Bas den Breejen, Chair of the ITTF Media Committee

Bas den Breejen (left) is pictured in 1996 with now retired Dutch politician Erica Terpstra (centre) and (right) the late Cor du Buy (Photo: ITTF) by Ian Marshall, Editor A well respected member of the Swaythling Club International, Bas den Breejen of the Netherlands passed away on Wednesday 24th April. Born on Thursday 7th May 1925, he died just two weeks short of what would have been his 94th birthday. Most notably Bas den Breejen was the Chair of the ITTF Media Committee, fulfilling the role under the tenure of three Presidents; Ichiro Igimura, Lollo Hammarlund and Xu Yinsheng. In that position he was present at the 1995 Team World Cup in Atlanta and one year later in the same city for the 1996

Mattias Falck wins Fair Play Award

Mattias Falck receives the Richard Bergmann Memorial Fair Play Award from Claude Bergeret, Swaythling Club secretary; Pongi looks on (Photo: Rémy Gros) by Ian Marshall, Editor A most unexpected runners up spot in the men’s singles event at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships in Budapest; in recognition of his efforts and the manner in which he conducted himself, Mattias Falck received the Richard Bergmann Memorial Fair Play Award when proceedings closed on Sunday 28th April. Thus he became the fourth Swede to gain the accolade. In the year when the Swaythling Club was founded, at the Stockholm 1967 World Championships, the honour was bestowed on Kjell Johansson. Later in 1973 in Sarajevo Stellan Bengtsson emerged the winner, before in 1993 in Gothenburg and 1997

Executive Committee, elected by acclamation

The newly eected Executive Committee (left to right) Harvey Webb, Reto Bazzi, Claude Bergeret, Ebby Schöler and Richard Scruton (Photo: Leon Libin) by Ian Marshall, Editor Elected by acclamation, a new look Executive Committee concluded proceedings at the Annual General Meeting of the Swaythling Club staged on Thursday 25th April on the occasion of the Liebherr 2019 World Championships in Budapest. A most well attended gathering, the room in the Hungexpo stadium being full to capacity with some 50 members being present; later being all were able to exchange memories at a most welcome reception. by Ian Marshall, Editor Most notably Ebby Schöler returned to the role of President, a position he had held prior to the Annual General Meeting last year in Halmstad when

Born a century ago, the man who set the standard

Single minded determination; the goal to be the best (Photo: courtesy of Table Tennis Legends) by Ian Marshall, Editor In Prague, at the 1936 World Championships, at the quarter-final stage of the men’s singles event, he beat England’s Adrian Haydon; he prevailed in three straight games (21-9, 21-11, 26-24). At the time, he was 16 years and 341 days old. Today, Wednesday 10th April, we mark 100 years since the birth of one of our greatest ever champions, Richard Bergmann. If on Wednesday 25th April in the Hungarian capital city, a significant day, the day of the Swaythling Club Annual General Meeting who present a sportsmanship award in honour of Richard Bergmann, Tomokazu Harimoto is present in the men’s singles quarter-finals and he

Never too old to learn, Joe Veselsky

All smiles (left to right) Joe Veselsky, Dr Patricia Stapleton, Joe McGovern (Photo: RTE News) by Pat O'Brien Founder member of the Swaythling Club International and Life President of the Irish Table Tennis Association, last year on Saturday 20th October 2018, Joe Veselsky celebrated his 100th birthday. Most notably starting in 2010, he attended extramural activities at Trinity College Dublin; in 2016 he was awarded an Honorary Masters’ Degree. Needless to say he was the university's most senior student. It is fact that has caught the attention the media in Ireland; recently RTÉ News Ireland praised the centenarian and his colleague, eight years the junior. No ordinary Joes – inspiring lifelong learning by Philip Bromwell Two of Ireland’s oldest students have been hailed as inspiring examples of

Dr. Peter von Pierer excelled in both disciplines

Dr. Peter von Pierer, sadly missed (Photo; courtesy of Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund) by Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund (translated by Ebby Schöler) Dedicated to promoting table tennis and tennis, highly respected in both sports, a resident of Marloffstein, Dr. Peter von Pierer passed away on Sunday 10th February; he was 88 years old. A sportsman and volunteer, he influenced the direction of each sport; now the DTTB (Deutscher Tischtennis-Bund) and the DTB (Deutscher Tennis-Bund) say “good-bye“ to a long term friend and official Born in Vienna 0n Monday 17th March 1930, Peter settled down in Bavaria; he engaged himself as member of the DTTB Presidency and at the same time as team captain of the DTB. Between 1975 and 1981 he was a sport official and later, until

Lumir Ruzha, an example for all

Lumir Ruzha, World and European veteran champion  (Photo: courtesy of Jaroslav Stanek) by Jaroslav Stanek Many times World and European veteran champion, born on Friday 7th January 1927, Lumir Ruzha passed away on Sunday 17th February. He was 92 years old. For no less than 28 years he led Czech Veteran Committee and he was very active member of Swaythling Club International for many years. Lumir was not only an excellent sportsman, he was an all-round sportsman. As teenager he had played top level ice hockey for the Slavia Prague club; when his ice hockey career finished, he turned his attentions to table tennis. In 1986 he participated in the Veteran European Championship for first time; later in 2002 he won his first men’s singles

Zhang Li, standing alongside the greatest of all

Zhang Li, one of the greatest of all time (Photo: courtesy of Stefan Feth) by Ian Marshall, Editor Born in 1951 in Henan Province, the most decorated member of the Chinese women’s team throughout the 1970s; resident in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, surrounded by her family, Zhang Li passed away on Wednesday 13th February. Although not a smoker and lived a healthy life, undergoing treatment for approaching three and a half years, she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer through a genetic mutation in September 2015. Only 13 years old, she was selected for the provincial team, one year later she joined the national team, moving to Beijing. She made her debut at a World Championships in Nagoya in 1971

Man of wisdom, Colin Clemett celebrates landmark birthday

Colin Clemett, nonagenerian (Photo: Rémy Gros) by Ian Marshall, Editor Need the voice of experience, need a reasoned decision or to check some intricate fact on the history of table tennis, there is one man who surpasses all. Today, Thursday 3rd January, England’s Colin Clemett, elected Personal Honorary Member of the International Table Tennis Federation in 2007, celebrates his 90th birthday. The author of “From London to London”, the book to celebrate the staging of the 2012 Olympic Games, underlined the character of Colin Clemett; hours of painstaking research were undertaken; the result a publication was presented in a logical, detailed and clearly understandable manner. Simply, he is a mine of information and in a similar vein, the man to whom you turn if an