From a youngster inspired by watching the great players in action on the BBC to winning the Cloudathlete Pride of Table Tennis Lifetime Achievement award – that is the table tennis journey of Les Cole.

It has taken in playing, coaching and administering the sport and, most importantly, encouraging countless others to follow his example in Plymouth and further afield.

Les, accompanied by his partner Vanessa, was presented with the award during the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals London 2026, when he and other shortlisted Cloudathlete Pride of Table Tennis Awards nominees also had the chance to watch an England match at OVO Arena Wembley.

His citation as Lifetime Achievement winner reads:

Les Cole has dedicated a lifetime to table tennis in Plymouth and across Devon, serving the sport in a wide range of roles including player, organiser, official and driving force within the local league and club structure. From supporting grassroots participation to helping host major events, including international fixtures such as England versus France, his decades of commitment have shaped the local table tennis landscape and created a legacy that will continue for generations.

It all started with seeing the sport on TV, as Les recalls: “I was inspired by watching Ian Harrison playing on Grandstand. He was an ex-England champion and he was playing against either Chester Barnes or Denis Neale, I can’t remember who, and I’m thinking ‘I’d like to play table tennis’.

“Fortunately, I lived opposite a catholic church, which had a youth club, which had a table tennis table. That was the start of me playing table tennis, albeit very badly and I didn’t understand the rules properly!

“When I went to senior school, I joined the after-school table tennis club, which was run by a couple of teachers who played in the Plymouth League. So, in 1968, the school joined the league, and I was a member of that team.

“The Plymouth league had a venue where you could practise, Devonport Guildhall, and in my teenage years, I rarely missed a practice session on a Sunday – we used to start at 2pm and go on to the early evening. I made many friends – most were better players than me, but I was always welcome and I enjoyed it, so I kept on going.”

Les helped to found the Pilgrims club, becoming match secretary for the club’s 22 teams in a 14-division Plymouth League.

From the mid-1970s, he served on the Plymouth & District TTC executive committee as assistant match secretary and later deputy chair from 1984 to 1996. In 1996, he was elected as a life member of the club at the age of 44. “I still have that certificate, and I’m very proud of it,” he said.

The club moved to its current base in Desborough Lane in the 1980s and, around that time, Les was also involved in weekly coaching sessions.

He was part of the organising committee which staged three England matches in Plymouth in the 1970s and 80s, including against Netherlands in 1977 and versus China in 1987.

Part of the promotional activity before the first of those matches saw him pictured by the local Evening Herald newspaper toting a promotional billboard in the city centre while an exhibition match was played – in the rain.

“These were exciting times for Plymouth,” he recalls, “and I was proudly part of the organising committee. That photo in the Herald was embarrassing, but somebody had to do it.

“Just before the end of the match against China, I was told ‘you’re going to have to represent Plymouth’ and speak on behalf of the club, with the Lord Mayor there and the Chinese team, so that was quite daunting, but I managed to do it.”

Among Les’ other achievements was founding the Global Sports Table Tennis Club, which had 11 teams in the Plymouth League – and then spawned an entry in the Halex National League, a forerunner of British Clubs Leagues.

The photo below shows team manager Les and players Stuart Richards, Gary Wilson, Mike Short and Tony Sweet – the team won the third division west in their second season in the league.

School coaching and transporting young players to tournaments also took up Les’ attention, but there then came a break between 1998 and 2004 due to a family bereavement.

Les says coming back to table tennis was an important part of “getting into a better place” and it was not long before he was back on the executive committee – he has been assistant secretary, general secretary and chair in recent years and, since just after the pandemic, minutes secretary.

He also re-took his coaching qualification, and there was a nice full-circle moment in doing so – “My tutor was Paul Whiting, who played in my team when he was 11,” said Les.

He has also coached at the DOVE project for young adults with learning difficulties, some of whom have gone on to play in the league.

Now aged 74, he is a life vice-president of the Plymouth & District club.

With so many decades helping others to enjoy table tennis, the Lifetime Achievement award is richly deserved, and Les said: “I’m just so honoured, because I’ve enjoyed table tennis since I was 11 years old and I’m proud to have encouraged so many people to play and enjoy the sport I love.

“It was brilliant to be at Wembley. We had a really good seat to see England ladies and also a good view of the Chinese team playing Germany at the same time. We enjoyed it thoroughly.

“I think I’m a better person because of table tennis and I’m just so proud to have received the award, but equally proud that I have encouraged a lot of people to play table tennis.”