250922 | bsmttc

News Release - BSMTTC News 195

Dateline: 22 September 2025

'Social' League to re-start

In addition to the main Liverpool & District Table Tennis League it has also been announced that once again there will be an informal ‘social’ league for players not yet ready for the main league. Under the banner of the North Liverpool 2 x 2 Mini League the mini-league will this season have 19 teams over two divisions – showing considerable growth from last year and just how popular this mini-league is amongst ‘social’ players.

The first round of matches will begin in the week commencing 29 September 2025, two weeks after the start of the main Liverpool League. Matches are short – being part of the attraction, just 5 sets in each match, and generally start late afternoon, leaving evenings clear for normal main league play. Although this is only an ‘informal’ league it is strongly recommended that all players should have a Table Tennis England membership, preferably at the ‘compete’ level as this ensures that all are adequately covered by Public Liability Insurance when match playing. TTE also offer a ‘club player’ membership, which everyone playing table tennis as a member at Marine should have, and this is currently free of charge. Full details of TTE memberships and their advantages can be found on the TTE website at: Membership - Table Tennis England .

For the 2025/26 season the club has entered 6 teams into the mini-league and 3 will be in each division – ensuring some very tasty derby matches!

Any member of Marine who is not a player in the main league, is eligible to take part and information can be obtained from the club mini-league organiser, Sue Young. As there is such a diverse participation in the mini-league it is almost impossible to make any predictions about how the teams might perform. But lets take a look at each of them.

Division 1

BSM 1

Steve Riley, one of the best players at this level, will lead the 1st team and he will be supported by Billy Smith and Bob Wolstenholme. Much is likely to depend on how often Steve is able to play, but you can certainly expect to see this team in the top 4 of the 8-team division.

BSM 2

Tony Mitchell will lead the 2nd team, and he also has at his disposal some very experienced players in the form of John Donnolly and Mark Evans. This is another strong team and they too could creep into the top 4. If Mark can play regularly this could be enough to get them a 4th place spot.

BSM 3

Sue Young captains the 3rd team and she will be joined by the pair largely responsible for winning the Marine Mini Summer League (MMSL) – played under a similar format – Liz Neild and Bobby Blair. Liz & Bobby showed in the summer league that they are quite capable of holding their own at this level and have also shown considerable improvement in the quality of their table tennis over the last 12 months. Keep an eye on this team, they could pull some surprises!

Division 2

BSM 4

Jean Hale will captain this squad and has a very interesting line-up. It includes teenager Aidan Johnston, relative newcomer to this form of competition Mario Grabinski, and playing in his first mini-league Hervé Gillet. It is a while since Hervé played competitively so it will be interesting to see how he does. In a division with 11 unknown teams, it is impossible to know how the team will do. But they will definitely be competitive against most of the teams at this level. Anything above mid-table would be a bonus.

BSM 5

Phil Curran who had a taste of this format in the MMSL will take on the captain’s role for the first time for this group. His squad will include improving teenager Riley McIntosh, fellow club newcomer, Mike Gill, and Val Delamere. This is a team of real mixed ability so they might struggle to get above halfway in this large division, but they are still learning so keep an eye on them!

BSM 6

Doreen Smith will lead this lowest ranked team but she will have veteran campaigner and former league player Tom Bell alongside, together with Ray O’Leary making his first foray into mini-league play. If Tom can keep fit and play regularly then that should hold the team together but it seems likely this team will be in the bottom half of the division.

In conclusion.......

All that remains is to wish all teams well for the season. Spectators are always welcome at these mini matches and anyone who might be interested in playing should speak to the organiser. Her details are in the club room.

Good luck everyone!