History

Thirty years of Deloraine table tennis. Memories from Tom Brown. September 2023.

In 1985, Kim Smith, a local police officer, started a table tennis centre at the Policy and Citizens Youth Club, which was then located at 3-9 East Barrack Street. It boasted 3 tables on trestle legs. The weekly turnout was approximately 20 players. When Kim was transferred to Hobart, there was no one committed enough to keep the centre running.

In the early 1990’s, Noel Jordan (then owner of Deloraine Signs) and John Stuart (local builder) advertised in the local newspaper asking if there were people in the area that would be interested in establishing a local table tennis club. Twelve people replied to the article. At the start of 1993 the club was formed, playing its first matches in the Deloraine Primary School library.

Deloraine Table Tennis League's first venue – at Deloraine Primary School (Tom Brown on the right).

Noel Jordan was the club’s first President and served in that role for the first 5 years, after which he continued to serve on the committee. Noel became the clubs first life member. Noel harked from country South Australia, where he had also been involved with table tennis. In 2000 Noel had to return to South Australia for family reasons.

John Stuart is a local builder who has held every executive position in the club. He was a top Tassie junior player. John is also a life member and still one of the best players at the club.

In the early days the committee decided to try and make the club a family club. This strategy proved successful, and the Nielsens, Bucheks, Roycrofts, Hedges, McGowans, and Browns became the backbone of the club.

Peter Nielsen and Richard McGowan were the best juniors the club produced, with Richard winning the Tasmanian under 13 championships and running 4^th in the Australian championships.

Peter Nielsen became club president in 2003. He also drew up the club logo that we have on our shirts today.

In 1994 we purchased two new tables with grants from the Council and the Department of Sports and Recreation. That same year we hosted the Northern Tasmania Regional Games table tennis section.

In 1995, with sponsorship from the council and support from many local businesses, we ran the Tasmanian Closed Championships at the Deloraine Community Complex. It was a great success. Our club member John Stuart was runner up in the veteran singles.

In 1999 we moved from the Deloraine Primary School to the old Community Hall (now called the Meander Valley Performing Arts Centre) so there was more room to expand to cope with the increase in membership numbers. This was organised by our then President Bill Fisher. We were able to purchase tables and barriers and have suitable lighting installed with support from the Council and the Department of Sports and Recreation.

In 1999, with the permission of the Council, we were allowed to build the storage area for our equipment which we still use today. The club must thank John Stuart, Tony Elkin, Bill Fisher, John Hawley and Mark Dennis for their efforts to build this storage area. They also built the notice board at the front of the Meander Valley Performing Arts Centre, which is still used today by all the facility users.

In 2000, Aline Brown won the over 60 woman’s Tasmanian Veteran titles, and Tom Brown won the over 65 men’s Tasmanian Veteran titles.

In 1999 the club moved to the Meander Valley Performing Arts Centre.

In 2002, the club had 10 teams of four and 6 reserves. This was the largest number of members the club had enjoyed (until this was exceed in 2022 and again in 2023).

In 2008, our club revived the State League Championship, where all Tasmanian clubs play against each other. Deloraine ran the first tournament.

In 2008, to commemorate our 15^th year anniversary, we ran a reunion of past and present players. We were surprised by the number of players who attended. It was a fantastic night.

In 2009 it was the year of the ladies, when Lyn Stefanidis won the club championship. In the same year, Lyn started her long service on the committee, and is now in her fifteenth year as club treasurer.

Heartfelt thanks also to the “ladies of the kitchen”, Aline Brown, Hazel Fisher, and Margaret Nielsen.

Memories from Tom Brown. September 2023.

Go to the 'history' tab pull-down menu (at the top) to see photos of the club's life members and Tom Brown's Table Tennis Australia Award video.