British Primary School Championships, Isle of Man, 4-6 April 2008.

 

Blair Fowler and Garry Wright were making their second appearance in the British Championships and were joined this year by Adam Gaffney, the Scottish Primary Schools Champion and Christopher Wheeler, the youngest member of the team at aged 8 (nearly 9).  This event is usually a player’s first experience of competing in an international tournament and it offers them a busy schedule of five team matches and an individual event to keep them active from Friday evening through to Sunday afternoon.

Saturday evening is usually a time for some friendly banter with the other teams.

 

This year the boy’s team managed to win the bronze medal after wins against Guernsey, Ireland and Isle of Man.  This matched the achievement of the Scottish girl’s team, which was extremely unlucky not win the Silver medal.  Both teams should be pleased with their success.

 

Boys team event

 

Scotland 7-3 Guernsey

The boys started well on Friday with this win over Guernsey, with Adam doing particularly well to beat the Stacey twins as well as winning the doubles with Blair.  Garry dominated both of his matches and teamed up with Christopher for a close win in the doubles.  Christopher won his first match confidently but lost the rag in the early stages of his match with Luke Le Tissier.  He calmed down to recover at 2-2 but just lost the decider.  An early lesson on the way matches can turn and how to respond positively when a difficult situation arises.

 

Adam Gaffney bt Lawrence Stacey                   3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-6

Blair Fowler lt Joshua Stacey                             0-3: 7-11, 10-12, 8-11

Garry Wright bt Luke Le Tissier                        3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-6

Christopher Wheeler bt Joshua Butler             3-0: 11-8, 12-10, 11-8

Adam/ Blair bt Lawrence/ Joshua Stacey        3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 11-9

Garry/ Christopher bt Joshua/ Luke                  3-2: 9-11, 11-5, 9-11, 12-10, 11-4

Adam Gaffney bt Joshua Stacey                       3-1: 10-12, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3

Blair Fowler lt Lawrence Stacey                         1-3: 11-8, 5-11, 5-11, 11-13

Garry Wright bt Joshua Butler                           3-0: 11-8, 13-11, 11-4

Christopher Wheeler lt Luke Le Tissier            2-3: 7-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-13.

 

Scotland 3-7 Wales

Lewis Williams was the strongest player in this match and he did not lose a set.  This was bad news for Adam and Blair who had no answer to his attacking play.  Adam faired better against Alex O’Connell but was a little too cautious with his first forehand and found himself back from the table too often.  All of the wins in this match came in the bottom half as Garry and Christopher both beat Jonathan Tann and they won their second doubles match. 

 

Adam Gaffney lt Alex O’Connell                       2-3: 8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 13-11, 8-11

Blair Fowler lt Lewis Williams                            0-3: 7-11, 3-11, 5-11

Garry Wright bt Jonathan Tann                        3-1: 7-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-8

Christopher Wheeler lt Lee Morgan                 0-3: 4-11, 6-11, 8-11

Adam/ Blair lt Lewis/ Alex                  0-3: 5-11, 10-12, 8-11

Garry/ Christopher bt Lee/ Jonathan                3-1: 11-2, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9

Adam Gaffney lt Lewis Williams                       0-3: 8-11, 4-11, 0-11

Blair Fowler lt Alex O’Connell                            0-3: 9-11, 5-11, 8-11

Garry Wright lt Lee Morgan                               2-3: 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 10-12, 12-14

Christopher Wheeler bt Jonathan Tann           3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-4

 

Scotland 1-9 Isle of Man

The Isle of Man team had earlier shown signs of improvement when they came close to recording a rare win as they led Ireland 5-3 but eventually drew 5-5.  The Scottish boys however restricted them to one win when William Bayley defeated Blair.  Blair finally put the demons to rest when he won his first singles match, coming from 0-2 down to defeat Rohan McDonnell in 5 sets. Phew!!

Adam, Garry and Christopher confidently wrapped up the other matches and didn’t let up on the quality of their play until the match was finished.  This was a good start to Saturday and created a momentum that they carried into the Ireland match.

Adam Gaffney bt Rohan McDonnell                3-1: 11-4, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8

Blair Fowler lt William Bayley                            1-3: 9-11, 7-11, 11-4, 6-11

Garry Wright bt Daniel Hamill                            3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-3

Christopher Wheeler bt Haydn McLarney      3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-3

Adam/ Blair bt William/ Rohan                          3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-9

Garry/ Christopher bt Daniel/ Haydn                3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-3

Adam Gaffney bt William Bayley                      3-1: 11-6, 9-11, 13-11, 12-10

Blair Fowler bt Rohan McDonnell                     3-2: 5-11, 8-11 11-1, 11-9, 11-2

Garry Wright bt Haydn McLarney                    3-0: 11-3, 11-0, 12-10

Christopher Wheeler bt Daniel Hamill              3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-6

 

Scotland 10-0 Ireland

Another solid performance from all of the players resulted in a rare whitewash over Ireland.  Blair obviously continued his recovery of form by winning another two singles matches but again demonstrated his preference for the dramatic by turning around a 0-2 deficit to beat Ciaran Foley.  Adam, Christopher and Garry played well with Garry in particular playing some outrageous winners  from back off the table.

       

Adam Gaffney bt Ciaran Foley                          3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-7

Blair Fowler bt Shane Foley                               3-1: 13-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6

Garry Wright bt Ben O’Donnell                         3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-3

Christopher Wheeler bt Michael Jones            3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-7

Adam/ Blair bt Shane/ Ciaran                             3-2: 11-8, 8-11, 5-11 11-5, 11-6

Garry/ Christopher bt Michael/ Ben                  3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7              

Adam Gaffney bt Shane Foley                           3-2: 11-2, 5-11, 11-7, 5-11, 11-5

Blair Fowler bt Ciaran Foley                               3-2: 9-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6

Garry Wright bt Michael Jones                         3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-9

Christopher Wheeler bt Ben O’Donnell           3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-7

 

Scotland 1-9 England

With what had gone before the Scottish boys couldn’t have been better prepared to play England.  They were all playing well and had been growing in confidence as the day progressed.  However, when they went to the table they were a little too hyper and failed to match the English boys in ability and composure.  The first two matches were rushed to their conclusion and Garry was so pumped up he seemed about to burst.  Christopher rose to the occasion slightly better and played very aggressively with the forehand to take a 2-0 lead over Alex Holland.  A change of tactics by Alex nullified the threat form Christopher and he ran out an easy winner in 5 sets.  The loudest cheer of the whole weekend came when Garry defeated Alex Holland for a consolation win when the team was 0-8 down.  The cheer was so loud that a couple of the Scottish girl’s were dispatched down the hall to inquire whether the boys had beaten England.  I’m afraid not, the English were too good.

    

Adam Gaffney lt Michael Siket                          0-3: 5-11, 10-12, 7-11

Blair Fowler lt Helshan Weerasinghe               0-3: 6-11, 5-11, 5-11

Garry Wright lt Sam Mobey                               1-3: 11-9, 8-11, 3-11, 6-11

Christopher Wheeler lt Alex Holland                2-3: 11-6, 11-8, 9-11, 3-11, 2-11

Adam/ Blair lt Helshan/ Alex                              0-3: 2-11, 4-11, 9-11

Garry/ Christopher lt Michael/ Sam                   2-3: 12-10, 13-15, 11-9, 6-11, 9-11

Adam Gaffney lt Helshan Weerasinghe           0-3: 7-11, 1-11, 5-11

Blair Fowler lt Michael Siket                               0-3: 2-11, 6-11, 9-11

Garry Wright bt Alex Holland                            3-1: 12-10, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10

Christopher Wheeler lt Sam Mobey                 0-3: 9-11, 7-11, 5-11

 

Winning the Bronze medal was a good result for the boys and they deserved their success after applying themselves so well throughout the competition.  I’m sure some lessons will have been learned against England and the team will be stronger and more composed next time.

 

 

 

 

 

Individual Competition

 

The seeding for the individual event were based on the results of the team event.  Adam Gaffney was seeded highest of the Scottish player at No.5.

 

Adam struggled in his group but remained undefeated. He seemed to be nervous which resulted in him playing very cautiously. This allowed his opponents to force him away from the table and to control the rallies.  He fought hard to see off the challenge of O’Donnell and advanced as the group winner to a preliminary match against Lewis Williams.

Adam Gaffney      bt Rowan McDonnell 3-2

bt Joshua Butler 3-1

bt Ben O’Donnell 3-2

Preliminary rd        lt Alex Holland 1.3

 

Blair was outplayed by Michael Silcot in their group match, so Blair’s chance to qualify for the main draw came down to his match with Lee Morgan of Wales. This match was one of the best in the group stage and it went right to the wire before ending in Lee’s favour in the 5th set.  Blair later went through to the final of the consolation. He defeated Christopher 3-2 in the semifinal before losing to William Bayley of the Isle of Man, 1-3 in the final.

 

Blair Fowler           lt Michael Silcot 0-3

lt Lee Morgan 2-3

bt Haydn McLavery 3-0

Consolation          bt Christopher Wheeler 3-2

Final                       lt William Bayley 1-3

 

Garry lost to no.1 seed Helshan Weerasinghe in his group but followed this with three straight set wins to reach the quarterfinal stage where he lost to Michael Silcot.  He recorded a good win over Lawremce Stacey but was overwhelmed in his next and last match. 

 

Garry Wright         lt Helshan Weerasinghe 1-3

bt Jonathan Tann 3-0

bt Ciaran Foley 3-0

Preliminary rd        bt Lawrence Stacey 3-0

Quarterfinal           lt Michael Silcot 0-3

 

Chris had a tough group but he played well against Alex Holland and Lewis Williams before recording a convincing win against Luke le Tissier, whom he had lost to in the team event.  These results meant Chris went into the consolation event where he recorded another win against Jonathan Tann before losing his semi-final match with Blair.

 

Christopher Wheeler           lt Lewis Williams 0-3

lt Alex Holland 1-3

bt Luke Le Tissier 3-0

Consolation                          bt Jonathan Tann 3-0

Semifinal                                lt Blair Fowler 2-3

 

Overall this was a great effort by the four boys and winning the bronze medal in the team event was well deserved.  There is plenty of room for improvement in their game but their commitment and enthusiasm during these championships can not be faulted. The squad was well supported by the families that travelled to the Isle of Man and this created a great atmosphere at the event.