Table tennis: top silverware is up for grabs

From the archive, first published Thursday 12th Apr 2007.

Tendring's table tennis stars are gearing-up for a showpiece end to their season.

The curtain comes down on another campaign this weekend when the Clacton and District League stage their prestigious Closed Championships.

A bumper turn-out of 86 players will be gunning for glory when the competition - the highlight of the season - takes place at Colbayns High School on Saturday and Sunday.

Reigning champion Iain Vine, who took the men's singles title for the first time last year, will have a tough task to retain his crown in the face of serious competition from Ian Brown, Ken Lewis, Laurence Rutter, Peter Burrows and Colin Stallwood.

Annabelle Rodriguez is the favourite to take her second ladies' singles title, with the main challenge coming from five-times champion Isabel Barton.

However, there could also be an upset caused by the evergreen Sheila Howe and much-improved Sam Beck.