We are trying to get more organised with the distribution of keys
to Essex Road by creating a database of keyholders. Please can you let me know if you hold a key
to the match room at Essex Road. For the
avoidance of confusion, the database is just for the match room and not Queens
room.
Thanks
Tony Coombes
Tonycoombes57@gmail.com
DEREK SEAGER Funeral Details
Derek Seager’s funeral will take place on:
Friday 28th August
2026 at 12:00pm
Aldershot
Crematorium
Guildford Road
Aldershot
Hampshire
GU12 4BP
The service will be
followed by a wake at a hotel in Farnborough
during the afternoon.
We are just finalising the arrangements for the wake and I will send the venue
and details across as soon as these are confirmed.
Over the last week,
Mum and I have been incredibly touched by the number of messages, memories and
stories we have received about Dad. It has really brought home just how many
people he met, coached, played alongside, helped and became friends with through
table tennis over more than 50 years.
Table tennis was
such a huge part of Dad’s life, and therefore a huge part of our family’s life
too. It would mean an enormous amount to Mum and all of us to see as many of
his table tennis friends and colleagues as possible at the funeral and
afterwards at the wake.
Please make clear
that anyone who knew Dad is very welcome to
attend.
We appreciate that after so many decades involved in the sport there will be
many people whose contact details we simply don’t have, so please feel free to
forward this email, share the arrangements through leagues, clubs, committees
and groups, or pass them on personally.
We have also
created a tribute page for Dad, and we would love people from the table tennis
community to continue adding their memories, photographs and stories. Some of
what has already been shared has been incredibly special for us to read,
particularly the stories from parts of Dad’s table tennis life that we as a
family might otherwise never have known about.
MINUTES OF BDTTA AGM ON 20TH JULY 2026
Please find attached the minutes from the BDTTA AGM from 20th
July. They have turned out to be rather
wordy so you may need to sit down with a long drink to read them all. Before you do that please can I highlight a
few key points.
Club secretaries please note the closing date for team registration
has been moved to the later date of Sunday 9th August.
Team captains -Celia has requested that you offer any
assistance requires to team members with both TTE England and the BDTTA
league. Unregistered players caused Celia
significant work last season and also resulted in points being lost due to
players not being registered.
Team captains – please note the rule changes for the coming
season. Two of the three changes are
made for clarity but rule 22 and rules 18, 26 have been changes to a. allow
teams to postpone TWO matches per season b. allow more substitute appearances
to give team captains more flexibility. The wording of the new rules can be found in Appendix 1 of
the minutes.
Finally, a plea from the coaching team. Coaching sessions are a great way to introduce
new players to the league and historically have also brought in significant
income to the league. The sessions have
been run by a small team of coaches, and they could really do with more
help. If you are in a position to offer
some time to the coaching effort it would be much appreciated. Please contact any committee member to discuss this further.Follow this link for the full minutes https://bdtta.org/static/club_meetings/AGM2026.pdf Tony Coombes, League Secretarytonycoombes57@gmail.com
DEREK SEAGER
I am sorry to bring you the sad news that a major figure in Hampshire Table Tennis has passed away. Below is a message from his son, Ryan.5th August 2026To the Hampshire and Aldershot Table Tennis CommunityMany of you will already have heard the incredibly sad news that my Dad, Derek Seager, passed away on Sunday.Table tennis was such a huge part of Dad’s life. Whether through coaching, committee work, organising competitions, supporting players, or simply being around the sport he loved, he dedicated over 50 years to helping table tennis flourish. He was immensely proud of the friendships he made through the sport and of seeing generations of players develop and enjoy the game.As a family, we’ve created a tribute page where we’d love members of the table tennis community to share their memories of Dad.If you have a funny story, a favourite memory, a photograph from a tournament, coaching session or presentation, or even a video, we would be so grateful if you could upload it. These memories will become something our family can treasure forever and help keep Dad’s legacy alive for future generations.We’ve also chosen to support Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance through the tribute page. When Alex made the 999 call, the Air Ambulance crew were on scene within around 30 minutes, working alongside the outstanding South Central Ambulance Service crews. The professionalism, compassion and care they showed Dad, and the support they gave our family during those incredibly difficult hours, was simply outstanding.Remarkably, this is also the second time they have helped our family, having supported Mum during a serious illness eight years ago.The charity receives no day-to-day Government funding and relies almost entirely on public generosity. There is absolutely no expectation to donate, but if you were considering sending flowers, we know Dad would much rather any support went towards helping this incredible service continue to save lives and support other families.Funeral details will be added to the tribute page in due course. It would mean a great deal to our family to see as many of Dad’s friends from the table tennis community there as possible, celebrating the life of someone who gave so much to the sport he loved.Thank you to everyone for the messages, kindness and support we’ve already received. It has been a tremendous comfort.Please visit Derek’s tribute page to share your memories, photographs and videos:https://derek-seager.muchloved.comOn behalf of Mum, myself, Alex and all our family, thank you. Dad would have loved to know that the friendships he made through table tennis continue to bring people together.An obituary to Derek can be found on this link. https://bdtta.org/static/reference/Derek%20Seager%20Obituary.docx
Coaching Sessions
No upcoming coaching sessions scheduled. Feel free to contact the coaching team listed on the coaching page.