Dundee Summer Smash

Dundee hosted a nationally sanctioned table tennis event for the first time in many years this weekend. Some very strong players gathered at the Ward Road Gym for a Banded Singles competition on Saturday, followed by Open Singles and Consolation Singles events on Sunday. Many participants commented on how much they enjoyed the venue — a traditional gym in the city centre, featuring a six-table set-up, kitchen facilities, and a good viewing gallery.

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In Band 1 on Saturday, many of the early results followed the seedings, so the outcome hinged on a few key matches late in the afternoon between the highest-ranked players in the field. Dundee’s Andrew Nimmo put himself in a strong position with a five-set win over top seed Gerry Campbell of Grange TTC (Edinburgh). However, Andrew then lost his final match 3–1 to second seed Ben Hart of Drumchapel TTC. Ben went on to defeat Gerry Campbell 3–1 (after dropping the first set) to finish the day undefeated and win the event. Andrew Nimmo was runner-up.

Ben Hart’s younger sister, Alexandra, performed brilliantly in Band 2, finishing runner-up to Vaibhav Narula, who plays Division 1 table tennis in Aberdeen. Vaibhav won all 7 of his matches, while Alexandra secured 6 wins from 7. Band 3 was extremely competitive, with another talented youngster, Aaron McKay of Aberdeen & District TTA, emerging as the winner after taking 7 out of 8 matches. Runner-up was Derek Paterson — a seasoned campaigner and stalwart of the Scottish Veterans scene — who won 6 of his 8 matches.

Another strong field assembled on Sunday for the Open Singles and Consolation Singles events. The top seeds — Stewart Crawford (Grange TTC), Cameron Hussain (Glasgow South), Rory Thomson (West Lothian TTC), and Andrew Nimmo (Mylnefield TTC) — all topped their respective groups. However, in the quarter-finals, Andrew Nimmo was narrowly beaten in the fifth set by tough opponent Brian Wright of Edinburgh International, while Rory Thomson lost an epic 14–16 decider to Colin Green of Penicuik TTC. In the first semi-final, Stewart Crawford overcame Brian Wright in three hard-fought sets. Colin Green prevailed in the second semi, defeating Cameron Hussain 3–1. The final, played to a very high standard, saw Stewart Crawford edge ahead and win 3–0 to take the trophy.

Players who did not progress beyond the group stages competed in the Consolation Singles tournament, which also featured a strong field. The winner was Grant Williams of Plebeians TTC, Broughty Ferry, who advanced past clubmate Sandy Bertie in the quarter-finals (3–1), then won a very tight semi-final 3–2 against Ryan Campbell of St Andrews TTC. In a spectacular final, he defeated Angus Halliday of Murrayfield TTC 3–1.

DDTTA, who organised the event with support and guidance from TTS, are grateful to all players who travelled to Dundee to take part, to tournament referees Juliet Johnston and David Simpson, and to competitor Peter Aird, who generously sponsored the event through his Table Tennis Fun Club venture. It was especially encouraging to see such a high proportion of young players — many of whom clearly persuaded their parents to bring them along — all performing to an impressive standard.

The Stadium Compete platform was used effectively throughout the weekend to manage results and scheduling.
Click here for full Banded Singles results
Click here for full Open Singles results

Report by:
Eric Brown
Chairperson, Dundee and District Table Tennis Association