles.
Brendan Harbridge teamed with a Melbourne girl to be runner up in the under-18 mixed doubles.
Adam Hislop was a quarter finalist in the under-15 boys' doubles, with Jefferson Daniel, a promising Traralgon player who is not currently a member of the Academy squad.
In the singles Darcie Morton had another runner up result in the girls' under 11 final. She was the Academy's single exception in progressing into the final rounds of an age event.
The divisional singles events attracted a large number of entries, particularly in the boys' Division 5, where all of the Academy's squad were entered. Thomas Curtis worked his way through to the semi-finals where he lost after a close contest. His result was quite an achievement in this standard of competition.
Several others in Division 5 reached round 4, the last elimination round, which put them into the top 16. They were Kane Armistead, Adam Hislop, and Luke Jongebloed.
In making the third round Ben Schoonderbeek, Jake Hemphill, Jake Goodluck, Stephan Joseph and Luke Blythman also had respectable results and demonstrated the great depth within the Academy squad.
Selectors will be looking at the tournament's highest achievers to invite into the state training squad. After a preparation program two Victorian teams will be selected from the training squad for the Australian titles, at the Gold Coast, in two months' time.
The composition of the Victorian training squad is expected to be announced in about a fortnight.
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Solid results continue at Ballarat Tournament, 8 June 2010
Table tennis squad members recently attended the Ballarat Junior Open Tournament. A a large regional event, the tournament attracted top ranked juniors from throughout Victoria and South Australia .
In U18 Boys Kane Armistead progressed through to the round of 16 where he narrowly lost to the number 6 seed. To progress this deep into the U18 singles in this state level singles event is a very good performance
Kane Armistead / Thomas Curtis and Luke Blythman / Jake Goodluck advanced to the quarter finals of the U18 doubles on opposite sides of the draw. Jake Hemphill / Ben Schoonderbeek were also quarter finalists in the U15 boys'.
Darcie Morton combined with a metropolitan player to be runner up in the U11 girls' doubles
Academy players entered the Division 3, 4, 5 and 6 singles events. In Division 3 singles Thomas Curtis progressed to the quarter finals before losing to the second seed. Thomas also made the semi finals in Division 4 before narrowly losing to the second seed.
In Division 5 singles Jake Goodluck progressed through to the quarter finals where he lost to the top seed. Kane Armistead and Stefan Joseph also progressed through to the quarter finals in Division 5 singles.
Jake Goodluck and Luke Blythman contested the Division 6 singles final to finish first and second respectively after a close match. Stefan Joseph progressed to the quarter finals in this event also. This was a good result for Jake and Luke who defeated the top four seeds to make the final.
Academy players continue to accumulate state ranking points as they compete in the state level tournaments. TTV records at end of April were: Luke Jonguebloed - 462, Kane Armistead - 435, Adam Hislop - 422, Thomas Curtis - 408, Stefan Joseph - 264, Luke Blythman - 228, Bryce Holwerda - 206, Darcie Morton - 102, Jarrod Donohue - 93.
Further points will be accumulated from the Ballarat tournament.
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Fine table tennis performances at Mornington, 16 April 2010
The Academy's Table Tennis Squad performed extremely well at last weekend's Mornington Open Tournament with almost every player making final rounds of an event. As they were competing against some of Australia 's top-ranked juniors this was an outstanding outcome.
In the doubles, paired with fellow squad members or with metropolitan partners, everyone played extremely well. The best performances were by Darcie Morton (under-11), Stefan Joseph (under-13) and Luke Jongebloed (under-18) who all won their mixed doubles events.
Other outstanding doubles results were:
under-13 girls' doubles, Darcie Morton / Michaela Campbell - runners up;
under-13 boys' doubles, Stefan Joseph / Bryce Holwerda - semi-final;
under-13 girls' singles, Michaela Campbell - semi-final;
under-15 mixed doubles, Jarrod Donohue - runner up;
under-15 boys' doubles, Daniel Campbell / Adam Hislop - semi-final;
under-15 boys' doubles, Damon Morton - semi-final;
under-18 boys' doubles, Thomas Curtis / Kane Armistead - runners up;
under-18 boys' doubles, Luke Blythman / Jake Goodluck - semi-final;
under-18 boys' doubles, Luke Jongebloed - semi-final.
An unseeded entry rule for division players made it possible for players to compete in a number of divisions, and the standard in lower divisions was extremely high as a consequence. When Jake Goodluck (Division 5) and Thomas Curtis (Division 6) were both runners up in their singles events they gained the finals by defeating players from higher divisions. It was a great result from both boys.
Another outstanding singles performance was by Michaela Campbell who made the semi-final of the highly-competitive under-13 girls singles.
The Mornington tournament showed the potential that our young players have in State-level competition. We look forward to the squad's continuing progressive progress throughout the season.
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Darcie takes first table tennis titles, 9 April 2010
Darcie Morton has claimed the Academy's first table tennis age titles.
At last weekend's Easter Classic Junior Open, Darcie was successful in the under-11 girls singles and doubles.
Unfortunately, Darcie had to withdraw from events during the day, as she had earlier rolled her ankle and it was considered best that she rest from the older age group events.
Darcie's brother Damon also had a great day, taking 4 wins in the matches he competed in.
The titles were conducted at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, a considerable travelling distance from the Morton's Marlo home. Both Darcie and Damon are to be congratulated for their keenness as well as their outstanding results.
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Skills drills weekend for new squad, 18 March 2010
The Table Tennis Squad has just returned from Bairnsdale after a full weekend of skills training.
The intensity of the sessions and emphasis on skills competence was a surprise to many in the squad, but they soon came to appreciate the results as the sessions progressed.
Head Coach Alois Rosario had organised a day of drills with one-on-one skills teaching and remediation. Instructors were the Academy coaches and four newly-qualified level 1 coaches from the Bairnsdale area.
On the second day the squad members sat through some theory lessons before returning to the tables for some reinforcement drills on the previous day's activities. Players are now expected to continue to practicing these skills.
The training was conducted in the newly-opened Bairnsdale Squash and Table Tennis Centre. Apart from being a top class facility the building has some fine design features which improve the playing environment and helped to sustain the squad through the long sessions. Our thanks to the Bairnsdale Association for the early opportunity to train at there.
The next scheduled activity for the Squad is the State-level Mornington Tournament in early April. This is a long-established and well-supported tournament on the Victorian Junior Circuit and will provide competition against top-ranked junior players in Victoria and Australia. Academy coaches will be keen to see the benefits of last weekend's program in the Mornington results.
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Top results for new table tennis squad, 5 March 2010
Outstanding results were achieved at the table tennis squad's first major tournament last weekend.
Twelve squad members played in the Junior Encouragement Tournament conducted by Table Tennis Victoria. For some squad members it was their first state-level competition.
The tournament was organised in a multiple round robin format with playoffs for the final positions.
Thomas Curtis made the final in Section 1 and finished as the tournament runner up. Luke Blythman also played well enough in his rounds to reach the Section 1 final group. He finished fifth after the final position playoffs.
Luke Jongebloed, Adam Hislop and Kane Armistead were three more with strong results in their groups and finished 11th, 13th and 14th respectively.
Jake Hemphill (21st), Damon Morton (23rd), Stefan Joseph (30th), Bryce Holwerda (39th) and Jarrod Donohue (40th) all had respectable results considering their previous experience and the depth of their opposition. They all took wins and losses during the day and will come away stronger for their experience. There were 51 boys competing in the tournament including those from most metropolitan clubs and the South West Academy.
In the girls' draw there were only 8 playing. However the round robin gave Darcie Morton and Michaela Campbell the opportunity to match themselves against the best players. Darcie, whose game against the top three was particularly promising, finished fourth. Michaela was equal fifth, not far behind.
The squad's next tournament will be at Mornington in April.
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Table tennis off to a flying start, 30 November 2009
Seventeen of Gippsland's best young table tennis players have been selected for scholarships in the Academy's new table tennis squad. The players will be inducted into the new program at the end of January.
However the squad will be off to a flying start when they meet together before then, in December, for their first training day.
Table Tennis Victoria has joined with the Gippsland associations in planning and developing the program to support the region's most promising young talent. Former Olympic coach, Alois Ricardo has been appointed as the program's Head Coach. He brings an extraordinary depth of competition and coaching experience to the program and is a co-editor and technical contributor of the internationally recognised table tennis website, PingSkills.
The successful 17 are: Kane Armistead, Luke Blythman, Alexander Campbell, Daniel Campbell, Michaela Campbell, Thomas Curtis, Jarrod Donohue, Shaun Falla, Jake Goodluck, Riley Hansen, Brendan Harbridge, Jake Hemphill, Adam Hislop, Bryce Holwerda, Felix Fuller Jackson, Luke Jongebloed, Stefan Joseph, William Krutop, Laura Metlikovec, Damon Morton, Darcie Morton and Ben Schoonderbeek.
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