After a successful opening weekend of the Senior BCL Premier Division, the hosts BATTS claimed an early lead in the race to be crowned champions as they currently sit top of the division, thanks to a better ‘sets for’ difference over their closest rivals, Ormesby.

BATTS team Non-Playing Captain (NPC) Cliff Carder shared his insight into what goes into the organisation of the Premier Division, and details of how one of the most successful UK clubs organise their BCL squads. England youth player, and BATTS’ star, Isaac Kingham, shares a player’s perspective on a perfect opening weekend of one of his favourite events of the season.

Cliff Carder, the BATTS NPC, was proud to host the first weekend of such a prestigious event, as he reflected on a successful weekend as the club played hosts to the season-opener.

“It was a great pleasure hosting the first weekend of this season’s Premier Division of the SBCL. The initial organisation is not too difficult, just communicating details to teams about fixtures, start times, club facilities, local hotels and liaising with TTE, and then it’s just a matter of turning up and playing your best.”

Voluntarily helping to manage a club, especially a club that has so many teams and players across a variety of competitions, can be difficult, and this stems from the bottom of the BCL pyramid, right up to the Premier Division.

“I get several requests each year from players wishing to play in the British Clubs Leagues for BATTS, and we, as a team, decided on Philippines national team player, Edouard Valenet, to join the 2026/27 squad of Isaac Kingham, Abraham Sellado, Josh Bennett and Ralph Pattison, a youthful and strong team. As for team selection on the day, that is always a team decision, rather than just mine, and one of the most important things for us is that we all get on well, which we do. Only two rules for BATTS, try your best and enjoy the match.”

England junior international and U21 national champion, Isaac Kingham, helped BATTS get off to their perfect start in only his second season competing at the Premier Division level. The young star from Suffolk, who trained previously at Grantham College and is now based at the Elite Training Centre in Sheffield, recorded an impressive seven victories from eight matches. He shared not only how he prepared for the weekend, but also why playing the competition with the BATTS side is something he relishes.

“Prior to the weekend I felt I was well prepared as it is one of the earliest tournaments of my season, so I’ve had a long period of only training and working on my game. I also came straight from a competition in Belgium which meant I was already in the right head space for playing matches.

“I was also very excited to play as I always enjoy playing for BATTS, we have a great team spirit and I get along with the guys very well. I’ve known Abraham (Sellado) since I was about 12 and lived with him for two years (as part of the Charles Read and Grantham College Academy) so he’s like my little brother.

“Edouard Valenet was playing his first weekend for BATTS and in no time fitted straight into the team and we all got to know him well so it was great to play alongside him. I think BATTS works so well as a team since Cliff makes it very clear that he only wants his players to try their hardest and enjoy playing, which I think helps to get the best out of all of us. Based on the two rules, the team doesn’t really have an aim for the season, but I think it would be really nice to finish towards the top of the table.”

When it comes to performance on the table, BATTS got off to a fantastic start, with three victories coming courtesy of a 7-0 scoreline, which has helped them reach the summit of the BCL. Both Cliff and Isaac were proud of the team’s results, but it’s not only the winning that makes the Premier Division so attractive to the players, the competition format and the level of play is something that both the BATTS members highlighted when reflecting on the event.

Cliff went on to explain: “As for the weekend itself, it was awesome to be able to host the eight best teams in the country, and the table tennis was of an exceptionally high quality throughout, it was great to see so many juniors competing at this level, as well as several non-English players who helped increase the already high standard.

“As for the weekend format (moving to a centralised venue as opposed to the home and away format), this has enhanced the player experience and it is going to be an interesting season as teams fight for the title, as well as to avoid relegation, as the teams in the Championship now really want promotion to compete in the Premier Division. The competition is fierce and the atmosphere is always electric.”

Kingham shared his reflection on both the teams and his individual positive start on weekend one: “The first weekend couldn’t have a been a better start for us really, as we won all of our matches and are sitting top of the table.

“First match we beat Nottingham 7-0 which was perfect for settling our nerves and giving us confidence in the hall. I think personally I played quite well and once I got past my first match tension (3-2 victory over Adam Dennison), I felt much more comfortable. Second, we beat eBaTT 4-3 which turned out to be a very close match but thankfully from us taking our chances early in the match we secured the win at 4-0. I felt I was producing a good level and playing the way I want to.

“Our first match on Sunday was another strong performance from the team as we beat North Ayrshire 7-0. Lastly, we beat Fusion 7-0 to top off the weekend. There were many extremely close games in this team match but we all remained clinical and came away with the win.

“Overall, I think the team performed great over the weekend and we managed to get on the winning side of many close individual matches which showed great composure and was something that led us to staying dominant. For the doubles matches, we tried to experiment a bit more this weekend with the addition of Edouard. Me and Abe also played some doubles matches as we have played quite a few times before in National and European Youth Championships, so we work quite well together. For the rest of the season I’m just excited to keep battling with the top teams in the country and hope we can carry this form going into the next weekends. Up the BATTS!”

Cliff was also very impressed by his side’s opening display, and shared his thoughts on the season going forward,

“BATTS had an exceptional first weekend, winning all four matches against tough opposition, including three 7-0 wins, and I’m proud to be sitting at the top of the table. However, I have no illusions, I know that there is a long way to go, with many more tough teams to face, including last season’s champions Ormesby. We’re off to Scotland next, where we shall try to continue our solid performance, but whatever happens, it should prove to be another great weekend.”

You can now watch highlights of each of the opening weekend clashes on the Table Tennis England Youtube channel, by heading to the British Clubs Leagues playlist here. Additionally, you can catch match highlights from different strands of the BCL divisions, find fixtures, averages, images and much more on each of the dedicated BCL social media channels.