This week we had our annual Moses Chang Commemorative Tournament. In it’s fifth year now, it again proved to be popular with the members and raised £115 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
Big thanks go out to Jo again for getting everything ready for the tournament. The new trophies looked impressive and everything was extremely well organised. Unfortunately this year Jo couldn’t be there on the night so I had to step in to run things on the night. However, the hard work was done by Jo so thanks again to her.
Thanks also go out to Paula for her baking which always proves popular.
Thanks as well go to Kirk for formally opening the tournament and making the announcements to keep everyone in order.
Thanks to Heather Chang for coming along to present the trophies to the winners and to support the event.
Final thanks go to all of the members who turned up to play in the tournament and who helped to raise money for a very worthwhile charity.
Now, on to the report from Wednesday. As always, the draw was made prior to the night so everyone was eager to see who they were playing with and who their opponents would be in their quest for a trophy. The pairings and groups were:-
Ladies Group
Diana / Ruth
Jess / Julie
Charlotte / Linda
Men’s Group 1
Alan / Peter
Andy P / Kirk
Paul G / Oliver
Kevin / Gary Y
Men’s Group 2
Andy W / Darran
David P / Rob
Henry / Gary W
Jonas / Paul B
There were some very strong pairs in the draw and the groups seemed to be evenly matched so the matches were sure to be close.
After a brief warm up, the players took to the courts. As with last year, the top 2 Men’s pairs from each group go through to the semi-final with the winner of group 1 playing the runner up of group 2 and vice versa. The ladies had their own mini-tournament going due to a last minute withdrawal meaning there were only 3 pairs. The top 2 ladies pairs after the matches would play each other in the final.
Ladies first. As we had a last minute withdrawal which left Paula unable to play in the tournament, the ladies took it upon themselves to play their matches then switch things around to let Paula play. After 2 lots of round robin, the ladies ended up with their group winners, Jess and Julie as well as their group runners up of Charlotte and Linda.
On to the men. The Men’s group 1 had some close games and the group runners up were decided on the last match with both unbeaten pairs facing each other for the winners spot. Depending on the score, the third placed pair could sneak in as runners up on points. However, it was not to be and they finished third, an agonising point behind the runners up.
Men’s Group 1 Table
[table id=15 /]
The Men’s group 2 had two pairs who got off the marks quick and sure they locked up the group with some ruthless wins. This group wasn’t as close as group 1 with the winners and runners up pretty much running away with it.
Men’s Group 2 Table
[table id=16 /]
So we now had our Ladies final and our Men’s semi final ready. In a change to previous years, it was decided to have both the Men’s and Ladies final on at the same time, rather than play the Ladies final at the same time as the Men’s 3rd and 4th place playoff. This meant the men were up on court again to play the semi-finals on the centre courts.
Semi Final 1
Kevin and Gary Y vs Henry and Gary W
Semi Final 2
Andy W and Darran vs Alan and Peter
Gary Y, Andy W, Darran and Peter had all been involved in last year’s semi finals (with Andy W and Peter winning last year’s title and Darran finishing a runner up), so they knew what the pressure was like in front of the whole club. I don’t think anyone could call the matches as they were so close on paper. However, the scores didn’t reflect how close the games were with the winners taking the matches by more than 10 clear points despite some close rallies and some hard fought points.
The first semi final went with the form as group 1 winners Kevin and Gary Y proved too strong for group 2 runners up Henry and Gary W, with the match ending 31-17. In a slightly closer match and in a reversal of form, group 1 runners up Alan and Peter beat group 2 winners Andy W and Darran 31-20 to get through to the final.
So the Men’s final and the 3rd/4th place playoff were sorted. After a brief rest, Andy W and Darran took to the court against Henry and Gary W to decide who would finish third. As they were both in the same group, it was a chance for Henry and Gary W to get revenge on their opponents who beat them 31-20 in the group match. And who would have predicted that a reversal was going to happen given the group match result. It did though. And in a quirky twist, the score was an exact reversal of the group match, finishing 31-20 to Henry and Gary W this time!
Now it was time for both of the finals.
Ladies Final
Jess and Julie vs Charlotte and Linda
Men’s Final
Kevin and Gary Y vs Alan and Peter
The finals were another group affair as the ladies had previously played each other in their group games and so had the men in group 1. Would the group match losers get revenge for the title or would the group match winners do it again? Jess had the added pressure of being reigning champion too so she had extra determination to keep a hold of her title.
The group match between Jess and Julie vs Charlotte and Linda finished 31-23 to Jess and Julie. However, the final was a lot closer evenly matched for most of it, with points staying even throughout. However, just like in the Men’s 3rd/4th place playoff, the group match losers turned the tables and ran out winners. Charlotte and Linda stepped it up a notch and took the win 31-26 to win the title and get their hands on the brand new trophies. Congratulations to them both!
The group match between Kevin and Gary Y vs Alan and Peter finished 31-26 to Kevin and Gary. This was Peter’s second final in as many years and he was reigning champion so the pressure was on him to retain his title. All eyes were on the match to see if Alan and Peter could get revenge for their group loss and win the title. The match was level pegging for most of the way until about 23-23 when Kevin and Gary Y seemed to move up a gear and they ran away with the next batch of points. Despite a brief comeback, Kevin and Gary Y took the win 31-24 to take the title. Congratulations to them both.
The final standings were:-
Ladies Champions – Charlotte and Linda
Ladies Runners Up – Jess and Julie
Men’s Champions – Kevin and Gary Y
Men’s Runners Up – Alan and Peter
Men’s Third Place – Henry and Gary W
Men’s Fourth Place – Andy W and Darran
It was then on to Heather to present the trophies to all of the winners.
The Moses Chang Commemorative Tournament Trophies
The new Ladies trophy.
The photos from the night and the presentation are on our Facebook group page.
A huge thanks go out to everyone involved in the 5th Annual Moses Chang Commemorative Tournament. We raised a massive £115 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
