Among the droves of highly talented players who flocked to the John Lees Table Tennis Centre over the weekend of October 31 and November 1, perhaps the most striking aspect was the sense of eagerness.
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The centre was inundated with players at the annual Southern Districts Invitational Tournament who were excited to begin the first representative competition in the region since the COVID-19 lockdowns began in March.
Goulburn was well represented, with nine players who took part, two of whom made history as the first local team to claim a Division One medal since the event began.
Richie Jiang and Mark Soley played exceptionally good table tennis over the weekend, with the former's explosiveness and aggression well-complimented by the latter's tactile and intelligent style.
The pair were made to work hard for their result, and came in runners-up to the excellent Canberra pair of Richard Weaver and Toby Clarke.
The Division One final was hotly-contested, as Goulburn took the first two rubbers to go up 2-0. Weaver, who was also a part of the winning Canberra team in 2019, led the charge from the ACT as they claimed the next two rubbers.
At 2-2, it was down to the doubles to decide the winners. Though Goulburn put up a valiant fight, ACT's experience and composure shone through as they took the title out with a 3-0 final rubber.
Goulburn Table Tennis Club treasurer, Nicola Fraser, praised the match as "an exciting way to finish the tournament."
"After a very late finish at 5.50pm, we finally had our winners with a Goulburn team on the podium, as they say."
The Division Two final was a less competitive clash, as ACT 6 (Joy Grover and Dane Graham) ran out comfortable winners over the NSW Vets Two Ducks 3-0 (Jennifer and Tony Aduckiewicz).
With a full complement of competitors despite the COVID-19 restrictions in place, Fraser and the rest of the GTTC committee were extremely pleased with the tournament.
"It was a great success with all competitors telling us they will be back next year," Fraser said.
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