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DFW Table Tennis -- Newsletter

 

DFWTT Summary of Activities for 2006

 

(By Daniel Rutenberg – USATT Certified Coach)

 

During 2006 the DFWTT Youth Training Program continued its growth and has become one of the most significant activities in the development of young players and important contribution to the table tennis community in the DFW area.  The after school and specialized training programs provides a great alternative and quality training to those stepping into the sport of table tennis, especially at a very young age.  Players were getting ready for the Texas Winter Games to be held in Frisco, Texas in January 2007.  This program has been supported by the strong dedication and vocation of the following coaches: Donna Chen, Coach Li, Keith Evans and Daniel Rutenberg.

 

DFWTT is committed to the promotion of table tennis participation and development of table tennis players in the DFWTT area.

 

2006 was an exciting year for DFWTT and its members.  We started the year with a clinic and exhibition at the First United Methodist of Coppell, where Kim Kill-Soo and Daniel Rutenberg demonstrated how the sport of table tennis is played to over 100 church members – as they participated in their 1st Pre-Super Bowl Ping Pong Tournament.

 

Daniel Rutenberg was awarded the recognition of Volunteer Coach of the Year 2005 by USATT and one of the top 5 finalists of the Volunteer Coach of the Year Award by the United States Olympic Committee.  Coach Rutenberg is the first ever top 5 finalists ever nominated by the USOC for Volunteer Coach of the Year. Congratulations Daniel and we’re proud to have him as part of our coaching staff at DFWTT.

 

DFWTT organized two sanctioned 2 Star tournaments and its classic Double Ten championship.  These tournaments were open to all players in the DFW and surrounding areas. 

 

The Spring 2006 Open Tournament (March ’06) held at Cimarron, Irving TX had 112 players, where 530 matches were played.  Ludovic Gombos from Texas Wesleyan University won the tournament by defeating his teammate Courtney Roberts who finished in 2nd place.  Other divisions, rating events and age categories were also played at this tournament.

 

The 2006 Double Ten tournament, which has become a tradition at DFWTT, was once again a complete success. This non-sanctioned tournament provided events based on age, singles and doubles events.  This year’s winner of the Singles Division was Russ Hamilton, followed by Alex Wong in 2nd place and Rodovan Polasek in 3rd.  In the Women's Division, Serena Kong finished in 1st place, followed by Judy Chen in 2nd and Helen Deng in 3rd place. 

 

The Fall 2006 Open Tournament (Nov ’06) had 67 players, where 337 matches were played.  During intense competition of this rating even, the Open Championship was won by Ludovic Gombos and Winfrey Addy from Oklahoma finished in 2nd place.

 

In April 2006, once again DFWTT participated in the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) and ACUI Collegiate Championships at Texas Wesleyan in Ft. Worth, Texas.  Both Donna Chen and Daniel Rutenberg were involved in the planning, execution and participation of the games in their capacities under the Sport Information division.  Their contribution as volunteers helped tremendously to ensure the success of such an important event in the table tennis community.

 

During 2006, DFWTT was once again involved with the Jewish Community Center (JCC) Maccabi Games.  Team Dallas ended with two finalist medals during the summer JCC Maccabi Games 2006 in Phoenix, AZ.  A group of 10 players, ages 12 through 16, tried out for an allotted of 2 spots to represent Team Dallas in table tennis during the Jewish style summer games.

 

Singles, doubles and team events were played during the 1st week of August 2006 in Phoenix.  There were more than 500 games played and well over 5,000 points scored during the 4-day table tennis competition.  Table tennis was represented by 39 athletes from 12 cities from the U.S., Australia, Mexico and Israel.

 

Team Dallas held practices twice a week for well over 5 months between March and August 2006.  Also, we held an invitational championship prior to the Games.

 

All table tennis athletes, during the JCC Maccabi Games, had an opportunity to meet Tybie (Thelma) Sommer, former World Mixed Doubles champion (with Dick Miles) and listened to her successful story about her World Championship experience in 1948!

 

This program was coordinated by Daniel Rutenberg, Head Coach Team Dallas for table tennis.  Athletes coached and participants were: Collin Ray and Andrew Rubinett.  Congratulations to Team Dallas for a great success at the Games!

 

Lastly, we would like to thank all DFWTT members, volunteers, staff, sponsors and all others for supporting the development of Table Tennis in the DFW area.

 

We look forward to your continued support in 2007, which has started very strong!  We look forward to seeing you at the clubs and tournaments.

 

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