OOAK Table Tennis Forum

Again no table tennis.

I am doing more to prepare the community centre Saturday afternoons for life post Covid-19 and Retriever.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Still no table tennis.

I have put out an email to the 3 regulars at the community centre table tennis which details what it means to run it. They are thinking of being a triumvirate in doing so.

In news unrelated to Covid-19 I am in the process of being made redundant in my day job.

More time for TT when this Covid-19 stuff is over?

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Again no table tennis.

Am "negotiating" the terms of my redundancy with someone who is not authorised to negotiate. Fun times.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Still no table tennis.

I did get a call from the guy who runs the club I play at. He has played at a mutual friend's house a couple of times.

Still attempting to negotiate my redundancy from my day job. 3 weeks till R day.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

No table tennis.

Local council talking about opening venues soon. Still constrained by community sport not restarting until 1 July.

Wrangling over redundancy payments being recognised in new financial year as may retire.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

No table tennis again.

The local club is opening up tonight, but I am in 2 minds about going.

On the one hand I am over 60 so in that group, but reasonably fit.

On the other hand I have been suffering more asthma and have a stiff knee from falling on it several weeks ago.

On the gripping hand I would probably enjoy it immensely.

We are also having a meeting later this week about the local comp etc.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

No table tennis, at least partly through choice. Club was open on Monday night but decided not to go. Maybe Thursday night or next Monday.

Local committee meeting was on last Thursday. Didn't go, but have gotten the minutes. Looks like local comp restarts provisionally in mid July, although there is another committee meeting before then.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Played at the club last night. Yeehaa! Wasn't as rusty as I had feared I would be. However due to an accident a couple of months ago my right knee has become very stiff and feels as if it may become unstable when I hunker down properly. It was good to play again. I had to blow dust off the shoes I wear for tt prior to putting them on at home. No mold or mildew on the rubbers fortunately. I beat who I normally beat, with a win over AF who usually beats me. I was a little less rusty than him, although I think he played last week.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Long hiatus with non-table tennis stuff. Made redundant at my job in between my last two posts. Am toing and froing between the suburban mansion and the country estate. Taken over business from my son who is in gaol to wind it up. Internet connection has been pitiful for the last week.

I have been playing once a week or so for a while. I went in the local championships last Sunday in what is essentially U/1400 Ratings Central event and came runner up. I thought that I was around 1375 or so, but Veterans had entered a few rounds and on the score sheets etc I was a little over 1400, which was OK as the entry was validated from ratings back in January. I made it through my group OK, then played a junior I had previously beaten 3-1 in the U/1550 event (but had lost to the other player in the group). I beat him 3-0 this time, to get to the final. There I played a young lady of Japanese ethnicity who was now a little over 1500! I lost 1-3 with 3 of 4 the games going to 9. I ended up with a small trophy and $100, making $50 for the day.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Another hiatus on the blog, but I have been actually playing 2 or 3 times a week. Between Covid-19, job hunting, dealing with issues to do with my eldest son and his business, yoyoing between city and country and a few other things, the blog has suffered.

As an addendum to my previous post, in the final that I lost, the other finalist probably should not have been allowed entry, but whatever.

I have also stopped running the local community centre table tennis on a Saturday afternoon, but still often go and help with new people etc. It has taken a triumvirate of organizers to replace me.

A couple of weeks ago I played in the last round of the vets comp, winning all 3 singles. My efforts this year have resulted in me going over 1450 central ratings, and if I play veterans next year, being in the top grade.

Last weekend I went in the Central West Round Robin tournament for the 3rd year in a row. I again finished 7th overall, 3rd on the 2nd table. It turns out to be a good experience, between an informal dinner at the local Chinese restaurant on the Friday for those arriving the day before, informal breakfast at a bakery / cafe in the morning for the same, playing all day from around 9:30 am till after 5 pm with a sausage sandwich and softdrink for lunch, followed by dinner at a local hotel bistro. My only criticism was that after the 1st round robin group being the best of 5 games, the remaining round robin groups were the best of 3 games, which didn't give me enough time as a defender to get used to or play mind games with the good attackers.

As Pinkie was there I have bought new rubbers (Yasaka Shining Dragon red and black, only comes in max) and a tube of glue. i will be getting my wife to get one of her wood turning friends to repair my old Nittaku carbon blade from splintering that happens when I remove rubbers, and to seal the blade afterwards. You will know when I change the equipment in my sig if I don't blog it here.

Also, last Thursday Trent Carter was at our club taking up a table and doing one on one coaching, usually multi-ball.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

OK. I have taken the 2 year old tenergy rubbers off and placed my old Nittaku carbon blade in the care of a wood turning friend of my wife's. He has promised to fill in the missing splinters, neaten the edge and seal it. I did impress on him that I didn't want to lose too much of the blade when doing the edge. As he is doing it as a favour, I accepted his ETA of Christmas. Can't wait.

In the meantime, i am using an old Butterfly Wakaba-An premade with Wakaba D-13 rubbers on each side. It was either that or a Sunny Life with white rubbers on each side . Last Monday I pretty much beat who I usually beat and lost to who I usually lose to with it. Of course it is a lot slower and less spinny than what I am used to, but hey I played OK with it.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Monday of last week we had a club championship of sorts. It was double elimination, best of 3. I went OK til I played AF. I won the first, lost the second and was up 8-6 in the third but lost from there. Then I went into the repercharge section where I lost to MD 2 straight. We didn't have time to play the final, so delayed it til last Thursday. It was between AF and MD and I umpired it. Surprisingly AF beat MD a second time.

Saturday afternoon got cancelled by the people now running it before local council shut down community centres in response to a local Covid-19 cluster.

Yesterday I got my repaired blade back and glued the Yasaka Shining Dragon max thickness to it. It was the first time using WBG - Butterfly Free Chack II. The first side I had way too much on the blade so got that on to the sponge as well. When it had mostly dried I managed to get it on without too much in the way of trapped bubbles. The second side went a lot better as I now had an idea that the viscosity of the WBG was a lot less than the older glue so used a lot less. I enlisted my wife in trimming the edges, then put on some edge protection tape.

Unfortunately most venues are in Christmas holiday mode, and even if they weren't we are subject to health stay at home orders at least until midnight tomorrow, so I can't wait to try the new rubber.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

Over a month, how time flies.

I have had a few hits with the new rubber. Comments from the best player at the club are that the backhand is more spinny, which it should be versus 2 year old T05. My observation is that my forehand now goes long a lot and another older player thought that the T05 Hard suited it better, to which i agree. However, given my theory that a good enough player will adapt to whatever rubber, I will just have to keep using it and ... hopefully adapt.

For a while now I have had niggles in my playing arm when doing particular things mostly not related to table tennis. Just over a week ago I was diagnosed with tennis elbow. Dedicated followers may recall that I have previously had golfers elbow and beaten that. Anyway, with the benefit of physiotherapist Google I have started an exercise regime to strengthen the muscles around the elbow.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

So sorry to hear you have tennis elbow- A friend of mine, who used to suffer from it , used a trick.He played with a wristband in the middle of his forehand.He told me this helped to solve the problem.

You might give it a try

I was considering getting an elbow brace. I'll have to find a wrist band instead now.

_________________
Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74