Danni Di Toro – Coburg TTC Hall of Fame
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Danni Di Toro is the latest inductee into our Hall of Fame. Danni’s achievements across a number of years (see brief bio below) speak for themselves. Equally important are Danni’s contribution to our club culture and values as well as the enthusiasm with which she promotes our club externally.
The award was presented to Danni by Jim Kilderry, our inaugural Hall of Fame inductee.
Congratulations, Danni!
Danni Di Toro
Eight-time Paralympian Danni Di Toro is a seasoned veteran, having competed at the Paralympic Games since 1996. Danni made her international debut in 1989, just one year after a wall collapsed on her at a school swimming carnival and she became a paraplegic. At the time, she had feared her future in sport was over, but with Paralympic gold medallist Sandy Blythe by her side, Danni was inspired to begin playing wheelchair tennis and wasted no time establishing herself as one of the world’s best. In 1998, she became the wheelchair tennis world champion. Over the course of her wheelchair tennis career, Danni won a Paralympic silver and bronze medal, 10 Australian Open titles and a handful of other Grand Slam crowns.
Having achieved nearly all there was to achieve in wheelchair tennis, Danni turned her attention to Para-table tennis. She was selected in the 2016 Australian Paralympic Team in her new sport, and as co-captain of the Team alongside wheelchair racer legend Kurt Fearnley, she led Australia to a top five result at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
In 2017, Danni was appointed Paralympics Australia’s Athlete Engagement and Wellbeing Officer, as well as Vice Chairperson of the Athlete Commission.
Danni competes in the women’s individual table tennis – Class 4 event at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, where she reprised her role as co-captain alongside wheelchair rugby player Ryley Batt.
In 2024, Danni competed in her eighth Paralympics Games in Paris, her third Games competing in Para-table tennis.
Danni has proudly called Coburg Table Tennis Club home since 2017 and completes in Wednesday pennant at the club.
Tuesday Summer Pennant @ Coburg – Starting on December 10, 2024
Our Tuesday Summer pennant is back for 2024; register here https://www.revolutionise.com.au/coburgttc/events/267149
Format: 3 person teams
- Each player to play 2 singles matches
- One player to play 2 doubles; two players to play 1 doubles each
Starting time/date: 7pm on December 10, 2024. Five rounds to be played (December 10, December 17, January 7, January 14, January 21) plus final on January 28 (no semi finals).
- Maximum of 54 players only
- Team registrations will be accepted (subject to pennant sub-committee approval) and are preferred
- Individual entries will also be accepted; players will be allocated to teams by the pennant sub-committee
- NB: all teams are responsible for organising fill-ins where necessary
Fees: $40 per player, payable when season starts.
Due to limited available spaces, some applicants may not get a spot in pennant. In the case of the latter, the club will advise non-successful applicants once selections are finalised. Note, however, that we anticipate that we will need fill-ins on a regular basis.
Registrations close on December 3, 2024. Late entries will not be accepted.
Coburg Club Championships – Sunday December 1
Sign up now for the Coburg Table Tennis Club Championships 2024!
Registration is open to ALL Coburg members, including those with playing rights, pennant players, and keenagers, as well as any entrants in the 2024 Danni Di Toro Tournament. Events include Open Singles, Open Doubles, Junior Singles, Women’s Singles, Veteran Singles, Novice Juniors, three Singles Divisions and Restricted Doubles.
For more details as well as registration, go to https://www.revolutionise.com.au/coburgttc/events/265596
Please email any inquiries to Kameron Chan (Tournament Director) on kcttprojects@gmail.com.
New Junior Coaching Sessions @ Coburg – every Monday starting on October 28
When: every Monday from 5:00pm-6.30pm (registration not required)
Cost: $10
Coach: Elina Maharjan, ITTF Level 2 coach, represented Nepal at 2021 World Table Tennis Championships (Houston USA)
Enquiries: Brian on 0492 904 954
John Nicholson RIP
We are sad to announce the passing of John Nicholson, a much-loved member of the Coburg Table Tennis Club and the broader table tennis community, on September 30, 2024. John was a former club president and committee member, a Life Member as well as a Hall of Famer. He captained our A Grade teams to nine VTTA pennant championships, represented Victoria on thirty occasions and won the Victorian and Australian mixed doubles title (1967) as well as the Victorian Closed Championship (1969).
A service will be held at 2pm on Friday October 11, 2024 at Le Pine Funerals, 1048 Whitehorse Road Box Hill.
Vale, John Nicholson.
Coburg @ the 2024 National Veterans’ Championships
Congratulations to all Coburg players who participated in this month’s National Veterans’ Championships in Launceston. Victoria enjoyed a very successful event with a number of our players (highlighted) winning team medals
Event Name | Team Members | Medal |
Over 30 Men’s Teams | Craig Carter (C), Sam Palmer, Ben Taylor, Rhys Thomas | Gold |
Over 30 Women’s Teams | Shantelle Hives, Cheryl Huang, Lydia Liu, Akie Yoshida (C) | Silver |
Over 40 Men’s Teams | Mark Glynn, Simon Johnson (C), Zankar Pandya, Frank Pearce | Gold |
Over 50 Men’s Teams | Andrew De Zwart, John Griffiths, David Segal, Jason Tran (C) | Silver |
Over 50 Women’s Teams | Melisa Ball (C), Aviva Brindley, Belinda Strong, Christina Xiong | Gold |
Over 60 Men’s Teams | David Brand, Robert Huang, John Pattison (C), Adrien Shnier | Silver |
Over 60 Women’s Teams | Belgin Bennett, Vicki Carruthers (C), Jeanne Strong, Debbie Wilson | Bronze |
Over 65 Women’s Teams | Cath Mowbray (C), Willa Yu | Silver |
And some individual performances:
Craig Carter – finalist, Over 30 Mixed Doubles
Rhys Thomas – finalist, Over 30 Men’s Singles
Cheryl Huang – finalist, Over 30 Women’s Doubles; finalist, Over 30 Mixed Doubles; finalist, Over 40 Women’s Doubles
Belgin Bennett – Over 60 Women’s Doubles
Spring Premier League (Thursdays) @ Coburg
Our Spring Premier League will start on October 24, 2024; register here https://www.revolutionise.com.au/coburgttc/events/260686
- two-person teams (with each player playing two singles and one doubles match, all to be played to ‘best of five’)
- it will run for up to 7 rounds (depending on entries), followed by semi-finals and final
- if necessary, semi-finals and final will be scheduled during mid-December on a day other than a Thursday (depending on player availability)
Rating Central Requirement: Players who are over 1500 Rating Central points (as at close of registrations) should apply for consideration; however, players who are below 1500 RC points will be considered if circumstances warrant.
Entries close on October 17, 2024.
Fees: $50
- Fees are to be paid at the club
- players must be TTV registered
- an additional CTTC annual membership fee ($10) applies, unless already paid for in 2024.
Note that, given the duration of this season, no prize-money will be awarded for Spring Pennant.
Entries: Individual entries only. However, preferred partners may be nominated and will be taken into account by the CTTC Pennant Sub-Committee. Team selection is at the discretion of the sub-committee and will aim for ‘fair’ and balanced teams, a key consideration being a team ‘rating’ calculated on the basis of Player A and Player B averaged Rating Central points. For example, if Player A has 1800 RCPs and Player B has 1700 RCPs, the team ‘rating’ is 1750. The sub-committee will prioritise a minimal team differential.
Fill-ins: Teams are encouraged to provide fill-ins where required. All fill-ins should follow a ‘like for a like’ rule such that the fill-in cannot be more than 50 Ratings Central Points above the player they are filling in for.
Please contact Brian on 0492 904 954 if you have any questions.
Holiday Camp @ Coburg: September 30-October 4
Holiday Camp open to all: Monday September 30 to Friday October 4 from 1-3pm daily.
Cost is $10 per session payable on the day; no booking required.
The Holiday Camp will be run by Bruce Carter; enquiries: Brian on 0492 904 954
Wednesday Spring Pennant – sign up now!
You can now sign up for our Wednesday Spring Pennant starting on Wednesday October 9, 2024. Register here https://www.revolutionise.com.au/coburgttc/events/256795
A decision regarding the duration of the season will be made once registrations close. This will be based on the number of entries received; the Christmas break will be another consideration.
- fees: $6.00 per player per week, payable up front when season starts
- additional fees (unless already paid): CTTC membership ($10 annual fee) as well as TTV annual player registration.
Registrations close on Sunday September 29, 2024.
Contact Brian on 0492 904 954 if you have any questions.
Tuesday Spring Pennant Starts This Tuesday (03/09/2024)
Hello Tuesday Pennant Players,
A reminder that the Tuesday season starts this week!
You can find the season’s fixtures here.
Please note, after feedback we have returned to a 4 team finals format, (1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd).
~Luke.