Our St Bede Table Tennis Team were invited to represent Winchester and Eastleigh in the Hampshire Schools Table Tennis Tournament in Basingstoke.  Eight schools had qualified, including St Johns, the winners of the tournament for the last few years and one of the top table tennis teams in the country.  St Johns were our first opponents and they proved to be a class act.  Their team of four were all very experienced players and their Number 1 was ranked in the top 10 nationally.  They were too good, but we hung in there, playing fantastic points and, despite the loss, team morale remained high.  

 

We bounced back in the next few matches, qualifying in the top two of our group and making the semi-final. Unfortunately, we lost a very competitive encounter against Orchard Junior by a few points.  We faced Springhill in the 3rd / 4th playoff.  The players produced some of their best table tennis in another highly competitive encounter.  When the matches had all finished, we had won 2 and lost 2. We had won the same number of games as well so we had to go back to individual points scored to work out final places.  On countback, we scored 105 to 101, taking the final spot on the podium and claiming third best team in Hampshire. 

 

A huge well done to the team who gave up lunch times, organised training sessions, qualified as the best team in Winchester and never gave up.  Congratulations, your efforts have made everyone proud!