For a third year running, James Denyer and Gracie Edwards, dominated the Clacton League’s Closed Championships, sponsored by The Survey Initiative and held last weekend at the Lift Clacton School Sports Hall.

Both players were successful in their respective singles events, Denyer notching up a fifth Men’s crown and Edwards taking the Ladies’ title for a ninth time.

The Men’s Singles final between Denyer and Daniel Young was a re-run of the Colchester Closed final last month but the outcome was the same, Denyer winning 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7). In a typically robust match of attacking table tennis, Denyer got off to a slow start but, from 4-0 down in the second set, the tide turned, Denyer’s experience getting the better of Young, a gifted player surely destined for title success in the coming years. 

Denyer had been in imperious form all day, winning all his qualifying matches without losing a set including, in the knockout stage, victories against high-quality opposition in Denes Somodi, Gary Young and Kevin Gowlett.

Daniel Young had an equally comfortable ride until his semi-final when he was forced to bring out his A game against Ethan Lloyd, coincidentally his doubles partner. In a match which kept the spectators’ attention throughout, there were moments when Lloyd, who’d already eliminated Paul Hume, looked like causing another upset. But Young had just that iota more of big-time experience and, after a classic encounter, he made it to the final, winning 3-1 (11-9, 16-18, 12-10, 11-9).   

Runner-up for the last two seasons, Greg Green, failed to make it past the quarter-finals this year but it was a mighty close-run thing, Kevin Gowlett edging their quarter-final meeting 3-2 (11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9) in yet another crowd-pleasing match.

The group matches also produced their quota of shocks and surprises. Group 10 could well have been described as ‘The Group of Death’ with three quality Division One operators – Adam Wilkin, Jason Lloyd and John Hatley – drawn in the same group. With only the top two qualifying for the knockout stage, it was ranked player Wilkin who was eliminated, with Hatley and Lloyd going through. And in another tight Group 11, Simon Smith-Daye and Kevin James won through at the expense of Russell Hillier.

In the Ladies’ Singles, the two seeded players, Edwards and Gill Locke made it to the final as they had done last year. And once again youth again triumphed over experience, Edwards winning 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8) in confident style against Locke, who was never quite able to match the consistency and attacking verve of her younger opponent.

Encouragingly for the future of this event, talented young players Ruby Gallagher and Lucy Carvell both showed their potential by reaching the semi-finals. Carvell had qualified from a four-player Group by beating Lynette Sparks and Lily Liu before going down to Edwards, whilst Gallagher had the temerity to take a set off Locke in her semi-final before losing 3-1 (8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 6-11).

The Men’s Doubles final was something of a generation game where not only did two veterans face two twenty-somethings, but father and son were on opposite sides of the table. But the old hands, Kevin Gowlett & Gary Young, came out on top, retaining their title by defeating Ethan Lloyd & Daniel Young 3-2 (6-11, 11-6, 15-17, 11-7, 11-7). It was a nail-biting match and one of the most entertaining encounters of the whole weekend.

Ranked pairs Paul Hume & Kevin James and Greg Green & Adam Wilkin had both made it to the semi-finals but both lost in three-straight at that stage.

James Denyer, partnered by dad Allen Denyer, did not feature among the fancied pairings but they did enjoy a notable victory in Round One, defeating John Pattrick and Phil Smith by the interesting-looking score-line of 3-2 (2-11, 12-10, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10) before going down to Hume and James in the next round.

For the record, having won last year, this was only a second-ever Men’s Doubles success for Kevin Gowlett. But for Gary Young it was his eighth victory in this event, having previously won with Greg Green (three times), Paul Adams (twice) and Andy Warner and Gowlett (once each), his first success being back in 2004.

The Ladies’ Doubles looked a clear run for Gracie Edwards and new partner, Tricia Salter. But they faced a harder task than they might have expected and so nearly went out in the semi-finals, the young pairing of Lucy Carvell & Ruby Gallagher going close to producing a major shock, Edwards & Salter winning by the narrowest of 3-2 (11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9) margins.

In the final, Edwards and Salter took on the scratch pairing of Gill Locke & Anne Bonny and, once again, they didn’t have things all their own way, the underdogs sticking to their task unstintingly, and it was only in the third set that Edwards & Salter took full control, eventually winning 3-0 (12-10, 12-10, 11-3).

For Gracie Edwards, it was a fifth Ladies’ Doubles title in a row. For Tricia Salter it was only her second win in 12 appearances in a final, her only other victory being in 2008 when, partnered with Jenny Binns, they defeated Bethany Johnson & Gill Locke.

However, there was a reverse of fortune for Locke and Edwards in the Mixed Doubles where the mother and son combination of Locke & James Denyer retained their title by beating Edwards & Greg Green 3-1 (11-5, 11-3, 6-11, 12-10) in a repeat of the 2025 final.

The event produced its share of close matches, two of them involving the pairs seeded third-equal. Mark Salter &Tricia Salter only just made it to the semi-finals, edging their quarter-final match with John Gallagher & Ruby Gallagher 3-2 (11-13, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-9), while Daniel Young & Lucy Carvell nearly took a surprise place in the final, eventually going down to second seeds Green and Edwards 11-9 in the decider.

The Veterans’ Singles proved a personal triumph for Peter Burrows. Three times a previous winner (in 2008, 2014 and 2015) and twice a runner-up (in 2011 and 2024), Burrows had tasted both success and defeat in this event. But this year he was in sparkling form, beating five-times winner, reigning champion and top seed, Gary Young, 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-9) in the semi-final.

And in the final, Burrows defeated No 2 seed Kevin Gowlett, also a previous winner of this event. But he had to be at his very best and, in yet another top-class final, showing showed great character in retrieving a two-set deficit and then coming back from 6-2 down in the final set to win by the narrowest of 3-2 (9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 14-12) margins. It was a cracking final!

Burrows followed up this success with victory in the Super-Veterans’ Singles, his first foray into Super-Veterans’ territory. In a tough set of matches, he saw off Mark Gale, Mark Ratcliffe and Gavin Price before, in the final, defeating Charlie Fulcher, winner of this event in both 2024 and 2025. In a fast, aggressive final with many hard-fought, attacking rallies, Burrows was determined not to be beaten and his determination was not to be denied, taking the title 3-1 (11-5, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9).

It was a highly-impressive performance from Burrows in both the Veterans and Super-Veterans. The latter event was only introduced in 1999 but this year was the first time ever that one player has taken both the Veterans and Super-Veterans titles at the same Championships. And, for this achievement, Burrows was presented with the Victor Trophy, awarded for the outstanding performance of the weekend.

The Restricted Singles, an unseeded event with an open draw, always has the potential to surprise and it did so again this year. At the start, there were a number of potential winners, including players like Mark Gale, Phil Smith, Denes Somodi, John Pattrick, Mark Ratcliffe, Scott Campbell and Felipe Rodriguez, all of whom did reach the quarter-finals.

Somodi was particularly unfortunate in his draw, but he completed his task with aplomb, defeating Jason Lloyd, Peter Burrows – who probably fancied his chances of a third title – and Phil Smith before falling to Gale in the semi-final.

In the other half of the draw, John Pattrick won through to the final after eliminating John Barton, Paul Woolnough, Mark Ratcliffe and Felipe Rodriguez.

The final proved a match of contrasting styles, the more stylish, aggressive and orthodox Pattrick facing the dogged, determined and consistent Gale. And Gale it was who proved the unlikely winner, frustrating his opponent and coming back from 10-7 down in the third set to win 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 14-12). It was a well-deserved success for a much improved and often underrated player.

With only four juniors entering the Championships this year, all three junior events went straight to finals. But that didn’t detract from the quality of the finalists, all of whom came from the same Brotherhood J team.

Joe Sherwin was defending his title in the Junior Boys’ Singles and his opponent was his good friend and team-mate, Tom Bryden. Sherwin’s improvement over the season had installed him as favourite and he lived up to that tag, coming back from an indifferent start to win 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9). The winning point for Bryden in the first set came from an edge, which no-one, including the umpire or Bryden had seen but Sherwin, in a pleasing act of sportsmanship, declared it against himself.  

Ruby Gallagher and Lucy Carvell have been fighting it out in the Junior Girls’ Singles for the past three season, Ruby winning in 2023 and 2024, and Lucy taking the title last year. The two girls, who know each other’s game so well, were once again in opposition but this time it was Gallagher who came out on top, taking her third title in a nip-and-tuck match 3-1 (9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7).

The four juniors were on opposite sides in the Junior Doubles, with Sherwin & Bryden strong favourites to retain the title they’d won in the past two season. But underdogs Carvell & Gallagher, beaten finalists back in 2023, gave them a tougher ride than might have been expected, showing great combative spirit which necessitated Sherwin & Bryden to bring out their best form to win 3-1 (11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 13-11) to make it three titles in a row.   

It’s true to say that, although the League has only a few juniors playing in the League, we are very proud of them all.

Mark Salter has monopolised the Division Two Singles event in recent seasons, having won it an unprecedented three times running. But this year he succumbed to Kelvin Olano-Harper who, after edging past Tom Bryden 11-9 in the decider in the quarter-finals, defeated Salter 11-8 in the decider in another close encounter in the semi-finals.

Alas for Olano-Harper that was to be the end of his success, losing in the final to Joe Sherwin, a player currently on fire who, having sailed through the opening rounds with three-straight victories against Lucy Carvell and John Gallagher, completed the set with a 3-0 (11-5, 12-10, 11-7) final win over Olano-Harper to take a well-deserved title.

With several leading players not entering the Division Three Singles, the way was open for an unheralded player to step into the limelight. The four seeded players, Lynette Sparks, Matt Thomas, Gerry Widnell and Derek Foxley all made it to the semi-finals but it was the top two seeds, Sparks and Thomas who won through to the final.

In a tense, but entertaining, final, Thomas, in only his second season of competitive table tennis, took a two-set lead. But Lynette Sparks, a loyal servant of the League for many seasons, showed true grit and fought back to take a richly-deserved first Championship trophy with a 3-2 (8-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-5) victory.

Overall, the Championships attracted an entry of 61 players, with some 230 individual matches played over the two days. The tournament was once again sponsored by The Survey Initiative and the League is most grateful to Gary Cattermole for his generous sponsorship. Thanks also go to the sponsors of individual events: Phil Smith, Jenny Higggins, and Fenton’s Estate Agents. One player also sponsored an event anonymously.   

RESULTS

Men’s Singles (anon sponsor): J Denyer beat D Young 8-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7. 

Ladies’ Singles (sponsored by Jenny Higgins): G Edwards beat G Locke 11-6, 11-8, 11-8.        

Men’s Doubles: K Gowlett/G Young beat E Lloyd/D Young 6-11, 11-6, 15-17, 11-7, 11-7.     

Ladies’ Doubles: G Edwards/T Salter beat G Locke/A Bonny 12-10, 12-10, 11-3.    

Mixed Doubles: J Denyer/G Locke beat G Green/G Edwards 11-5, 11-3, 6-11, 12-10.      

Veterans’ Singles (sponsored by Phil Smith): P Burrows beat K Gowlett 9-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9, 14-12.      

Super-Veterans’ Singles: P Burrows beat C Fulcher 11-5, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9.    

Junior Boys’ Singles (sponsored by Fenton’s Estate Agents): J Sherwin beat T Bryden 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-9.      

Junior Doubles: T Bryden/J Sherwin beat L Carvell/R Gallagher 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 13-11.    

Junior Girls’ Singles (sponsored by Fenton’s Estate Agents): R Gallagher beat L Carvell 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7.      

Division Two Singles: J Sherwin beat K Olano-Harper 11-5, 12-10, 11-7.   

Division Three Singles: L Sparks beat M Thomas 8-11, 8-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-5.

Restricted Singles: M Gale beat J Pattrick 11-9, 11-4, 14-12.  

Victor Trophy (for outstanding performance): Peter Burrows.