Annual Awards - 10 November 2016
Awards for Malcolm, Martin and Shae
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Cippenham Table Tennis Club celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the purpose-built Cippenham Table Tennis Centre with a party and awards presentation this week. The evening was organised and presided over by Charles Mitchell who began by presenting chocolate gifts to the Club’s many volunteers.
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The first of the main presentations of the evening was for the Senior Player of the Year. This went to Martin Adams, the mainstay of the Club’s first team in the Senior British League for many years. Under Martin’s captaincy, the team gained its highest ever league position, second in Division 1 South, last season and as a consequence qualified for the newly created national Championship Division for the current season. On a more personal note, Martin won all twenty of his matches in the Veterans’ British League Division 2. His team were promoted as a result of this and this then prompted Cippenham to enter a second men’s team into this league for the current season.
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Next was the Alan Farral and Terry Boxall Junior Player of the Year Award. There was an obvious choice for this award which went to Shae Thakker for the second year running. Shae is a GB Para international and is still only thirteen years old. He has won many medals in local events and in national disabled events but the main reason for the award was the stupendous achievement of winning all thirty-five of his matches in the National Junior League for Cippenham last season. Shae is currently at it again – having started the season with unblemished records in this season’s National Junior League and National Cadet League.
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The main event on such an evening is the presentation of the Karen Mitchell Outstanding Contribution Award. This award, not open to the Officers of the Club, is made to the person who, in the eyes of the Committee, has made a big difference to the Club. This year the award went, for an unprecedented third time, to Malcolm Makarian. Malcolm spends more hours each week at the Cippenham Club’s premises than almost anyone else and is always on hand to take on those tasks that no-one else seems to want to do. Malcolm is also the DIY man at Cippenham, lending his various skills on many occasions and in a variety of different ways. In recognition of this award, Malcolm has also been entered by the club into the Table Tennis England Pride of Table Tennis awards as its Club Volunteer of the Year and was presented with a certificate in recognition of this by Cippenham TTC founder and General Secretary Graham Trimming.