LOCAL and national success stories were celebrated at the Chester and Ellesmere Port League presentation evening and AGM.
The prize-giving evening was held at the Groves Sports and Social Club in Ellesmere Port, with more than 40 players attending to collect their trophies.
Silverware was presented jointly by outgoing league president Don Wragg and newly-appointed president Laurie Williams, both longstanding players.
The Corus team of Mark Pugh, Neil Powell, Roger Lee, Paul Collins, Keith Williams and Peter Walsh were the clear winners of the Premier Division, with Barrow and British Steel in second and third place with only a point between them.
County Officers’ team – Keith Bartlett, Andy Taylor, Martin Greene and Martyn Jones – took the Division One title, with Andy Taylor winning the individual merit crown.
Beechwood came top of Division Two and County Officers’ B team won Division Three.
Liam Fletcher, winner of the under 21 singles title, saw his coaching efforts rewarded when young schoolboy Shay Harper won the Division Three singles title in the end-of-season tournament.
Shay was the season’s most promising new player and looks set to continue his success next season.
The presentation evening also celebrated the achievements of the league’s teams on a national level.
The town team – Aaron Beech, Rob Wylie and Jo Killoran – defeated Oldham 5-2 to win the Dennis Smith Cup final.
And the league’s representative team – Beech, Jonathan Taylor and Tomasz Rzeszotko – beat rivals from the Potteries, Telford, Birmingham, Watford, Leamington Spa and Reading on their way to victory in the National Willmot Cup, the table tennis equivalent of football’s FA Cup.
The Chester and Ellesmere Port were rank outsiders for their final showdown against Sheffield, but they came out on top against a side containing three players ranked in the top 100 in the country.
The league had 37 teams playing last season. This may increase next season, especially with the added benefit of the coaching available at some venues, in particular the sessions for young people at Bishops’ High School on Wednesday evenings 5-6pm throughout the summer.
For further details about the league visit www.epochtabletennis.co.uk.
