As the clock struck 9:30am, on Saturday 10th June, the 72nd annual Country Championships was underway. 

Prior to play, an opening ceremony was held with Table Tennis Victoria (TTV) CEO Andrew Weiss welcoming and thanking everyone for making the trip out to the high-quality Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium (GRISS). 

Following Weiss’s welcome was a thank you from LaTrobe City Council Mayor Darren Howe who expressed his excitement to have another tournament in the region. 

In a Country Championships tradition, the Andrew Wilson Memorial award is given to a player who best displays dedication to the sport, team spirit, impeccable demeanour, and is a worthy ambassador for table tennis in regional Victoria. It is named in honour of the late Andrew Wilson who was a country player who exemplified team spirit and gentlemanly conduct, the country championships was one of Andrews favourite tournaments. To this day, Andrew is still missed dearly by those who knew and were close to him. 

The recipient of the award for 2023 was John Bowers from Ballarat Table Tennis Association. John has impeccable manners both on and off the court; win or lose, he has a smile, a “well played” and a firm handshake for his opponent, and a “thank you” for the umpire.   He shows respect to all whom he meets, players, officials and spectators. He is always well presented, modest and polite and is a credit to his Association, the Country Championships and to the wider table tennis world.   He is an ideal ambassador for our sport and, hopefully, will serve it well for many years to come.

The structure of the tournament consisted of rounds one and two played on Saturday, rounds three, four and the individuals tournament played on Sunday with round five played on Monday with results calculated and grade shields presented to winners once play was complete. 

The A Grade Shield was won by the Geelong team winning all five rounds of the competition, with their team consisting of Matthew Avers, Wayne Greaves, Calden Lyons and Ben Taylor. 

In B1, Wangaratta also won all five rounds in their grade, with a team of Tom Brown, Mark Comensoli and Andrew Lindner. 

Congratulations to all teams that took part in the Country Champs teams competition, it was a true spectacle for everyone involved.  

You can view the full teams results and ladders here.

In the Individual’s tournament Geelong’s Matt Avers and Albury/Wodonga’s Levi Geering went head-to-head in the Open Men’s Singles with Avers coming out on top in a three-set match.  

Div Mallya defeated Shantelle Hives three sets to love in the Women’s Open Singles to take out the victory. 

Ben Taylor and Matthew Avers (Geelong) defeated Albury Wodonga’s Levi and Max Geering in the Open Men’s Doubles for the second year in a row, while Div Mallya & Judy James took out the Open Women’s Doubles with Ben Taylor & Lauren Lappin taking out the Mixed Doubles title. 

You can read the full individual results HERE. 

Down for his first Country Championships, TTV CEO Andrew Weiss was pleased with the tournament and the success of another event held at GRISS. 

“This year's Country Championships showcased another wonderful display of competition with a great turnout from clubs, teams, and players” said Weiss. 

“Despite a number of challenges at this year’s venue, competition was held in great spirit and the spirit of Country Week shone through.” 

“A big thank you to Claire Montgomery and Graeme Ireland for managing the event and thank you to the Country Championships committee of Bill Freeman, John Wright, Oscar Yam & Clairefor making it all happen.” 

“Our staff and the staff of LaTrobe City Council also worked tirelessly to bring the event to life and further enhanced our strong partnership with LaTrobe City and Destination Gippsland.” 

TTV would also like to thank Costa Farms for the boxes of bananas that were supplied!

We can’t wait to see all the players and clubs next year for the 73rd edition of the Victorian Country Championships.