The playing season of the West Wilts Table Tennis League came to an end on Friday, 24th April when officers, players and their wives came together for a highly enjoyable Annual Presentation Evening.

Roy Griffin (Vice President) presented the trophies to the winners and runners-up in each division and team competition.

It was a pleasure to have Jeannette Ford attending to present the John Ford Handicap Shield, which had been purchased and named in memory of her late husband John, and The Westbury Shield which he had donated in 2002 to mark his 50 year association with the League.

In the Premier Division, Chippenham ‘A’ were always going to be the team to beat but did not show their dominance until the second half of the season.

Trowbridge I and Westbury Premier White Horses were the early teams to keep the pressure on Chippenham and both of these teams were still in contention in the latter stages.

Having got off to a slow start last year’s winners, Bradford Airborne, started to regain their form in the second half and began their challenge to retain the title. With both Trowbridge and Westbury dropping points, Airborne were not only able to close the gap, but overtake both of them and take second place, seven points behind Chippenham and seven points ahead of Trowbridge.

Division One was also a battle between three teams with Bradford Perrys setting the pace right from the start and, by the end of the first half, had a commanding 13 point lead.

Their dominance was typified by the outstanding performance of the very promising junior, Chris Pickard who, whilst not playing in every match, remained unbeaten.

Bradford Bryans and Westbury Premier Fighters were doing their best to stay in touch, but it soon became clear that the best either could achieve would be second place. This battle lasted throughout the season with this position changing hands almost weekly. Such was the intensity that it came down to the last week of the season when they met each other.

Bryans went into the match with a 3 point lead, but a spirited effort by the Fighters gave them a 7-3 victory to secure the runners-up position by just one point.

Bradford St. George dominated Division Two but Avon ‘B’ and Warminster ‘C’ always kept within striking distance. Second position alternated between these two teams but with four games left to play Warminster pulled away and drew level with Bradford. However, Bradford withstood the challenge to take top position, four points ahead of Warminster.

In the team competition finals, the Melksham Shield saw the winners of the Premier Division take on the runners-up and a highly competitive encounter was eagerly anticipated.

However, problems with the arrival of the Bradford Airborne team players resulted in a disappointing outcome with Chippenham’A’ taking the title by 7 games to 2.

The Phillips Shield was a somewhat one-sided contest with Hilperton Yarnbrook no match for Division Two runners-up, Warminster ‘C’, who cruised to a 7-2 victory. The John Ford Handicap Shield saw Division One winners, Bradford Perrys, take on Westbury Premier White Horses from the Premier Division.

Perrys went into an early lead and, having continued to build on this game by game, emerged winners by 261 points to 216. The White Horses were looking to shake off the disappointment of their previous final when they met Devizes Dynamos in the Premier Division handicap competition.

The inclusion of Alex MacLachlan in the White Horses team following his re-registration the night before, had a major influence on the outcome, and enabled them to defeat Dynamos by 264 points to 205.

Hilperton ‘B’ proved too strong for Bradford Bryans, winning the Division One handicap competition by 257 points to 219. Unfortunately, Westbury Premier Wizards failed to appear for the Division Two final, thus resulting in Warminster ‘C’ making it a cup double by default.

The Chairman of the League (Noel Sewell) then introduced and announced the winners of the special awards. The Vice Presidents Trophy was awarded to Ray Sims for his services as both a player and Secretary of the Warminster Club for many years; the League Merit to Chris Pickard (Bradford Perrys) and the ‘JC’ Trophy to Steve Hargreaves (Avon St. Georges).

The ‘Bill Williams’ Young Player of the Year was presented to Lee Phillips (Westbury Premier Villains) who showed great promise and made an impressive start in his first season playing in the League.

The final award of the evening was The Westbury Shield, which recognises services to the League, and was presented by Jeannette Ford, who had earlier presented the John Ford Handicap Shield. This year’s recipient was Tony Jordan who, as well as having played continuously for nearly 60 years, has been a member of the League Executive Committee for 31 years.

He is also the Social Secretary and, as such, is responsible for organising the annual Presentation Evening. This is done with such efficiency and professionalism that an enjoyable and successful event is guaranteed. He also holds the distinction of being born on the same day as the first ever meeting of the League at which it was formed.

The Annual General Meeting of the League will be held on Tuesday, 19th May, 2009, at the Conservative Club, Lovemead House, Trowbridge, commencing at 7.45pm.

All teams are reminded that they must send a representative, and all players and other persons interested are also welcome to attend.