End-of-year celebration of the TT section of TuS 1860 Pfarrkirchen
Pfarrkirchen. At the well-attended end-of-year celebration of the “table tennis” section of TuS 1860 Pfarrkirchen at the country inn “Zur Hecke”, following the outstanding 2011/12 season, the sporting focus was on the completed first half of the 2012/13 season and the prospects for the coming second half – pleasingly for those in charge, two new players will strengthen the teams.
After a minute’s silence for sporting comrade Rudolf Sussmann, who passed away suddenly in November, section head Wilhelm Kolb welcomed, in the pleasingly large group, by name the patron of the TT club championship, 3rd mayor Kurt Vallée, board members Beate Brandl (youth manager, secretary) and Andreas Maier (treasurer), youth coach Hannah Mayerhofer, and team captains Marius Jarzombski (men’s team II) and Christian Hölzlwimmer (men’s team IV). The section head addressed the sporting aspects of this year in two parts:
The past season ended extremely successfully with three championships. As usual, the “first” team was in the running for the championship in district league 1 – the fact that it ultimately, if narrowly, stayed ahead of the young team from Zeilarn was rather surprising. Unfortunately, promotion to district league 3 could not be achieved this time either. The 2nd team put in a furious final sprint in district league 3 and deservedly won the championship – as did the 3rd team, which was the measure of all things in district league 4. The “fourth” team took a good mid-table place within its possibilities.
In the tournament arena, Helmut Köstler once again became Lower Bavarian champion in his age group (AK V – 70 years and older) – together with Norbert Reinelt he also won the doubles! At the district championships for seniors, Manfred Schille, Rudolf Sussmann and Reinhard Kroll took the titles – there were also other good placings.
The first half of the current season, which concluded in December, was unfortunately overshadowed by the sudden death of sporting comrade Rudolf Sussmann, who was also a founding member of the TT section! The “first” team, which stayed in district league 1, had set a secure mid-table place as its season goal, because it wanted to bring in young players. The team now sits with 8:10 points in the (hopefully secure) mid-table. The outstanding player was Manfred Schille with 19:1 wins. Unfortunately, the team very often had to field a changing line-up. Praiseworthy mention goes to the young players who stepped in for the men’s district leagues and acquitted themselves well: Johannes Apfel, Matthias Kolb, Simon Wasmeier and Albin Abdulahu – that is, the boys I team, which sits in first place without a single point dropped in the district league 2 (boys) after the first half of the season!
The “second” team, promoted to district league 2, recovered after initial difficulties (very strong opponents) and holds a good mid-table place with 10:8 points. Barring anything unusual in the second half of the season, staying in the league should be assured. The “third” team, also promoted, is holding its own quite bravely in the strong district league 3 – place 8 of eleven teams may not sound entirely reassuring, but the team has plenty of room downwards and should manage to stay in its class. The “fourth” team is also holding its own bravely, ranking in 6th place in district league 4 with a balanced points account.
The busiest player in this first half of the season too was Armin Siebengartner, who again played in three teams – and very successfully at that for men’s teams I, II and III with a personal overall record of 24:13 wins.
Youth manager Beate Brandl had already devoted herself to the youth section (four teams) at the end-of-year celebration of the TT youth.
The TT section can, in the view of the section leadership, look to the second half of the season with optimism – all the more so as section head Kolb introduced two new players: David Bleidt (born 1987) from TTC Maischeid (Rhineland table tennis association) and “returnee” Rainer Appelt (born 1956), who can help the teams stabilise even further. This second half of the season will surely be a “transition round” – and with the young players who will then join the men’s teams next season, the cards will be reshuffled.
The patron of the TT club championship, 3rd mayor Kurt Vallée, paid tribute to the players for their performances at the table and to those responsible for the section for their voluntary commitment. He also spoke about the importance of a good grassroots base and the integrative function of sport within the club. He wished the section’s teams a successful and injury-free second half of the season.
Section head Wilhelm Kolb thanked all board members and team captains for their commitment. His thanks went to Stefanie Kolb (keyboard) for the outstanding musical accompaniment and framing of the celebration. The board wishes all members of the TT section much luck and good health in the year “twenty-thirteen”. – lb
About the picture:
Reinforcement does good: section head Wilhelm Kolb (2nd from right), board member Beate Brandl and the patron of the club championship, 3rd mayor Kurt Vallée (left), wish the newcomers to the TuS “table tennis” section, David Bleidt (2nd from left) and Rainer Appelt (3rd from left), much success with their teams. Photo: S. Kolb