EAST GRINSTEAD & DISTRICT TABLE TENNIS LEAGUE 

Constituted 1968

Affiliated to E.T.T.A. & S.C.T.T.A.

The League committee is delighted that you have taken the trouble to visit our site and we extend warm welcome. As an individual or possibly a team organiser, you may wish to explore the possibility to join to our friendly but competitive local league.

Please read on and we hope the information will give you some insight into the league. There is a short history of the development of the East Grinstead League on the adjoining web pages, and contact details for the member clubs.

We currently have six member clubs providing two divisions with a total of fifteen teams.

The standard of play in Division one is comparable to any small town, with some very good players competing in the top few teams. Some members also play competitively in other local leagues adjoining the Sussex/Surrey/Kent border areas.  

Division two is comprised of some teams of established and experienced players who compete with those taking up the sport either as junior players that are now beginning to come through recent developments in local schools, together with the coaching programme at MMJ Table Tennis Club, (see Link) or as mature players introduced or re-introduced to the game in recent years.

The league is generally regarded as a very friendly environment for new players, who can usually locate a team to accommodate their requirements. If you do not find all the answers to your questions please contact the league secretary, Andy Hayes on:         andyrhayes@btinternet.com  or (M) 07714 757237.   

The History of the East Grinstead & District League

The ‘commuter’ town of East Grinstead is situated on the northern border of  West Sussex. It is adjacent to both Surrey and Kent. The location means that players taking part in local sports often live in one county and play their sport in another. The town is a former market town and was historically the largest urban population between Horsham in the west, and Tunbridge Wells in the east. 

The 1950’s new town development of Crawley and adjoining Gatwick Airport are both within 10 miles of East Grinstead. Inevitably this affected the area and the East Grinstead population then almost doubled in size in a relatively few years.

 The table tennis league was formed in the 1960’s. The founder league member teams mainly had links in other sports clubs, working men’s clubs and village halls. As the population and development area expanded, one or two teams joined from the new industrial sites.

After a couple of “informal” league seasons, thanks primarily to the efforts of Julian Divall and a few keen helpers, the league was properly constituted and  affiliated to the ETTA in 1968, and table tennis enjoyed its most popular period locally, with about 40 teams including enough teams for a junior division at the end of the 1970’s. The first division boasted top players from the surrounding area and county players played regularly in the league to gain extra competitive match practise in conjunction with the very strong Crawley & Horsham league. The Crawley & Horsham league had quickly grown to about 12 divisions due to the support of the many teams linked to the commercial and industrial teams.

Mainly for security reasons, that followed  a period of increased ‘terrorist’ activities during the next decade, there  was a change of policy by factories and offices who denied their staff and visitors access outside normal working hours. This contributed to the demise of many of the local leagues. Another factor was the comparatively high charges increases in hall hire fees.

The East Grinstead league has just about survived as a result of the enthusiasm of a few players, some of whom have supported the league for most of the forty years of its existence. Although it is now a small league of just two divisions the standard of the successful teams and the players associated with those teams is still good by most standards.

 If the league is to continue to flourish, as the most senior players are moving towards the end of their playing days, we look towards the development of the exciting schools coaching programme, enthusiastically administered by Martin Jezisek, and linked to the MMJ table tennis club that will hopefully continue to provide the young players that the league so desperately requires to survive.

The other clubs that provide teams that currently form the league are; Allan Hayes Engineering, Lingfield Victoria Institute, Sharpthorne TTC, South Godstone Sports Association. Details of contacts for these clubs are listed on this site.

Andy Hayes, General Secretary.  EG&DTTL