SEVENOAKS TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE - NEWS

Last updated 26/07/2010

Season 2010/2011

Such is the popularity of the Sevenoaks League that I have already had enquiries from two existing clubs to enter additional teams for next season.

The Sevenoaks League is not a conventional table tennis league in many ways.  In a conventional league if new clubs wish to join or existing clubs want to enter more teams those clubs provide their own facilities – venue, equipment etc.  In theory, therefore, these leagues can expand indefinitely.  As you know, most leagues have actually contracted over the last few years.

The Sevenoaks League uses a central venue and has six divisions playing on Sunday afternoons and a Junior Development Division playing on Saturday afternoons.

As you know we use three tables and going to four would be unsafe.  The six divisions require 30 meetings to play the schedule and with breaks for Christmas, Easter etc there is no way we can expand on Sunday afternoons.  The Donnington Hall Management Committee have refused regular bookings on Sunday mornings and last year the results of a survey showed considerable opposition to playing on a Saturday afternoon.  We did try to find another central venue but without success.  A few years ago we experimented with a couple of seven team divisions but this was not popular as the format required the insertion of byes meaning that at each meeting two teams would have one match to play, not two.

From the above you can see that, despite its popularity, the League cannot expand any further in its current format.

Thus, the only way new Clubs or additional teams for existing Clubs can be catered for is if some existing clubs or teams withdraw.  This happened last season with the withdrawal of Cray Valley.

Club Secretaries are reminded that the paperwork and fees for their team entries for next season must be returned to me by 8^th August.

Entries received to date are as follows:

Dave Field, Registration Secretary

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP OF THE ENGLISH TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION

Introduction

Until now, league players have become members of the ETTA by virtue of being registered in a local league.  The local league has been charged ETTA fees according to its number of teams and the number of team places (including one reserve), not by the number of players registered.  Last season the "Fee Unit" was £4.62 per senior team place.  In addition each team was charged £3 for civil liability insurance.  Usually the local league passed these fees on to its member clubs which then usually passed them on to its members.

This will change from next season in that every local league player will have to apply to become a "Player Member" of the ETTA and pay an annual fee.  The proposed fees for the coming season, to be ratified at the ETTA AGM on 10^th July, are £5.64 for seniors and £2.82 for cadets and juniors.  These include an element for civil liability insurance.      

A multiple league player previously had to pay for each league he played in.  Now he only pays once. Such a player must advise the ETTA all the leagues he plays in and nominate one of these to be his primary league.

It should be noted that a player is not registered with a league and is not eligible to play unless the appropriate ETTA Membership Fee has been paid and a Membership Form completed.

Membership Form

Completed Individual Registration Forms for last season were forwarded by the STTL to the ETTA so Membership Forms with players' Personal Information already filled in will be emailed automatically by the ETTA to those players if their email address is known.

Players whose email address is not known to the ETTA will have their Membership Forms passed to clubs by the STTL.

Alternatively a blank Membership Form can be downloaded from the ETTA website at http://etta.tv/.

How to Register for Individual Membership

The following table summarises the three procedures

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All league players are recommended to apply by (1).

Licensed players must apply by (1) or (2).

This page has been opened times since 21st August 2008