We had won through as County Champions to the Zone Finals for Table Tennis held at Morpeth School in Bethnal Green on Saturday 31st January.
Our four players, Ilyssa, Catherine, Sana and Megan went up to London with Mrs Light and Mrs Driver for a very exciting day.
There were 5 schools in the finals representing different counties in the South East and all the schools had to play each other. The girls were seeded so that they played girls of a similar ability and each round consisted of 8 matches.
We arrived in plenty of time, which was fortunate because the entrance wasn’t easy to find, and Mrs Light registered the team. After a warm up session the first round was played but this was our ‘time out’ so it gave us an opportunity to watch the other schools and see the competition. There were certainly some very good players!
Our first draw was against North Parade School who we had seen had some very strong players. Some of them were quite intimidating but Ilyssa and Catherine, who had to play them weren’t put off! Our girls played and supported each other magnificently and after the first 8 matches we had won the round 5 – 3. A great start!
The next round was against Wallenders and this was a clean sweep. All girls won their games to love which gave us an 8 – 0 win. Not only were the girls playing well but they were also coping with the pressure of having to umpire and score their games. They really had to concentrate!
The third round was against Earls Hall School. By now the girls had got their ‘eye’ in and were coping well with the slightly shorter tables! They grabbed a sandwich between each game, keeping their energy levels high, and came through this round 6 -2.
We had played matches so quickly that we then had a gap before our final round against Southwater. For this round we had to go up to the other end of the hallto play on different tables, but even this didn’t worry our girls and they won their final round 7 – 1!
Four wins out of four rounds! This meant we were the outright winners of the competition and now go through to the regional finals to be held in Bournemouth on 21st March 2015.
It was an amazing day, the girls were a pleasure to take out. They all played brilliantly but were also fantastic ambassadors for the school. From my point of view it was very nerve-racking! Mrs Light and I were immensely proud of the girls and both of us are looking forward to the next round, although a trip to Bournemouth will mean an exceptionally early start!!
This is what Megan thought of the day:
On the 31st January 2015 Catherine, Ilyssa, Sana and I took part in the regional table tennis competition. It all starts with getting up at 7.00am! We met at Hitchin train station at 7.45am (some of us being a bit late!). Then we took a train to King’s Cross alongside with Mrs Driver and Mrs Light. After being on that and two underground trains we found a posh looking school….nope, wrong one! Despite full with hot chocolate we had to make a run for it as we were going to be late!
Finally, we found the right school and entered a small hall. There were schools practising with each other while we settled down. We didn’t play in the first round as there wasn’t enough tables. After roughly half an hour we played our first and probably most diffcult school, Northern Parade Junior. It was quite a tough game but out of both of us the score was 5 – 3 games to us!
Our next school that we had to play was Wallands Community Primary (black tops). Now this one looked quite tough but we were still able to win with all 8 games to us (maybe not so tough but it’s not all about winning).
In between breaks (I mean between the games we weren’t playing) we were allowed our lunch! As I was so excited I literally couldn’t eat whatsoever. Well maybe I ate half a packet of crisps but that was it! Anyway back to the games.
Our next competition was Earls Hall Junior with maroon tops. Despite them being really good at table tennis they were probably the friendliest. We won again with 6 – 2 games to us.
Finally our last school to play against, but they weren’t ready! They were still playing but only half way through it.
After half an hour we started playing. I’m not sure about the other people in the red team were like but the girl I played was very good. The one after revealed her weakness easily as she couldn’t hit it on her left hand side of the table. This school was called Southwater Junior Academy . We won 7 – 1 games to us! We beat all the schools!
The lady that was in charge passed over some information and said that we had come…..1st!
We were so happy that we are through to the next round – to be held in Bournemouth, a long journey but worth it!
All the schools were starting to disappear with the orange team happy as runners up so they are going to Bristol. We left the building and went back home being delighted that we were Regional Finalists!
These are Catherine's thoughts:
On Saturday 31st January four girls (two year 6s and two year 2s), went to play in the regional table tennis zone finals. It was held at Morpeth School in East London.
Our first matches were against Northern Parade Junior from Portsmith. Some of the games were incredibly close but we beat them 5 – 3 in the end.
We immediately played Wallands Community Primary from East Sussex and Ilyssa, Catherine, Sana and Megan won both of our matches! So the final score was 8 – 0 to us.
Next, we played Earls Hall Junior who came from Essex. Some of the games were tough but we eventually won 6 – 2.
Finally, our last match was played against Southwater Junior Academy from West Sussex; we won 7 – 1 which meant we were through to the national finals in Bournemouth.
We all had a really fun and exciting day and we are looking forward to the next round. We are practising extremely hard and are determined to win victory at the last!