Gladstone Road School girls table tennis team net place in national final

The team of Chloe, Aleksandra, Lucy and Vanessa train both at school and at Scarborough Premier Table Tennis Club (SPTTC).

They became Scarborough champions in style by winning all six matches 6-0 against other Scarborough schools.

On Saturday February 7 they travelled to Bradford to compete in the regional finals.

The team soon established their solid attacking games as they completed a 6-1 win against Shakespeare School (Leeds).

Their dominance continued when they beat Kingsley School (Hartlepool) 7-0, with a great performance.

In their final match it was a similar story, the team defeating Bradford Grammar School 7-0.

This meant Gladstone Road had qualified for the national finals after just missing out at this stage last year when they finished second.

The finals will see eight of the best primary school teams competing to become national champions.

It will be a much tougher assignment in April, but the team will train hard in preparation and will play with great team spirit and support each other.

Chloe, 11, began playing at school in Year 4, and has developed into a strong player with consistent attacking shots.

Chloe is a real table tennis enthusiast, as well as playing at school and at SPTTC, she also has a table at home for even more practise.

She is very focused when playing and always plays with lots of energy. She is currently moving up in the national rankings and plays in Scarborough League Division Two.

Chloe said: “I like practising topspin forehands most of all and my ambition is to make it into the top 20 in the national rankings.”

Eleven-year-old Aleksandra has been playing since Year 4 at school.

The only left-hander in the team, she plays with a very quick and attacking style, her forehand being particularly fast.

Aleksandra is an extremely dedicated player and attends many training sessions at school, SPTTC and at weekends.

She also plays in Division Two of the Scarborough League, and is also moving up the National rankings.

Aleksandra said: "Table Tennis is my passion, I work hard and am determined. I am grateful I play Table Tennis.

"My ambition is to represent England. I am resilient and want to improve every season. I like to keep developing my game by focussing in training and in matches.”

Lucy, 11, began playing at school in Year 4.

She soon began to develop a good technique and very rarely misses any training sessions and also plays at SPTTC.

Lucy plays in Scarborough League’s Division 3, and is also a keen Karate enthusiast.

She said: “My favourite thing about table tennis is winning points with good shots, such as a loop or a forehand smash.

"I would recommend table tennis to other people because it is great to be part of a team, make new friends, learn from your mistakes in order to improve and a fantastic use of positive energy.

"It allows me to have total focus and concentration and is also great exercise.”

Nine-year-old Vanessa only started playing a year ago, she regularly attends training sessions at school and at SPTTC.

Vanessa has developed a very strong technique already and she is the youngest player currently playing in the Scarborough League. She is very enthusiastic and resilient.

She said: “I like training because I get to improve my shots and try something new every time.

"My favourite shot is the forehand and I’d like to practise the backhand, especially backhand loop most. I also like training so much as I lean new skills all the time.”