JACOMO Table Tennis Club

2011 Club Christmas Luncheon

2011-12-22T18:30:00.001-08:00

For 2011, we moved our annual Christmas Luncheon to Blue Springs at the Legend of Asia restaurant. They have a great buffet, fresh sushi, and cooked to order dishes so there were plenty of choices for the meal. We had exclusive use of their meeting room for the meal, our short business meeting and some fun bingo.

Our outgoing President, Laurie Wolfgang, presided over the business meeting. We reviewed the past year's events which included the purchase of a Table Tennis Robot for the club and a report on the club's finances. Bill Williams was elected to be our President for 2012.

Here are a few photos of the folks who attended the luncheon.

Everyone had a great time and got plenty to eat. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Playing Information

2011-05-04T14:56:00.000-07:00

We don't post a lot of things on our blog and it easy to overlook the first and most important posting. That posting gives you all the information that you need about the club if you are thinking about joining us. The link below will take you to that "About Our Club" posting.

http://jacomottclub.blogspot.com/2010/02/all-about-our-table-tennis-clubs-in.html

Tournament Update

2011-01-20T17:21:00.000-08:00

The tournament that we had scheduled for March 19, 2010 has been cancelled. We did our best to stay on track, but several unavoidable factors drove this decision.

We do not have a date selected yet for our next tournament. More later.

Who Reads This Blog?

2010-12-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

You might think that our little clubs are pretty anonymous, but they aren't. People know about us all over the world. In the short time that we have had this blog, nearly 2,000 people have checked it out from almost every continent.

The map below only shows the location of the last 500 visitors. Some of the earlier visitors have dropped off the map because we haven't paid to track more than 500. So, what you see is just the most recent snapshot, not the whole story.

In addition to the blog, we are also listed as a USATT affiliated club on their web site. People from all over the world also visit that web site as they try to locate places to play or learn about the game. I get at least one phone call a week from people looking for a place to play in the KC area. Most of our newest members found us on either the USATT web site or the blog.

I just thought you would be interested to know that you play at an internationally known table tennis club.

Annual Club Christmas Luncheon - December 8, 2010

2010-12-15T16:39:00.000-08:00

We held our annual Christmas Luncheon at Ryan's Steakhouse on December 8, 2010. Thanks to Linda Bell, we have photos to share this year.

The turnout was excellent and we all had a great time telling table tennis stories and sharing the joys of the Holiday Season. It was particularly nice to see all our friends who do not play much anymore but still made it to the party.

Laurie Wolfgang was elected as Preisdent for 2011 so we are in good hands for another year.

Our club is strong and still growing so life is good.

We said goodbye to our friend Brian Rollett at the party. Brian has taken a job in the mountains of Colorado so we will miss seeing his big loops and smiling face (unless he come back to visit from time to time).

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

October 23, 2010 Tournament Results & Photos

2010-10-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

We had a good turnout for our Fall tournament again this year. In addition to the 38 participants, we had a distinguished guest.........none other than Table Tennis legend, Bill Guilfoil.

A group photo of the participants is below. You can click on the photos to enlarge them. Click on the "Back Arrow" at the top of the screen to return to the blog. While enlarged, you can download (right click Save As) any that you want save for yourself.

Getting ready to play.

Pierce Logan and Bob Gay square off.

Jason Shoemaker and Brad Zerkel.

Jim Marcordes and Sarang Mairal.

Jeremy Ohmstede and Ed Hoffman.

Parviz Mojaverian and Travis Hirt.

Jim Marcordes and Kevin Carr.

Eric Hughlett and Terry Brecheisen playing. Zheng Zeng, Richard Richard, and John Kolarik seated.

Jeff Kingman and Louie Loyd.

Aneesh Sreekumar and Bob Cockerham.

Jeff Burnett and Brian Rollet.

Jeff Johnston and Jeremy Ohmstede discuss the fine points of the hard bat.

Sarang and Mark Fay.

Sudhakar Namasivayam and Matt Ziegler, both from Omaha.

Micah Scmidt and Travis Helgeson.

Jeff Johnston and Neil Brown.

The Championship Final match between Jeff and Parviz.

The top three in the Consolation Bracket. 1st - John Kolarik (black shirt), 2nd - Zheng Zeng, 3rd - Sudhaker Namasivayan (green shirt) with club President, Louie Loyd (left side).

The Championship Bracket winners are 3rd - Richard Richard, 2nd - Jeff Johnston, 1st - Parviz Mojaverian.

Doubles.

Doubles - 3rd Place - Jeff Kingman and Pierce Logan.

Doubles - 2nd Place - Parviz M. and Sarang Mairal.

Chunyen Liu and his son Samuel stopped by to play doubles and left with the Gold Medals.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the players who made the tournament a success. Everyone played lots of TT and had a good time.

Independence - Fall Non-Sanctioned Mini-Tournament - October 23, 2010

2010-08-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

The Independence Parks & Recreation and JACOMO Table Tennis clubs have scheduled their Fall tournament for Saturday, October 23, 2010. This is a non-sanctioned mini-tournament.

As in past tournaments, a Giant Round-Robin will start the play with players moving on to single elimination groups based on their position within the Round-Robin. Doubles will be either single elimination or Guaranteed Two Match Play depending on how many teams are entered and when Singles finish. Please support table tennis in the KC area by participating in this low-key, fun-filled event. Detailed information follows:

Event Date: Saturday, October 23, 2010

Event Time: Singles - 10:00 am. Warm-up/Registration starts at 9:00 am. Doubles at the conclusion of Singles, but not before 2:00 pm. The tournament should be wrapped up by 5:00 pm.

Location: The Truman Memorial Building Auditorium, 416 West Maple, Independence, MO

Equipment/Facility: 8 Stiga tables on a basketball court

Cost: Singles - $10 per person, Doubles - $3 per person (Payable at check-in. Cash preferred. No Credit/Debit cards)

Registration Deadline: Thursday, October 21, 2010

Who Can Play?: Everyone is invited

Lunch: There is no scheduled break for lunch, so bring your own food or join in a group order with food being delivered to the tournament site.

To register, reply to the contact information below to reach me. I prefer e-mails to phone calls to avoid memory lapses. Please provide your home phone number, e-mail address, and USATT rating if you have one and the events you want to play in. If you have a partner for doubles, let me know. If you don't have a partner, we can fix you up with someone the morning of the tournament. The City of Independence is not taking registrations or collecting money for this tournament.

Participation must be limited to the first 40 people who register. Register early to ensure yourself a spot. Please pass this posting on to any fellow players who might be interested in playing.

If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks,

John Browning
Home Phone: 816-525-7923
E-mail: jacomott@gmail.com

Independence Tournament Results - April 17, 2010

2010-04-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a great day for Table Tennis!

We had 36 players from all parts of the KC Metro area join us in Independence for our Annual Spring Tournament. Of the 36, 10 were "first timers" at our tournament. As a matter of fact, there were several who had never played in a tournament before. Pretty exciting stuff.

All the players started in a Giant Round Robin with the top two finishers from each table moving to the Championship Single Elimination Bracket and the remaining players going to the Consolation Bracket.

A few photos of the event are below. You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it. You can also download the photo if you wish be right clicking and doing a "Save As" to one of your folders. To return to the blog, click on the "back arrow" in the upper left hand corner of the screen.

The auditorium of the Truman Memorial Building is the site of our tournament.

Here is a photo of the players we could round up just before play began.

Play in progress.

Everyone has their own way of staying relaxed while competing.

A couple of "first timers" at this tournament.

The first Semi-final match in the Championship Bracket was between Ilya Rozenblat and Dinu Varghese.

The second Semi-final match between Lin Rahardja and Rob Sharp.

The Championship Final between Lin and Dinu.

Louie Loyd (on right), our Club President, awards the winners of the Consolation Bracket. First place goes to Wei Wang, second to Ram Koya, and third to Amirali (Roger) Farishta.

The winners in the Championship Bracket were Dinu Varghese in first place, Lin Rahardja in second, and Ilya Rozenblat in third.

Following the Singles competition, the Doubles gets underway. We had 12 teams competing......that is a record number.

The Championship Doubles final.

The 3rd place finishers, Mark Fay and Mei Wang.

Second place went to Jeff Johnston and Terry Brecheisen.

And the 1st place winners were Lin Rahardja and Ilya Rozenblat.

Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all the players who helped make the tournament a success. I believe that everyone had lots of fun playing people that they would not ordinarily have a chance to compete against.

I also think that many of the players took advantage of the opportunity to learn how to improve their games. I saw one of our players who recently switched to a hard bat getting advice from Jeff Johnston. Jeff is the current U. S. Champion in the Over 40 Hard Bat so he certainly qualifies as an expert. That is just one example of the good stuff that happens at this tournament beyond just competing.

The good news is that we will do this again in the Fall...........October 23rd to be exact. If you are a long term planner, mark your calendar. Thanks again to all the players.....we hope to see you again in October if not before then.

John Browning

All About Our Table Tennis Clubs in Independence

2010-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

There are two table tennis clubs playing at the Truman Memorial Building in Independence, Mo. The building is located at 416 W Maple Street in downtown Independence. The telephone number for the office is 816-356-1234. This number is handy for confirming whether there is play scheduled before you leave home. Here is more detailed information on the two clubs.

JACOMO Table Tennis Club

The JACOMO Table Tennis club has its origins in Independence around 1980. It has moved around and had lots of names over the years. It has been known as the Buckner, Blue Springs, and the JACOMO TTCs. We have played in Buckner, Sibley, Levacy, Blue Springs, Lee's Summit, and now we have returned to the city of our origin, Independence, MO. After a number of name changes with each move, we decided to pick a name we could stay with should we ever move again. JACOMO is an abbreviation for Jackson County, MO. All of our past and probably future location have been and will be in Jackson County.

Our club meets on Monday evenings with play between 6:00 pm and 8:45 pm. We can set up eight Stiga tables with full barriers on a basketball court in the building's auditorium. The club is a member of the USATT, the governing body for all table tennis within the U. S.

Play at the club is informal and is intended for fun and practice. Most players prefer singles although doubles matches can be arranged. We hate to admit it but attendance has been weak recently. Make sure you have a friend to play with or call just after 6:oo pm to check how many people are playing. Skill levels at the club range from beginners to 1800 rating which is slightly above average for tournament play. We have both men and women players and ages range from 12 to 65 years. The cost is $3 per person per night and is paid to the City at the Information Desk as you enter the building. Everyone is welcome to play.

Independence Parks & Recreation Table Tennis Club

This club meets on Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9:00 am to noon. We often play on Friday mornings as well if the auditorium is available. This club uses the same facilities and equipment as the JACOMO TTC.

Play is much the same at this club except the players tend to enjoy doubles more than singles. For those who prefer singles, there is always a table available. Since play is during the daytime, we have more retired people than the Monday night group. However, the playing level is about the same as Monday night. A membership to the Independence Parks & Recreation Department is required to play. A membership is $5 per year per person. The club charges $1 per week per person to play. Everyone is welcome to play.

General Information

The clubs typically host a non-sanctioned tournament in the spring and fall of each year. The most recent results are given in posts to this blog. Results for the 2009 tournaments are available by following the links below:

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/Jx7Ui6FN (March 2009)

http://www.photoshow.com/watch/bS2Ks5XY (October 2009)

For more information on the tournaments or about the clubs, you can reach us via e-mail or telephone as provided below.

Contact Information

John Browning

E-mail: jacomott@gmail.com

Phone: 816-525-7923