It was going to be interesting to see how this change affected play. One thing that was immediately apparent was the duller sound they give off as compared to the slightly screeching sound of sandpaper.

Who would come out on top? The youngsters (many of whom were trying hardbat for the first time) or the old stagers?

Group matches
Play commenced with groups of four, with the top two making it through to the knockout rounds, with those in third and fourth place heading into the consolation event. Games were best of three, up to 15 (at 14-14, it was sudden death).

In the early group matches it was interesting to spot which of the youngsters might be capable of making an impact. Young William Wang came agonisingly close to beating top seed Charlie Ellis; losing the third end 14-15. William’s backhand punch was particularly impressive which was perhaps no surprise as he uses short pimples on his backhand when he plays with sponge. But why, everyone watching wondered, did Charlie keep playing to his backhand?! Other youngsters to do well included Jamie Toner, who had performed well at the Scottish Hardbat Open, qualifying for the World Cup in Mexico 2025.

Another youngster, Rory Thompson was also considered a threat. His group match with Anna Porsche was one of the more intense of the night. Anna, leading with her backhand (“my backhand works well but every time I try a forehand it goes into the net !”), levelled the match at 1-1, getting a bit over excited (“I won a set!”). If you also led as the match got into the final stages, before Rory found some consistency, taking it 15-10.

Also doing well was Angus, who was playing pragmatically and beat fellow youngster Max in the semi final of the consolation. He felt that with a few more hours of practice he might be able to play more aggressively but just didn’t trust his attacking shots.

As to differences between hardbat and sandpaper. The general consensus was that the hardbats were a little more satisfying to play with and gave more opportunity for spin and variety. Serve played a bigger role in the matches. It’s notable that two of the players who combined defensive play with offence (Lindsay and Gordon Muir) did particularly well. With sandpaper, it’s possible to defend but the bats are very fast and the very limited backspin you can generate makes it largely ineffective. In his matches, Lindsay generally defended but was able to finish off the points when the right ball came.

Knockout rounds
Among the best matches of the knockout rounds was the seesawing contest between William and Jamie; a real battle of the backhands. Both players had long runs of dominance but eventually Jamie edged the match – his ability to also score with his forehand perhaps the key. Lindsay vs Rory was another good contest with some excellent backhands from both players with Lindsay coming through in the end.

In the semi-finals, Lindsay had the first set stolen off him by Charlie (“I thought I’d won it!”), before Charlie found some consistency in the second end, though some silly attempted drop shots almost cost him. In the other semi, Gordon started very strongly against Keith, cruising to the first set (“he pinned me in my backhand corner”). Keith adjusted and found himself ahead in the second and perhaps should have taken it; Gordon eventually took it 15-14 to set up a repeat of the 2022 final.

Finals

For the final games, we set things up with one table in the hall. In the one point tournament, Keith and Gordon made it through to the final. Keith won a lengthy rally with a brave forehand.

In the final of the consolation event, it was a battle between the consistent pragmatism of Angus and George’s more dynamic (but more inconsistent) style. George took the first, before Angus claimed the second, finishing with a nasty net dribbler (which George could only laugh at). Eventually Angus wore down his opponent, who just made too many mistakes with his big forehand. Though Angus got a bit nervy towards the end, he took to the decider 15-9 – and with it a large Toblerone.

In the final of the ‘main event’, Charlie edged the first set 15-12, Gordon struggling to adjust to his serve, and Charlie profiting from a couple of lucky points at key moments. There was no obvious change in approach in the second set but suddenly Gordon was 10-0 up! He began to get more and more balls back, defending with some real skill – as well as getting in his own attacks. This forced Charlie into more and more errors. This pattern continued in the third end and although Charlie was never that far behind he was never able to string together enough winners. Gordon taking the final set 15-9 and claiming the title for the first time since 2012.

The evening ended with large plates of chilli being happily gobbled by the hungry players. As usual, thanks to Team Muir for all that organisational efforts, and the Letchfords for the beef chilli. Thanks also to everyone for turning up and bringing the year to such an enjoyable conclusion.

20 players took part. Some had played quite a bit of ping pong,  while others were trying it for the first time. Some of the standout performances came from some of the youngsters, including Max Well and Jamie Toner, who adjusted to the sandpaper bats really well. 

Play was initially in 5 groups of 4,  with two players from each making it through to the knockout rounds.  Third place players went into the consolation event. With John Hannah-dominant in recent Murrayfield ping pong tournaments- absent, who would come out on top?

Group stages

The group stages included some long and interesting matches. Lynn surprisingly did much of the attacking against Yubo, as he didn’t feel he could trust his attacking shots (” I haven’t had enough practise to attack”). 

The pick of the group matches saw Jerry Ji play Jamie Toner.  The match featured long and intense rallies (“every point is 25 shots long!”).  Jerry defended very consistently, while Jamie blocked and drove well with his unorthodox backhand. Jerry eventually took it in 3 very tight sets. Their group was a really tough one which had to be decided by count back. Graham Muir was unluckily pushed into third place.

In Group 1 Colin Clark got off to a good start v Gordon in the first match on, winning his double point ball at 9-10 and went on to win the first set with some good tomahawk serving and strong forehands from the backhand corner. However, Gordon found his rhythm and won the next two ends to win the match. Mike Letchford also played some good stuff in this tough group. 

Other good group matches included a good contest between Keith Dingwall and Lindsay Muir with the latter landing some trademark backhands – but not enough. 

Knockout

In the knockout rounds,  Keith and Yubo produced a good match. Yubo started to go for his shots.  Some of his rockets hit the table and flew past Keith, others threatened life and limb of his opponent and spectators! Charlie McGowan’s run was ended by Gordon Muir in a game with several fluent rallies.

Surprise packet Jamie Toner made it through to the semis, where he faced Gordon Muir, who recently got to the quarter finals of the Scottish ping pong event in Dundee. Gordon got off to a really strong start, leading the first game 10 -2 and, although Jamie made a strong comeback in the first set, eventually proved just too consistent. Gordon finished off the match with some nice flat forehands. 

On the other side of the draw, Charlie was really tested by Jerry’s obdurate defence; made to work for every point. A few unwise flat smacks from Charlie only threatened the windows. Charlie was possibly helped by the lack of space in the court which made deep defence difficult. In the semis, Murrayfield II teammates Keith and Charlie faced off. Charlie managed to deal with Keith’s tricky serves and found some consistency with his backhand; taking the game 2-0. 

Finals

For the finals,  the hall was rearranged for single table play. Before the final, Keith’s tricky long serves helped him win the one point tournament, beating Rory in the final. Then , in the consolation final. Graham Muir beat Max Well in their 1 set contest. 

Then for the main final, between former champions Gordon and Charlie. A quick straw poll suggested that Charlie was marginal favourite. The larger court allowed Gordon to defend in some points, which he did well (gathering praise from Jerry, who was umpiring the final).  

Charlie turned back the clock and found some of his old form as he began strongly, taking the first game with some ease and surprised himself with a couple of his own backhands. As usual, Gordon switched things around tactically and forced Charlie into errors before dominating the end of the set. 1-1 and all to play for. The final set didn’t really catch fire with some slightly nervy play from both  and a lack of big rallies. Charlie found enough consistency to close out the match 2-1. 

Those who could stay then tucked into Lorna Muir’s tasty lasagne. It was a nice way to start the new year. Hopefully players won’t find it too difficult to readjust to sponge bat play as the ELTTL restarts next week… 

As usual, thanks to Team Muir for their organisational efforts. Also thanks to Mike Letchford for umpiring so many of the matches (and keeping other umpires accurate!). 

Full tournament results available here.

The main evening event kicked off at around 6.30pm and continued late into the evening. The gathering saw a great blend of the past, present and future of the club as it seeks to build on its proud record of development. Memorabilia and memories mixed with thoughts of the future and how to build on recent momentum and success on the table. 

Out of the Blue was a fitting venue for the event. In the 1950s, the Dalmeny Drill Hall (its original title) hosted matches in the women’s division of the Edinburgh and Districts TTL. In 2004 the hall was taken over by the ‘Out of the Blue’, arts and education trust. Alongside its many successful art exhibitions, Out of The Blue has been home of the highly successful social ping pong event, Wiff Waff Wednesday run by Johnny Gailey and others. It successfully demonstrated the inclusive character of the sport, attracting a great mix of ages and backgrounds. 

After wine and food, the formal part of the evening involved short talks and performances. Lindsay Muir thanked everyone who had made it along, including several he had not seen for many years. He made a point of emphasising the importance of the club administrators and other ‘stalwarts’ in keeping the club running over the years. As he noted, it’s generally the star players who get media attention and have photographers’ lenses focussed on them. Only during lockdown, when committee meetings were held via Zoom, was a photo finally taken of a MMC committee! 

Table Tennis Scotland (TTS) representatives Terry McLernon OBE (TTS Chairman) and Stewart MacGowan (Honorary President) then jointly presented Lindsay Muir an award on behalf of TTS. 

Richard Yule, Chief Operating Officer of Table Tennis Scotland, then took over the microphone. In his comments Yule noted that, in recent decades, Murrayfield had enjoyed leadership from three outstanding figures: Michael MacLaren, Lindsay McCrea and Lindsay Muir (“is there something about the name Lindsay?”). 

They had played leading roles in Murrayfield but also within Scottish table tennis more generally. These were the type of outstanding volunteers who ensure the health of the sport. In his comments Richard Yule rightly highlighted the importance of partners, wives and husbands within their sport (“behind every great….”). Lorna Muir was given a lengthy and much merited round of applause for ‘lending’ her husband (and sons) to the sport. In marrying Lindsay she had also married table tennis!

Yule then pointed to the fact that the evening was graced by two gentlemen in their eighties who are still playing. Jack Oughton, a top player in the Northeast of England in his day, and Eddie Still, two of Murrayfield’s trustees. Still is of course Yule’s mentor, who first introduced Richard to the sport in Aberdeen and spotted his potential. Yule reflected that, as very young men, Oughton, Still and Michael MacLaren all took part in the UK-wide Daily Mirror championships of 1953. The competition attracted around 20, 000 entries at what was probably the sport’s peak popularity in the UK. Described in the Daily Mirror as ‘a short, smiling apple-cheeked Highland laddie’, Still was only 18 at the time. He won through the Scottish rounds and later met Oughton, winning 3-0. In the national finals at a packed Royal Albert Hall, he played a 16-year-old Michael MacLaren in the semi-final. Again, Still won (21-15, 21-19, 22-20) as he made it right through to the national final where he lost out to Nottingham’s Billy England. 

Still and Oughton are both still playing and demonstrate that table tennis is truly “a sport for life”. The sport had also given Yule, and many present great opportunities to travel the world, playing in international events. Many of those in attendance had played at the highest level, including Terry Forker, Sarah Kenhard (nee Hurry), Pete Lugton and Colin Dalgleish.

The evening featured two short exhibition matches between players hoping to follow in these illustrious footsteps. The juniors and several others were sporting the smart new Centenary shirts, using Pete Lugton’s special club logo. First of all, it was the battle of Charlie McGowan’s spiny loops versus current Scottish champion Faye Leggett’s fast counter attacks.

Later, it was the battle of two of Murrayfield’s Academy players, Nichole Lee and Rory Thomson; two outstanding talents for the future. Despite the pressure of the crowd, the two short matches featured several good rallies and impressive play. 

Leon the magician performed some sections of his successful 2022 Edinburgh Fringe show with 2020 Scottish champion Colin Dalgleish and Leandro Golinski among his ‘victims’. He teased the audience for some time before bringing the performance to a great conclusion with his final reveal. Leon also somehow played blindfolded against Faye Leggett. Leon earlier had performed a show for the junior players, as well as walking round performing close up magic throughout the day. 

Following that, some of John Yau’s superb table tennis cake was eagerly scoffed. The raffle brought the evening to a close on a high. Thanks to the exuberant and insistent salesmanship of William Wang and William Goh, tickets sold out. Lindsay Muir’s predecessor as Murrayfield President, Bob Sterling, drew the winning tickets. Thanks to all those who contributed prizes including local businesses Magical Floristry and Yamato Japanese Restaurant. 

Above all it was a great opportunity to catch up with figures who have helped build the club and look ahead to the second 100 years.  Many thanks to all those involved in making this such a successful event.  

Particular thanks to the team at Out of the Blue (name) for their organisational efforts and for assistance on the day, with Abby & Lyndsey leading the way. Thanks also to the Out of the Blue Cafe team for the tasty food and keeping everyone supplied with drinks. Thanks to Johnny Gailey and his Wiff Waff assistants Lindsay & Drew for keeping the tunes flowing. Thanks also to Johnny & Bethany of Out of the Blueprint for their fantastic efforts in designing and printing the history booklet, Murrayfield Memorial Club: The First 100 Years. Near the entrance a memorabilia stand, featuring old photos, historical documents and a range of vintage bats, was set up. This took many of the guests back through the decades.

Thanks also to Terry McLernon OBE (TTS Chairman) and Stewart MacGowan (Honorary President) for coming through for the event. Also to Ewa Well for her fantastic photos of the afternoon session and Lindsay McCrea for his of the evening.

By 10pm, things were winding down and guests started to slowly filter out. As ever, it was Lindsay and ‘team Muir’ who were last to leave, dragging out the final bits of gear out into the chilly night air. The hall, thronged with people minutes earlier, fell silent. Murrayfield’s second century had begun…

by Charlie Ellis

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Online version here

Available in newsagents and many supermarkets.

There will be further articles relating to the club’s centenary out soon, plus a centenary booklet is currently in preparation…

Key to Murrayfield I’s success was consistently being able to put out strong sides. MTTC coaches Gordon Muir and Krzysztof Borkowicz generally played alongside youngster Charlie McGowan. Here team captain Gordon Muir reflects on a successful season. 

Happy with the season as a whole?

Yeah, it was great to get back to Local League TT. We weren’t sure starting the season if we would get through it without disruption. We worked well as a unit, with all of us helping coaching and supporting each other. Charlie reads the game well, hopefully we can get him doing his level 1 coaching qualification soon!

Your nearest challengers were Edin Uni 1. 

Yes, the first match with Kevin Qu leading their team was tight, with Charlie doing well in the doubles with Krzysztof. Charlie also beat Mae in 5, which was crucial to the 6-4 victory. 

We lost out 4-6 in the return fixture which was a great match, Christopher winning his 3 and Mae playing very well.

A bit relieved that Kevin Qu and Christopher Wong didn’t play a full season?

I suppose so – it would have made winning the league difficult! It felt similar to previous seasons, where Johannes would turn out against us but not make every match, which would dent their chances. Christopher’s primary motivation for playing in the second half was to qualify for the Inter-League (where he helped to seal the title with a great win against West of Scotland’s Malo Le Gall)  but he must have enjoyed his league matches as he has also played the remaining fixtures. 

What about Charlie’s performance – signs of real improvement?

63% this season. Pushing 85/90% next?

Yeah I think he can do it, he had a good season and I think justified his inclusion in the first team. We try where possible to promote young, promising players (Colin Dalgleish, Calum Morrison among them) to the top team – and it’s generally worked out well. We also had Haydn step up into the 1st and 3rd teams in the final few weeks, and he was looking promising too.

Thoughts on your own performance? finishing 2nd in the averages with 82.4%. 

Can’t really complain, a bit disappointed that I didn’t play at the top of my game in some of the big matches – but in general happy to finish 2nd in a tricky division. Krzysztof deservedly took top spot. 

Tricky for you and Krzysztof combining it with coaching, work, TT admin etc? 

Harder for Krzystof I’m sure, I had a couple of really busy weeks during the season but on the whole I think that coaching and playing combine well together and one helps the other.

What about the general standard of the league? 

Too many one-sided matches?

I think the level of the league was pretty good this year. Plenty of new players, especially Edin Uni students, added extra interest. There are a lot of wily experienced players too, so it’s not as if you can let your guard down in any of the matches. 

Interview by Charlie Ellis 11.4.22.

Division 1 of the 2021-2022 ELTTL has been one of the strongest, competitive and most enjoyable seasons that I can remember. The division was full of Premier League standard players, including a few old friends and some new faces. One of those old friends, the ex-Murrayfield legend and Scottish internationalist, Pete Lugton eventually helped Haddington run away with the title. Behind them, there was a four way battle for second place between University II , ESC II, Edinburgh International II and Murrayfield IV. It was only settled in the final match of the season. More on that later.

The squad

Murrayfield IV were, in order of appearance: Leandro Golinski, Stuart Wilson, Lindsay Muir, Colin Clark and Tomasz Bracha.  Colin chose not to play the first match.  “Do I really want to be in a school gym hall with 3 matches going on?”. Covid 19 lockdown wasn’t that far away and going back out into the big bad world was still a bit scary.  

It was a good decision for the team as MIV won 6-4 with Stuart and Leandro winning the crucial doubles. This set the tone for the whole season with six different combinations winning key doubles matches in our many close wins and draws.  We actually won the first four matches of the season 6-4, including away to a very strong University II team.  Stuart was unavailable for that match, forcing Colin to overcome his fear of busy “school” sports halls. Who knows how Lindsay, Colin and Leandro managed to win that one. Lots of five enders going our way, including Lindsay and Leandro pinching the doubles after being 2-0 down.

Highlight of the first half of the season however was the visit of Haddington in December.  We had just lost to ESC, 4-6, and dropped a point at Ocean Terminal making this a must win match. Lindsay and Leandro started with good wins over Russell and Matt making it 3-2 before Colin had possibly the biggest win of his “career” over Pete.  Helped by the support of Ken Ben who arrived at 2-1 down and must have distracted Pete by videoing the rest of the match.  I’m still waiting for a copy of that video!  We were outclassed in the doubles but did just enough for yet another 6-4 victory. That helped Murrayfield spend the Christmas break in 2nd spot; still dreaming of winning the league.

The Christmas break presented yet another dilemma. Should we practise or not? Covid-19 cases were high and the risk didn’t seem worth it. And Leandro was in Brazil so, 5 weeks after their previous match Lindsay, Colin and Stuart lined up against Edinburgh International. Another good doubles win but Colin and Stuart both lost fiver setter singles matches. A 6-4 defeat showing how tight this division was.

Another point was to be dropped in February to Murrayfield VI who had a new player, Tomasz Bracha.  Luckily, Leandro was on top form and is one of only 3 players to defeat Tomasz this season.  Lindsay became unavailable 10 minutes before kic-koff which meant calling up Colin who was settling down to watch the golf from his sofa.  Not an ideal preparation and team 6 were soon 4-1 up and promotion was looking very unlikely. Stuart pulled one back vs John and then the doubles. Leandro and Colin somehow won yet another 5 crucial doubles in 5. Warmed up, Colin then got the better of Ian, obviously in 5 ends and Leandro secured the draw. An important point.

The following week University came and hammered us 7-3.  The students were now firmly in the promotion hunt and the top of the league was looking very tight. Well, second place at least. Another 6-4 win including the doubles vs Corstorphine followed to keep us in contention.

The league intervene

Then, with only 4 games to go, the league decided that Tomasz was too good for team 6 and should be in team IV, forcing our Captain Stuart to swap places. What’s that all about?

Next match was against Murrayfield 5 and Haydn and John were also trying to prove that they should both be in team IV.  John Yau was a bit unlucky to lose to Colin and Tomasz in 5 ends, and Haydn doing even better winning two. Haydn probably will be in team 4 or higher next season playing like that.

We were now in the last week of the season but with 3 matches to be played. University II had finished and were on 25 points and a healthy game difference. The calculators were out.  We were unlikely to make up the game difference but 4 points from the last 3 matches would be enough.  Unfortunately the last 3 matches were champions Haddington away, ESC II, who could also still finish second, at home and Penicuik away.

First up Haddington, and when Russell defeated Tomasz and Colin, both in 5, things were looking bleak. But we like our 5 enders and this was the turn of Lindsay, who won 3 of them!  A vital draw. Haddington also took us out for a post match beer which was nice. Cheers guys!

So two matches to go, to be played on Monday and Thursday.  Lindsay decided that he’d done enough and decided to go on holiday that week. Priorities?

So Colin, Tomasz and Leando would take on ESC II.  We got lucky with ESC not at their best, recovering from Covid and holidays, and won 7-3. The highlight being the worst doubles performance of the season from Colin and Leandro. An edge avoiding a “granny” in one end.  But another two vital points.  

Ladywood finale

So one match to go, bottom of the table Penicuik with just a point required. What could go wrong?  Lindsay is still on holiday, and Leandro decides he’d rather go on a business trip than go to Penicuik.  Wish I’d thought of that! So we called up our captain Stuart to play up for us. Confusing.

Sonny was playing well for Penicuik but Tomasz got the first point on the board. At the same time Stuart was losing in 5 to Gary.  In the next game, Colin was 2-0 down and behind in the 3rd against Julian.  It was hard to see where the 5 wins required were going to come from. Digging really deep, somehow Colin won in 5. Two more wins from Tomasz and one of the better doubles performances of the season, winning in 3 rather than 5 for a change and we had the draw and secured second place in the league. 🙂

So a most enjoyable season, very lucky to finish second, but the main thing is we are back playing again after the Covid-19 enforced break. It’s good to be back!

edited by Charlie Ellis

The highlights for the Murrayfield contingent:

Charlie McGowan (Stewart’s Melville) was runner up in the boys’ U18s, losing out to Jamie Johnson in the final.

Borui Chen (Fettes College) was the winner of the boys’ U16s,

Nichole Lee (Dean Park Primary School in Balerno) was 3rd in the girls’ Under-14s

Thanks to club coach Gordon Muir who assisted the players and to all the parents who gave lifts and helped out. Several of the players will be back at Bell’s on Sunday for the Scottish National League-hopefully they will have some energy remaining!

They are pictured during their recent match away to Penicuik I, a good contest that they won 8-2. New Penicuik signing David Simpson & Colin Green performed well for the home side, continuing their good form from the recent Edinburgh Championships. A good 3-2 win for Charlie & Gordon in the doubles and 3 wins apiece for Gordon & Krzysztof helped them retain Team I’s position at the top of the division.

It will be good to see the entire MTTC squad wearing the new shirts at the upcoming Scottish National League fixtures in Perth on Sunday 6th of February. Murrayfield A are in contention for the Division 1 title but will have to overcome a strong North Ayrshire A side in order to do so.

The match took place at the Gyle, which allowed the match to be played on two tables. This resulted in-at least by team II standards- an early finish. On the downside, the courts were slightly on the small side and the floor was a bit slippery (well, that was Charlie’s excuse for not moving!). It was nice to see the Gyle being well used with a kids’ session (led by Emma) taking place prior to the match.

In the opening set of matches, Charlie and Colin looked set for a 5-setter, before, at 9-9 in the 4th, Charlie managed to smack back one of Colin’s loops and then profited from a particularly nasty net dribbler on match point. Meanwhile Zihao began his evening well, beating Iain 3-1 and Keith beat David by the same score. In the 4th match Iain overpowered Charlie and took a deserved 2-1 lead with some superb rocket forehands. Some astute tactical advice and calming words from Zihao help Charlie turn the tide in the 4th and 5th sets.

The highlight of the night was a tight and sweaty 5-setter between Colin and Keith. After Colin started very strongly, Keith wrestled back the lead with some good tactical play and the odd moment of fortune (“I’ve never met a luckier player”) helped him establish a 2-1 lead. At 7-4 up in the fourth set, Keith seem to be on the course before an unwise smash (“I’ll have nightmares about that one”) slightly derailed him. Colin took advantage as he determinedly battled back, eventually edging the 5th set 11-9. Some good service variation helping Colin at key moments.

Colin missed out in the final match of the night to a patient and consistent Zihao, who kept his nerve in a long and close fourth set, which he eventually won 13-11 and with it the match 3-1.

The usual ELTTL cliché applies to this match, with the match tighter than the final score line. Team II’s next match (also a postponed fixture) takes place this Wednesday-a trip away to play a strong Fife I side.

by Charlie Ellis