Long-time Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday morning fixture organiser Iris Grasso has been honoured for her dedication to the sport.
Iris has been awarded honorary membership for 2024, which entitles her to one year’s free registration. The competition starts this Tuesday, January 30.
Iris and Pam Joyce have been the organisers for eight years since 2017, and their involvement goes back 20 years.
Steve Mathieson and Tony Bowman have taken over organisation of the fixtures, which kicked off with the traditional doubles tournament on Tuesday.
“But the base has been set high by Iris and Pam. The challenge is on,” Steve said.
Iris maintained the “Black Book” where she recorded all of the players, teams and related weekly and statistics information for each season, memories which Steve has digitised.
It took a number of days to complete due to Iris’s attention to detail when recording each season’s data. Looks like Steve was quite happy to hand the book back after such a long effort.
Andrea Nicholson (division 1) and Ken Best (division 2) took out the season-opening competition, which is held with different combinations on a rotating basis, first to 31.
If you’d like to join the fixtures, contact Steve on 0418 700 236.
Tuesday morning Mackay table tennis fixture organiser Steve Mathieson with Iris Grasso, who is now a full-time player. Photo: Charlie Payne
Mackay Table Tennis Tuesday night fixtures round 1, January 23, 2024:
Division 1:
Mercedes (Graeme Walker, Steven Whiting, Graham Brake) d Lexus (Andrew McHugh, Janice Kent, Tony Bowman) 7-4. Janice d Graeme -11, 10, -1, 9, 10.
Jaguar (Vince Boeske, Tim Shehan, Anne Sheridan) d Ferrari (Jason Hodda, Robbie Richards, Geoff Denman) 9-2. Robbie d Vince 6, -8, -3, 7, 8.
Audi (Mick Ruhl, Lee Brake Lily Boland) d BMW (Ian McKay, Emma Widdup, Allan Edwards) 6-5. Emma/Allan d Mick/Lily -9, 8, -6, 9, 10.
Division 2:
Kia (Matt West, Geoff Cowan, Peter Goodson) d Hyundai (Donna Abbott, Delma Knight, Marie Taylor) 7-4. Geoff d Donna 13, -10, 4, 7.
Isuzu (Mark Stam, George Camilleri, Steve Mathieson) d Mazda (Mark Sleeman, David Symons) 6-5. Mark d Bulldog -5, 9, 7, 10.
Nissan (Will VanDeKaa, Duncan Treloar, Simon Hogan) d Honda (Leo Gilbert, Andrea Nicholson, Jye Callander) 9-2. Andrea d Simon -7, -4, 9, 8, 13.
Tuesday morning hit off with the annual doubles tournament, won by Andrea Nicholson (division 1) and Ken Best (division 2). The competition starts this week.
Janice Kent in action at the Mackay Table Tennis Centre
