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The club had success at the Blaenau Gwent Open. Beth Roberts had to fight all the way to the Cadet Girls singles final. In her way at the quarter final stage was Laura Edwards where the 2 had a thrilling encounter that went all the way to deuce in the 5th. In the end Beth took the win and made the final against Caitlin Williams. Again the match went to 5, but in the end Beth held her nerve to be crowned Blaenau Gwent Cadet Girls Champion 2011. It was great to see Bethany Brewer winning the Cadet Girls Consolation Event. In the Junior Girls event Laura managed to turn the tables on Beth to knock her out in the semi finals. Laura then played Nicole Hall in the final and ended as runner up. In the Junior Boys Alex got through to the quarter finals where he was knocked out by Lewis Williams. A good tournament for our club players, many thanks to Dan OConnell was made sure the players got some top practice on Friday

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Ael-y-Bryn will have a day of action on weds 30th of November - TABLE TENNIS ACTION the club will open 1pm-4pm for practice, Alan Monks will also be present for one to one coaching with selected players.

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The annual christmas party/tournament will take place 4pm-6pm on Friday 23rd of December. It is FANCYDRESS (Ashley Perrys idea), and only those dressed up will be admitted. Cost is £1, There will be the usual mix of table tennis, games etc, all players will receive a selection box for playing in the fancy dress tournament

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Every new season sees the club pack new players into cars and drive them to Cardiff to play in the Dragons. This years rising stars are Darian Eynon, Bethany Brewer, Daniel and Sophie Cunningham, all of who get to wear the coveted club shirt as they represent the club in a tournament. The players did the club proud, In the under 11s there were 19 entries Darian finsihed 9th, Sophie 10th, Bethany 12th, and Daniel 19th. Under 13 saw Darian 12th, Bethany 19th, Sophie 30th, and Daniel 31st - excellent results for the young players. Next Dragon is on December 18th see Neil for an entry form and ask your parents to take a car (preferably their own) as transport is not keeping up with numbers wanting to play

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Readers of this website will remember that the clubs team finished in the top half of division 2 in this event last season, a very good result when the age and experience of our players are taken into consideration. This year saw a strengthened team As Alex and Beth were joined by Laura Edwards (free transfer from North Gwent) and Lewis Williams (free transfer from Blaenavon). Day 1 saw Ael-y-Bryn batter Bridgend C and B into submission in convincing fashion Laura Edwards being mentioned in dispatches for a good win over Sharleen Williams. Day 2 looked tough, 3 matches, Laura Edwards off the team sheet and Neil running the Dragons. However Alex Lewis and Beth faced up to Newport, Carmarthen and Bridgend A in a packed main hall. Like day 1 it was win, win, win for the team, closest match was a 4-3 struggle over Carmarthen as the age old conundrum of old age and cunning versus youth was played out. Next weekend will be interesting because the stakes are high - the winner of div 2 gets automatic promotion to the div 1 big time, whilst the runner up will have to be involved in a playoff against the bottom but one in div 1 team for the right to play div1 seniors next year.

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This season the club entered a brand new girls team alongside the already established boys team in this prestigous competition. The boys remember the struggle that came last season to avoid relegation, which would mean that the team would have to play for qualification against 20 other teams, so the stakes were high at the 1st weekends play. However it was a case of what a difference a year of training makes as Alex OConnell, Callum Evans, and Jac Jenkins beat 4 teams and drew with 1 team to top division 4B at the end of the weekend. The highlight was Alexs incredible fightback from 4-10 down to win the 2nd set against the Ernest Bevan TTK number 1, a remarkable turnaround that Alex turned into a victory. The closest match ended with a draw against Ulster who lead Ael-y-Bryn by the narrowest margin on games for and against. In the girls division 2 the clubs new girl team made its debut and quickly set about demolishing the opposition. The club's girl stars Beth Roberts and Laura Edwards were helped to victory by Hannah Avery and Laura Price. With 4 top players on the team sheet, all playing at a high level, team selection was a constant (but nice) problem for the team captain. The tense match of the weekend came against welsh rivals Bridgend, a fixture that ended in a draw. Still the girls top division 2 at the end of the weekend and both teams are dreaming of taking home the silverware at the end of the final weekend next february

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A full day of 3 matches faced both teams on day 2. The B team played 2 Carmarthen teams and a team from Wrexham and hoped to get some better results, however it was not to be. To their credit all team members turned up and played their best which is all the club asks of its players. In Division 1 the A team carried on their winning ways from day 1 until the last match of the weekend against Rhondda A. Following the doubles the score was 2 all, but there was no more for Ael-y-Bryn, unluckiest player was Megan Phillips losing twice in the 5th set! Still the club has a history of coming from behind to steal the win in TCW - fans will remember last years div 2 title win overcoming North Gwent at the last minute, and the year before's dramatic div 3 title win on games for and against overcoming Nantymoel at the final hurdle. Its not over yet!

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The club 2 junior teams were in action in the main hall at WIS. The A team looked severely weakened by the unavailability of Dan OConnell (too old) and Angharad Phillips (playing in the European Champs). Last year division 2 champions Beth Roberts and Alex OConnell were drafted in to back up last years defending division 1 champions Megan Phillips and Lewis Williams, but would the new team be good enough? 1st Match against Fendale A looked tough as Lewis,Megan, and Alex took on Chris Griffiths, Ethan Lewis and Liam Winder. The first 2 games went Ael-y-Bryns way, then Alex had a tough match against Liam Winder which he won by sheer effort. Credit goes to coaching asistance from Dan OConnell. Beth Roberts got warmed up in a 5 set thrilling doubles match as her and Lewis won a tense 5 setter against Ferndale. By now Ael-y-Bryn had the match won, the players relaxed and even more impressive table tennis followed capped by Alex beating Ethan Lewis 3 straigh to clinch a 7-0 win for the team. Alex was "player of the match" with his 2 impressive wins built on 100% effort. Next in the firing line was Bridgend A fielding Ryan Oyler, Sharleen Williams and Hannah Avery. Ael-y-Bryn substituted Beth Roberts for Alex OConnell who did play as partner for Megan in the doubles. Again the team treated the hall to some amazing table tennis. Lewis had to go up a gear against an on form Ryan Oyler, but came back to a great win. Beth Roberts reversed a recent defeat against Sharleen playing back at the top of her game, and Megan used her pimples to great effect in both her singles matches. Neil banked on the 2 left handers for the doubles and despite never having played together before they closed out a great 5th set win in the doubles. Incredibly the team had won this match by the end of the doubles but even better was to come as the team won all remaining encounters including a good first time ever win for Beth Roberts over Hannah Avery. This meant the A team had chalked up 2 7-0 victories and so could'nt have had a better day 1! It was a different story for the B team of Teigan Herbert, Shelby Short, Bethany Brewer, and Zac Perry in division 3. To be fair this is a very young team playing for experience against older players and coach Neil was pleased with their performance which improved every game. They lost both matches (Bridgend B and Whitchurch) but fought all the way. "Player of the Match" against Bridgend was Bethany Brewer, and "Player of the Match" against Whitchurch was Zac Perry, so well done to them.

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Ael-y-Bryn's own "Mrs Kipling" came up with a new idea to raise funds for the club-selling cakes! The first batch sold out within minutes last Friday when half starved players queued up to buy the great tasting cakes. The money raised will be used in the club, any ideas of what we can spend it on to Neil

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A new practice partner took to the tables at the club on Monday 19th of September. Despite being inappropriately dressed in high heels she easily defeated both Jake Powell and Darian Eynon before amazing her own daughter with her table tennis skills!

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