History of Huntsville/North Alabama Table Tennis Club
Scroll down to readCompiled by Michael Wetzel and Chip Patton
Other related articles/links:
Paddle Palace Article (1990)
Founding (1983):
The Huntsville Table Tennis Club (name changed to North Alabama Table Tennis Club in 1997) was founded in 1983 by David Wilder, Ed Griffin and Bill Mobley. Original members included now three-time Alabama State Champion Ralph Kissel and now 16-time Alabama State Champion Don Gaither. Dean Thomas was named treasurer. The HTTC originally owned four fine Detroiter tables and quality Imperial nets.HTTC hosts state tourney (1984):
In 1984, the Huntsville Table Tennis Club with the assistance of the Huntsville Parks and Recreation board held its first state tournament. The non-sanctioned tournament drew about 22 players from as far away as Dothan. Former Venezuelan junior champion Rafael Zambrano, then a student at Jeff State in Birmingham, defeated Huntsville club member Don Gaither in three games in the finals. Zambrano and Warren McNeil of Dothan defeated the Huntsville team of Gaither and Ralph Kissel for the championship doubles crown.First Sanctioned Club Tournament (1985):
The HTTC hosted its first state sanctioned closed championships on Saturday, March 30, 1985 at Brahan Spring Recreation Center. Don Gaither df. Ralph Kissel in the finals to win his 16th state singles title. Warren McNeil and Mark Miller of Dothan won the championship doubles. Michael Wetzel of Dothan won Class A. HTTC member and Nigerian soccer player Ganiyu Bello of Huntsville teamed with Wetzel to win Class A doubles. Leslie Sistla of Huntsville won the women's title. Tim Miller of Dothan won the juniors. Thirty four players competed in six division. The tournament received a nice story and photo in the Huntsville Times on March 31. Ralph Kissel and Bill Mobley competed in the U.S. Open in Miami Beach in early July.
More Tables (1986):
In 1986, the club purchased more Nissen and Detroiter tables. The club hosted its third state championship with the Brahan Spring Recreation Center in Huntsville being the setting. Twenty-seven players participated. This year, chopper and anti-hitter Warren McNeil of Dothan won the singles title, edging HTTC members Ralph Kissel and Don Gaither in the round-robin format. In doubles, McNeil teamed with his practice partner former state junior champion Mark Miller of Dothan to beat HTTC's Gaither and Bill Mobley for the championship. Tournament committee members were Bill Mobley, David Wilder and Ed Griffin.Bounced by Basketball (1987):
In 1987, Ralph Kissel defeated 16-time state champ Don Gaither to win his third state singles title. It was held at the Naval Reserve Center on Sparkman Drive in Huntsville the last weekend of March. The club played most of its weekly meetings at Brahan Spring Recreation Center, but during basketball season was moved to the lobby of Scruggs Recreation in downtown Huntsville near the Von Braun Center. Several times the club was forced to play with just 3 or 4 tables in the cramped quarters. This pattern of being displaced by the more popular sport of basketball would repeat itself for several years. The alternate site changed to the more spacious Jaycees' building in about 1991 until the popularity of the NATTC (and the availability of more basketball sites) has allowed the club to remain at Brahan Spring year round since 1997. Don Gaither, Ralph Kissel, Bill Mobley and Burt Zhang were the top players. Weekly membership attendance in 1987 was about 20 players.
(1988): A new king is crowned
Newcomer to the state from New Orleans, Louisiana, Keith LaFrance now of Montgomery, tore through the field at the Alabama Closed in April to win his first state championship. He defeated 16-time champion Don Gaither of Hazel Green in the finals. No championship doubles were held that year.Volunteer Cup League Chartered (1989):
On Jan. 19, 1989, here are active members and their club ratings: Don Gaither, 1905; Friedhelm Schope 1850; Burt Zhang 1840; Bill Mobley 1830; Ralph Kissel 1799; Ming Zhu 1702; Mike Wetzel 1640; David Wilder 1609; Don Johnson 1521; Lamar Scott 1462; Walt Chenault 1444; Don McCrary 1376; Rod Richardson 1344; Steve Countess 1337; Andrew Strong 1307; Ed Watts 1304; Rick Pickett 1278; Matt Youngkin 1237; Ed Griffin 1225; Chau Do 1175; Tim Forde 1165; Richard Forde 1154; Dean Thomas 1138; Son Ngyuyen 1115; and Pawan Kumar 1046. In 1989, the club became a charter member of the Volunteer Cup Table Tennis league which featured 26 teams from about 10 cities throughout the MidSouth. The HTTC's elite and star teams each finished second in their respective divisions. Players on the Elite team were Gaither, Kissel, Mobley, German graduate student Friedhelm Schope from Bonn and Chinese native Ming Zhu. Later that year, Schope won the state championship in a close round-robin format. Michael Adeymo handed the defensive style German his only loss. Schope didn't drop another game and edged Gaither and Mobley in a tie-breaker. In July of 1989, the club got state support in the Alabama Reunion tournament. xxxxx of Murfreesboro, Tenn., defeated Don Gaither in the finals of the tournament which attract 22 players at Brahan Spring Recreation Center. The reunion tournament was part of a campaign by the Alabama Visitors and Tourism Bureau. Active HTTC members in the fledgling and popular Volunteer Cup league (Larry Thoman of Nashville, commissioner) were Walt Chenault, David Wilder, Bill Mobley, Don Gaither, Ralph Kissel, Friedhelm Schope, Charter Nicholson, Don McCrary, Mike Zhu and Michael Wetzel. The star division Huntsville Hawks hosted a tri-match at the Jaycee Building on March 4, 1989. Huntsville fell in the first match 7-3 to the Memphis Racketeers. Robert Chamoun of Memphis df. Don McCrary 12, 11; Mike Bortner of Memphis df. Charter Nicholson 19, 16; Denis Fritchie df. David Wilder 17, -19, 19; McCrary df. Bortner -18, 20, 19; Chamoun df. Wilder 11, 11; Nicholson df. Fritchie 15, -21, 19; Wilder df. Bortner -15, 19, 20; Fritchie df. McCrary 16, 18; Chamoun df. Nicholson 15, 12; Bortner-Joseph Mahfood df. Wilder-McCrary -18, 16, 16. Huntsville won its second match vs. the Knoxville Stars 7-3. Dwain Kitchel of Knoxville df. Walt Chenault 13, -17, 13; Michael Wetzel df. Stan Wallen of Knoxville 17, 16; Charter Nicholson df. Wayne Maples of Knoxville 18, 9; Wallen df. Chenault 11, 11; Nicholson df. Kitchel 14, 11; Wetzel df. Maples, 10, -23, 16; Wallen df. Nicholson, -21, 15, 24; Chenault df. Maples 17, 17; Wetzel df. Kitchel -17, 18, 17; Wetzel-Nicholson df. Kitchel-Wallen 10, 16. Michael Wetzel was named Alabama State Coordinator by USATT headquarters in October.LaFrance reigns (1990):
Keith LaFrance of Montgomery won his second state tournament in Huntsville at Brahan Spring. Michael Wetzel competed in the U.S. Open in Baltimore in June. He also worked on the tournament's press committee.
More of LaFrance (1991):
Keith LaFrance of Montgomery won his third state tournament in Huntsville.
Official bylaws of the club are ratified.
First Decatur Open (Point Mallard Open) (1992):
Keith LaFrance of Montgomery breezed through the field of the state closed to
win his fourth state crown.
The inaugural Decatur Open drew 39 players to Decatur's T.C. Almon Recreation
Center at Point Mallard Park. HTTC's Ralph Kissel was the tournament's top seed
and fell in the finals to Ronald Pickett of Memphis. Players enjoyed free
Pepsis and Domino Pizzas. The tournament was directed by Walt Chenault, Michael
Wetzel and Jim Levy.
(1993):
Keith LaFrance of Montgomery won his fifth state singles title. Donny Flowers of Memphis defeated Ralph Kissel of Huntsville to win the second annual Deatur Open played at the T.C. Almon Recreation Center in Decatur.
(1994):
On April 23, Keith LaFrance of Montgomery won his sixth state singles title defeating Don Gaither of Hazel Green. Twenty-nine players played in the tournament at Brahan Spring Recreation Center in Huntsville.
George Cooper of Atlanta defeated Keith LaFrance of Montgomery in the third
annual Decatur Open finals on Aug. 9. Sixty-three people participated in the
tournament, which was played at the Decatur Aquadome Recreation Center for the
first time.
(1995):
In March, Ernesto Kawamoto, Ed Watts, Chip Patton, Walt Chenault, Don Johnson, Rodney Johnson and Michael Wetzel all competed in the 20th annual Louisiana Open in Baton Rouge. On April 22, Keith LaFrance of Montgomery won his seventh state championship title defeating Ralph Kissel in the finals. Kissel also won the senior singles title. Thirty-nine players participated in the tournament at Brahan Spring Recreation Center in Huntsville. In May, Kawamoto, Watts and Wetzel won first place in Class C of the Hall of Fame tournament in Augusta, Ga. In August, Michael Wetzel served as sports information supervisor of the World Team Cup in Atlanta and Brazilan exchange student Kawamoto was an athlete escort. Club member Ed Watts visited and chauffered the Brazilian team on a shopping excursion to Lenox Square Mall.On Sept. 9, the 4th annual Decatur Open drew 52 participants. Donny Flowers of
Memphis defeated Jay Sourinthone of Nashville in the finals. Flowers became the
tournament's first two-time winner. He also won the 1993 Decatur Open.
In late November, Wetzel defeated Watts in a Hibbetts Sporting Goods Store
tournament in November. Wetzel won a Harvard table for the championship. Two
weeks later, Wetzel and Watts played in 2 tournaments at the Omni Hotel in
Cancun, Mexico, with each of them defeating the other in the finals.
Atlanta Olympics Supported (1996):
In April, Keith LaFrance defeated Ralph Kissel and won his eighth state title at Brahan Spring Recreation Center. LaFrance and Jack Wise teamed to win the state doubles crown defeating Chip Patton and Michael Wetzel in the finals 2-0.A New Name, A new Technology (1997):
Near the beginning of 1997 the Huntsville Table Tennis Club took its charter to promote table tennis in Alabama onto the World Wide Web. Chip Patton set up http://fly.hiwaay.net/~crpatton/httc under his personal account with HiWaay. Major components of the website include the club logo, playing times and places, tournaments (upcoming and results) and photographs -- lots of photographs. (See also the hits.txt file under "What's New" on the site for a history of the website.) Links were established to and from the USATT's website and a number of visitors to Huntsville found our club via searches on their computers.(1998):
Richard McAfee of Atlanta defeated Jungki Lee of Huntsville in the North Alabama
Open at Danville High School. McAfee, who was assited by Chip Patton, put on a
clinic the night before the tournament. Charlie Gover and Ed Watts were the
directors.
Jungki Lee of Huntsville won his second state singles title disposing of Jason
Denton of Trinity in the finals at Brahan Spring Recreation Center.
Tai Long Tey, a former Malaysian world team member and graduate student in
Memphis, won the Decatur Open defeating David Williams of Atlanta 21-11, 18-21,
21-7 in the finals. Seventy-four players participated in the Aquadome event.
(1999):
Atlanta's Lee McCool won the second North Alabama Open at Danville High School in February. Michael Wetzel and Chip Patton were the directors. The North Alabama Table Tennis Club co-hosted the state championship with the Birmingham club at Berry Middle School in Birmingham. Adam Brown of Riverchase defeated Terry Hamilton of Ensley in the finals. Chip Patton of Madison and Jungki Lee of Huntsville won the state doubles title. The pair defeated Homer and Adam Brown of Riverchase in the finals. At age 18 and 6 months, Adam Brown became the youngest Alabama singles champion on record.
During the summer, Michael Wetzel, a regional umpire, worked the World Special Olympics in North Carolina. The competition was at the Kern indoor tennis courts at the University of North Carollina in Chapel Hill.Olympian Amy Feng of Marietta, Ga., defeated Tai Long Tey of Memphis in the finals of the Decatur Open.
(2000):
The club web site has its own domain name, www.nattc.com ,with Anthony Dang serving as the new webmaster (11/2000). NATTC member Ernesto Kawamoto won his first state singles title by defeating Homer Brown of Birmingham, 21-12, 21-14 at the state tournament hosted by the NATTC at Brahan Spring on May 6. Kawamoto then teamed with Adam Brown of Birmingham to win the state doubles crown. The pair defeated Chip Patton of Madison and Jungki Lee of Huntsville in straight games in the finals. Club member and rising junior player David Landry of Huntsville won the juniors crown.(2002):
Ernesto Kawamoto, a senior electrical engineering student at UAH,
finished third at the ACUI Region 6 competition at Florida State University in
Tallahassee, Fla. in early February. His performance qualified him for his
third ACUI National tournament in March at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore, Md.
On Feb. 16, four NATTC members participated in the Gadsden City Open. Jason
Denton, the tournament's top seed, defeated Tommie Daily of Birmingham in the
finals. Denton then teamed with Michael Wetzel to win the doubles championship.
They defeated Barry Putman of Attalla and Danny Bullock of Gadsden 4-1 in the
finals.
On April 13, Jason Denton of Trinity breezed through the field to win his won
his first state singles title. He defeated Adam Brown 4-0 in the finals. Three
of the top four spots were won by NATTC members, Denton and semifinalists David
Landry and Ralph Kissel. Ernesto Kawamoto of Huntsville won his 5th state
doubles crown with four different partners. This time his partner was Michael
Wetzel of Moulton. Five of the eight players involved in the doubles semis were
from the NATTC. Kawamoto, Wetzel, David Landry, Jishnu Saha and David Wilder.
Seniors winner was Jiang Gu of Mobile. Juniors winner was David Landry of
Huntsville. Women's winner was Jane Ng of Birmingham. Players from as far as
Dothan and Mobile played in the 2002 state closed hosted by the NATTC at Brahan
Spring Recreation Center. Forty-seven players took part. The NATTC has hosted
the state tournament every year since 1984.
The Huntsville Parks and Recreation May 1 newsletter featured the state
tournament with a short story and three photos. The newsletter is distributed
to all city departments.
David Landry, 15, and his family traveled to Fort Lauderdale July 3-8 where
David competed in three events in the 2002 U.S. Open. He played doubles with
Adam Brown of Birmingham, a criminal science major at Auburn University.
NATTC's junior stars David Landry and Jishnu Saha won a bronze medal at the
2002 USA Junior Olympics in Knoxville, Tenn., in early August.
In the July/August 2002 issue of the USA Table Tennis magazine, Ralph
Kissel was listed at No. 8 in the USA in the Over 60 Men. His rating was 1901.
In the Under 16 Boys division, David Landry was ranked No. 15 nationally with
his 1874 rating. (2003):
Ernesto Kawamoto of UAH became the first state player to qualify for
ACUI college nationals four times by finishing second in the ACUI Region 6
competition in Athens, Ga., on Feb. 7-8. He lost in the finals to John Mar of
the University of Georgia 4-1. Michael Wetzel of NATTC was the Region 6
assistant director helping UGA's Sarah Woodall. The national ACUI tournament is
at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Wetzel and Kawamoto enjoyed
watching Jason Cruz of the University of Puerto Rico win his third billiards
championship.
Michael Wetzel played at a club in Zurich, Switzerland on Aug. 5, while
visiting 1989 state champion Friedhelm Schope in Buchs, Switzerland. Wetzel
gave the club members a few pins and a club tshirt. On that same trip, Wetzel
gave Swiss player Frederic Sallete a club pin and shirt while visiting in
Montreux, Switzerland, on July 31.
The 11th annual Decatur Open was another sell-out. NATTC members competing were
Chris Polycroniades, Dick Cloyd, Fred Mitchell II, Ralph Kissel, Ernesto
Kawamoto, David Landry, Bill Mobley, Lamar Scott, James Norris, Jason Denton,
Justin Davis, David Wilder and Christian Draghici. Tai Long Tey of Memphis, a
former Malaysian World Team member, won his third Decatur Open title. He
defeated former Jamaican national champion Keith Evans of Atlanta 4-0 in the
finals. Kawamoto finished tied for fifth. Justin Davis finished second in class
AA. James Norris won $50 with his Class BBB finish. Tournament directors for
the 11th year were Walt Chenault and Michael Wetzel.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, one of the club founders Bill Mobley won the club
championship and $10. Finishing second was David Landry, who earned $5. Don
Gaither, 16-time champion, finished third. David Landry and Ernesto Kawamoto
participated in the National Team Tournament in Baltimore on Thanksgiving
weekend as members of the Four Jedi's. The club celebrated with a Christmas
party on Dec. 12 at the home of Mo and Martha Brooks. Winning $25 gift
certificates were David Landry, Peter Jones, Christian Draghici and Michael
Wetzel. Ed Watts, Walt Chenault and Greg won table tennis supplies. Mo and
Chelsea Brooks gave lessons in foosball. Thirty-five members and guests
attended the party.
Michael Wetzel served as press director and
Ernesto Kawamoto, an athlete escort and drug committee volunteer, at the USA
World/Pan Am Team Trials at the Sporting Club at Windy Hill in Atlanta March
16-22. Each shot photos for the USATT web site and national magazine. Morgan
Tang and Duke Stogner of Birmingham also worked the the team trials.
Jiang Gu of Mobile won the 2003 state championships at Brahan Spring defeating
Adam Brown of Riverchase in the finals 4-1. Ernesto Kawamoto and David Landry,
both of Huntsville, won the state doubles crown defeating Justin Davis of
Decatur and Jason Denton of Trinity in the finals 4-1. NATTC's Cristian
Draghici of Owens Cross Roads won the seniors title. Landry won the juniors
title. David's sister, Alisha Landry, won the women's title over Denita Denton
of Trinity. NATTC's Jishnu Saha of Huntsville won the U-1500, U-1400 and Class
A doubles crown. A half-page story with 2 photos on the tournament was featured
on page 33 of the July/August 2003 issue of USA Table Tennis.
The end of April and early May saw Fred Mitchell, David Landry, Ernesto
Kawamoto and Michael Wetzel conduct 4 table tennis exhibitions, clinics and
tournaments at Lawrence County School, R.A. Hubbard Elementary in Courtland,
Hazlewood High School in Town Creek, Mount Hope High School and Speake School.
Don McPhearson was the coordinator. The group was paid $100 from Lawrence
County's 21st Century After-School Program. At the May 3 Scenic Open in
Chattanooga, Don Johnson won Class A and Jim Stark took home third place in
Class C. The USA Table Tennis Magazine's July/August 2003 issue, page 35, read
"In the A tournament, Don Johnson of Huntsville (actually Somerville), the
self-proclaimed "bad kneed, slow motion, old man" managed to win the extra
match from the second place spot of his RR to best Tommy Dailey in his
semifinal. Simon Brain had take a hard fought 3-2 match from Priscilla Umel
only to fall in straight games from the crafty, long pips, Deputy Dawg look
alike.
Don Johnson, Mike Lowder, John Lewis and Fred Mitchell II each enjoyed big wins
at the Atlanta Spring Open in mid May.
In June, Don Johnson has knee surgery. John Abraham of Danbury, Connecticut
visits for two weeks while working at a seminar at Intergraph.
July 2-6, David Landry and Bill Mobley played in the U.S. Open in Fort
Lauderdale, Fla.
Jishnu Saha traveled to Detroit to compete in the USA Junior Olympics.
Two-time Olympian
Sean O'Neill of Charlottesville, Va., defeated Tai Long Tey of Memphis
4-1 to win the 12th annual Decatur Open on Aug. 16 at the Aquadome. NATTC's
David Landry and Ernesto Kawamoto each finished as quarterfinalists. Former
NATTC member Chip Patton of Pittsburgh, Pa., won Class AA over Shelby Lane of
Memphis. Jishnu Saha finished second in Class BBB; Andrew Strong finished third
in Class BBB and Fred Mitchell II was second in Class A. Click here for
complete results
of the 12th Decatur Open. About 30 players and guests enjoyed a post-tournament
party at China Town Buffett.
On Sept. 6-7, Ernesto Kawamoto won more than $200, David Landry $141.50 and
Michael Wetzel $30 at the $10,000 Spinmania tournament. David and Ernesto tied
for the U-2000 event and second in U-4100 doubles. Wetzel and Warren McNeil of
Dothan teamed to finish second in the U-3500 doubles.
On Sept. 15, 5-year-old Logan
Michael Wetzel was featured in the USATT Photo of the Week wearing his
table tennis hat with 33 balls and 2 mini-bats designed by his mom, Windy. He
was also wearing a 2003 Decatur Open shirt.
Don Johnson, Fred Mitchell II and Bob Countess brought home hardware from the
Alabama Masters Games in Valley on Oct. 6. Don won a gold in the 65-69 age
division with Bob finishing second with a silver. Fred dominated the 55-59
division earning a gold. On Nov. 7-8, Andrew Strong, Bill Mobley, Mike Lowder,
Fred Mitchell and Don Johnson went played in the Atlanta Giant RR. Andrew
Strong won Class C. Don Johnson qualified for championship, Mobley for Class A.
Fred Mitchell defeated a 1600 rated player for a nice adjustment in his rating.
On Nov. 24, David Landry's
photo in action at the Spin Mania Tournament in Atlanta in September was
selected as USATT photo of the week.
On Dec. 6, Club members Dr. Ted Edwards, Don Johnson, Fred B. Mitchell III and
Michael Wetzel competed in the Anniston Army Depot tournament. Wetzel finished
second losing to Tommie Dailey of Birmingham in the finals and then teamed with
Dailey to win the doubles title and $50. Don Johnson got $10 for finishing
third. In doubles Dr. Edwards and his partner John James won second place and
$20. On Dec. 8, 29 club members and guests enjoyed the Christmas party at the
China Town Buffett in Decatur. President Ernesto Kawamoto welcomed the guests
and introduced the guests. Walt Chenault gave the invocation. Michael Wetzel
revisited the club's activities for 2003. The club presented Wetzel with a gift
basket for his work on club functions and tournaments. $25 gift certificates
were won by Julia Chenault, Jo Whitten, Andrew Strong Jr. and Bill Mobley.
Formerly Formosa, China Town Buffet is a major sponsor of the Decatur Open.
Bob Chew of Long Beach, Calif., visited the club for two week in mid-December.
Ralph Halladay is back at the club after a 10-year absence.
The club will not meet at Brahan Spring for two weeks due to Christmas Eve and
New Years Eve playing dates.
2004
Thirty-three players attended the first meeting of the year at Brahan Spring.
On Jan. 28, longtime treasurer and founder Dean Thomas and long-time club
member Mal McGehee were honored before league play. Club vice president Michael
Wetzel read the plaque context to the 25 members in attendance.
Ernesto Kawamoto won the Jan. 30 Bumpernets tournament. Michael Wetzel finished
fourth.
Michael Wetzel served as press director and Ernesto Kawamoto as the field of
play supervisor at the North American Olympic Doubles Trials at the Adamsville
Recreation Center in Atlanta, April 3-4. Ilija Lupulesku and Mark Hazinski and
Jasna Reed and Whitney Ping of the USA won berths to the Athens Olympics in
August.
Chip Patton returned to the North Alabama TT Club on April 17 after four years
of working in Pittsburgh, Pa. Chip was the original webmaster of the NATTC.com
site and resumed duties as such.
On May 1 at the Anniston Army Depot, Adam Brown of Riverchase defeated David
Landry of Huntsville in the finals of the state tournament. Others from the
NATTC doing well were Ernesto Kawamoto and David Landry first place,
championship doubles; Chip Patton and Michael Wetzel third place championship
doubles; Ernesto Kawamoto, elite singles, first place; Bill Mobley seniors,
first; Chip Patton, seniors, second place. All players received a T-shirt, pizza
and drinks. It was the first state tournament hosted by the Anniston Army
Depot.
The Decatur Open became an annual sellout. The 2004 winner was Tai Long Tey. It was his record fourth Decatur Open win.
2005
Election of club officers was held during the regular club meeting at Brahan
Spring on January 12. The following positions were filled (* indicates the
winner(s); vote totals appear to the right of each candidate's name):
President (Incumbent: Ernesto Kawamoto)
* Bill Mobley - 17
Chip Patton - 6
Vice President (Incumbent: John Lewis)
* Chip Patton - 17
Bill Mobley - 6
Treasurer (Incumbent: Dean Thomas)
* Dean Thomas
Secretary (Incumbent: Walt Chenault)
*Walt Chenault
Tournament Committee (standing members):
* Mike Wetzel - 18
* Bill Mobley - 16
* Walt Chenault - 15
* Andrew Strong - 14
Chip Patton - 13
Fred Mitchell - 10
Club League / Activities Committee (standing members):
* Ed Watts - 20
* Bill Mobley - 19
* Walt Chenault - 16
* Chip Patton - 15
Fred Mitchell - 12
David Wilder - 1 (write in)
Results were certified by Club Member Collin Fullerton with Bill Mobley, Chip
Patton, Mike Wetzel and Nathaniel Patton assisting.
At the state championships at the Anniston Army Depot, Adam Brown won the singles title. David Landry and Ernesto Kawamoto won championship doubles. Jane Wang of Hoover won the women's title. David Landry won his last of five junior titles and Chip Patton won his first seniors championship. Michael Wetzel and Mike Harris were the co-directors.
Michael Wetzel, regional umpire, worked the World Cerebral Palsy Table Tennis Championships in New London, Connecticut, in July. He became wheelchair certified at the event.
At the Decatur Open in August, Soon Chian Lim of Memphis took the overall title.
Michael Wetzel became a certified referee by passing his exam in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Sept. 9 at the RoboPong Championships at Middle Tennessee State University. He also officiated the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the event. Chip Patton played seven-time US champion Danny Seemiller in the seniors event there. Ernesto Kawamoto served as scorekeeper in the semifinals.
Ernesto Kawamoto, Bill Mobley, Chip Patton and Michael Wetzel participated in the 2005 U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas in December. Kawamoto, who also worked as a staff member at the event, finished in the semis of the U-2000 event. He lost to Daniel Seemiller Jr., who won the division.
Wetzel passed his written and oral national umpire exams to become one of seven certified national umpires in the nation.
At the Decatur Open in August at the Aquadome Recreation Center, Didi DeSouza of Atlanta won the Decatur Open.
Sometime in the fall all files on the club website disappeared. Most of the text files and many of the photos had been backed up and were mostly restored by the end of the year. Some photos were lost, particularly ones from 2001 - 2004. Others are still being found and restored. As of the end of 2006 only the 2004 - 2006 Decatur Open tournament pages remained to be restored, plus a number of broken links need to be fixed. Chip is getting to them as he can. Thanks for your hard work Mr. Webmaster!
On January 10 the club held a meeting before club play and voted to donate 2 of our oldest tables to the Decatur Recreation Department. We donated tables numbered 10 and 12 on January 16. The club also voted to hold officer elections on January 31 (see below).
Elections 2007
(The new officers are Chip Patton, president; David Wilder, Michael Wetzel, vice presidents; Walt Chenault, secretary; and Ed Watts, treasurer.)
The positions listed below will be elected on January 31, 2007.
Nominations are due by midnight on Wednesday, January 24 and will be posted here. Any club member can nominate one other member for each position
Nominations (as of 1/24/2007):
Notes: Bill Mobley has asked not to be listed for Vice President (nominated by Chip Patton); David Wilder has asked not to be listed for League / Activity Committee (nominated by Bill Mobley); Bill Mobley had nominated 3 people for VP but could only nominate 2 per the by-laws and he had also nominated Don McCrary for Secretary so he has withdrawn his nomination of Don McCrary for VP; Dick Cloyd asked to withdraw from the Treasurer race at the club meeting on 1/24 (nominated by Bill Mobley);
Also at the club meeting the current officers (less Dean Thomas) and most of the officer candidates met to set a few guidelines for the election: in order to be eligible to vote a person must have played in at least 5 league sessions at Brahan Spring in the last 12 months (these are posted with the league results); also Bill will make up the ballots and voting will be from approximately 6:50 PM and conclude 10 minutes later, no more ballots will be given out, and no more votes accepted after the 10 minutes, i.e. about 7:00 PM; the current Secretary Walt Chenault will collect the ballots and count them with club member Collin Fullerton.
Scans of written nominations:
by Chip Patton |
by Mike Wetzel
