Bishop Auckland Table Tennis club is celebrating after the clubs Boys team qualified for the Junior British League, the Top junior team championship in the UK.
Last year the club had 2 teams at the qualifying event with the A team missing out on qualification by 1 set, added extra motivation to this year’s qualifying event in Grantham on the 15th of July.
The team of Lee Tinkler, Sam Hume and Harvey McDonald started the day with a draw with Nottingham Sycamore B, Harvey scoring two wins and Lee Tinkler beating the number 1. The draw meant that other results would have to go Bishop Auckland’s way to stand any chance of qualifying.
Next up was Cardiff City C which ended in a 5-1 victory for the boys with Sam Hume losing 11-9 in the 5th, at the same time saw Nottingham Sycamore lose to Crusaders from Surrey, crusaders was the next match for the boys. Sam again saw a tight loss going down 11-9 in the 5th again, however that was the last defeat of the match in another 5-1 victory, that win saw Bishop Auckland go to the top of the group.
Fusion 4 saw a 6-0 victory to keep Bishop Auckland at the top going into the last match. The last match was vs group seeds Stroud who had lost to Sycamore and drawn with Crusaders to keep them just 1 point behind in second, meaning a draw would be enough for Bishop to qualify.
The match didn’t go to plan with Sam finding the number 1 too strong going down 3-0 and then Lee Tinkler lost 12-10 in the 5th on a net ball to put Bishop 2-0 down before Harvey started the fightback with a 3-0 win, followed up by Lee Tinkler winning his second match to equal up the match. Needing just 1 of the last two matches the Bishop Auckland parents were all on the edge of their seats but the players showed no signs of nerves with Harvey coming out a 3-0 winner and Sam unlucky going down in the 5th but the draw was secured meaning qualification was secured for the boys to join the clubs girls team in the Junior British League.
The club is open to people of all ages and abilities, running weekly coaching sessions and social sessions and is open to anyone.
If you’d like to know more, or would be interested in becoming a club sponsor, please visit the website at www.bishopaucklandttc.co.uk, or contact Matt Porter on 07411018856.