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March 1999 saw the 63rd & largest ever edition of the English Open.  Almost 250 competitors and only 9 tables meant that they had to add an extra day to the front of the event for "pre qualifying". So, Terry did not get the day of adjustment from travel he had expected. Sue spent the time synching her body to the 6 hour time change. This was the first out of country tournament she has shared with Terry.

The event was held at Potter's Leisure Resort at Hopton-On-Sea. This is the very eastern most point in the English Isles. It borders the North Sea. As you can imagine, the coast of the North Sea in early March was a bit brisk. Especially for Sue coming from the 80 degree temperatures of Houston. It was actually much warmer for Terry arriving from the sub-zero temperatures in Flint. This area was once part of the Roman Empire and it is rich in tradition and classic architecture.

The shadow of the upcoming World Championships was a tangible weight on all of the officials and competitors. Were the going to be held in Belgrade? Were they going to be held at all? These questions were on everyone's tongues. But with so many great players in attendance, attention quickly turned to the tournament at hand.

Thoughts from Sue: Mind the gap!  It was one of the first expressions we heard after our plane landed in London, not long after the immigration officer asked it we were in England for a holiday.  The gap refers to the longer stride it sometimes takes to avoid tripping while exiting the London underground transportation system.

There were no gaps, however, in the fulfillment of our mission of ping pong diplomacy in Britain.  I am referring the 63rd English Open and as an umpire's wife I accept my station in life enthusiastically.  Although I am only a recreational player, I appreciate the intricacy and skill of the sport and how universally it brings cultures together.  A sustained rally with a small plastic ball is every bit as nerve-wracking as the 'Hail Mary' pass in American football.  Major table tennis tournaments become sacred, shared experiences because they bring together not only international players, but international officials and spectators.  When they all come together, the language of table tennis needs no interpreter. Fans cheer just as loudly for a well played match as they do for their favorite player.

I was privileged and proud to attend the 63rd English Open / ITTF Pro Tour and found myself easily reconnecting with my English heritage through the kindness and delightful sense of humor that the British people display.  In the gift shops at Heathrow Airport in London, Terry and I thought the "Mind the gap" T-shirts were a clever idea, but in my mind there is no gap in international spirit of table tennis.  S.C.

Belarus'es Vladimir Samsonov and Korea's Kim Taek Soo were the top seeds along with a strong Swedish contingent featuring Jorgen Persson. Austria's Werner Schlager & China's Ma Wenge added power on the men's side. Germany's Tian-Zorner Jing, & Jie Schopp, Luxembourg's Ni Xia Lian,  Korea's Ryu Ji Hye, Hong Kong's Tong Fei Ming, France's Anne Boileau and the USA's Gao Jung were among the leaders on the women's side. This shaped up as a dynamic tournament and a class event to kick off the 1999 European Pro Tour.

The US team consisted of Eric Owens, Barney Reed, & Gao Jun.  They had just finished competing for the right to represent the US at the 1999 Team Trials. Hopes were high.  Both men had to qualify to try to make the main draw while Gao, by virtue of her World Rank #35 was already in the show.  Barney tried but was outmatched in his round robin, failing to win even a game.  Eric lost a tough one to a good Dutch player & beat World #500, but had to take out Lee Chul Seung WR #67 to advance.  While the scores were close, he couldn't quite pull it off. Barney got to compete in the U-21s but drew a seeded player from Belgium in the first round and again was knocked out.  The two of them faired much better in the doubles, but lost in the second round to an English pair.

The good news for the US guys was that they got to watch some of the best players in the world for the rest of the week! competition was fierce on both the men's and women's sides as well as in doubles.  Players hoped they were tuning up for the Worlds and were moving their games into high gear.

This portion of England is a tourist resort for the island, but it is a summertime spot.  It was a little desolate in the dead of Winter.  Fortunately, this was not the dead of Winter, but the edge of Spring!  So we got to see the change of season in the week we were there.  Terry had to work every day they were in Britain, but Sue took time to get to know the local wildlife and use the luxury pool and explore Great Yarmouth, Hopton-on-Sea, Norwich, and Lowestoft. The best thing she discovered was Cadbury Chocolate! We were stunned at how good the food at Potter's was.  Having been to England before, Terry had warned Sue not to expect much in the way of quisine.  Much to our surprise, the meals were all banquet quality with rich variety.

The ETTA runs a class event.  This is one of the reasons top players like to come here.  TT in England is on the way up.  The English have committed substantial resources to make the sport a success.  It is starting to show in their players.  They start very young and get the school groups involved at the tournaments.  Matthew Syed is quickly climbing the ranking list.  This was not one of his better tournaments though, as he was knocked out in the first round.  There is Nicola Deaton, Alex Perry & Carl Prean. This tournament, Abraham Conteh and Gareth Herbert made some noise on the show courts before bowing out.

There were fresh faces as well.  Ruta Garkauskaite of Lithuania and Finn Tugwell from Denmark looked very impressive. Most of the players came from Europe so there was little effect of time change.  It was different for us.  A 6 hour change takes a while to get used to.  The action was fierce from the qualifiers on.  We started out in a little cabin facing the ocean.  It sounded like there was a freeway just over the hill.  In reality, it was the constant heavy surf of the North Sea.

Later in the tournament, Potter's overbooked itself.  We had to move to a less desirable room with what seemed like a solid wood mattress.  We were lucky though as the English officials all had to transfer to a different hotel and take taxis to get to the site.  There was one very nice day that heralded the beginning of Spring.  We took the opportunity to visit Lowestoft together.  It seemed odd to see people on holiday at the beach in coats and long clothing.  But there were a few brave hearts who decided that 60 degrees F was warm enough to go for a (brief) dip.  Lowestoft is a resort similar to Ft. Lauderdale, British style.  The beach is wide and expansive and the fishing is quite good.  Even those supposed to be at labor, took time to enjoy the pier.  We stopped and had a traditional fish & chips lunch while we were there.  One thing for certain, boys will be boys no matter what country!

Back at the tournament, Saive, who is having his first baby in June, was exiting after his first match with Denmark's Martin Monrad.  He said it would be tough for him to defend his US title this year because of the new addition.  Gatien ran into a determined Trinko Keen of the Netherlands, while Samsonov had the misfortune to draw Ma Wenge in his second match.  It was a wonderful 5 gamer, but it was also Vladi's ticket home.  Kim Taek Soo paid special attention to this match.  After the second round, all of the Yugoslavs were gone as well.  The Swedes continue to excell at ball control as can be seen in this example of inside out and outside in strokes.

Interestingly enough, Jorgan Persson played fellow Swede, Frederick Hakansson in the second round and not one mention was made.  A similar incident (while not involving the Swedes) in the US in 1996 almost led to an international incident.  Also of note was that the ETTA ran the Junior event on the same tables as the Pro Tour on the same days, and the players did not complain.  This same type of situation escalated into a players walk-out in the US in 1997.  Fascinating how different reactions occur in different countries.  I think this is partly because of the prior notification given for the latter and respect for the particular International Referee in the former case.  There were also two distinctly different rooms in which the competition was held.  The main hall had superior lighting while the second hall played totally differently.  Coaches played a significant roll at the tournament.

Keen was supremely confident after taking out Gatien and continued on his tear chewing up Italy's Yang Min.  Johnny Huang was in marvelous form in England as he and Petra Cada were the sole representatives of Canada.  He took out US open runner up Legout after stopping the Tugwell train. Patrick Chila defended France's honor by removing Olympian Yoo Nam Kyu, while Werner Schlager seemed destined as he dropped Damien Eloi.  The semis were set as Ma, Persson, Schlager, and Kim advanced.  Here is Kim's match winning passing shot against Chila.  Schlager had the tough match as he had to deal with Keen.  Keen's strokes are so fast that even at a 1/1000th of a second, the camera had difficulty stopping them.

Ma drew the tall Swede while Kim faced the Austrian.  Schlager had his chances, but lost 2 heartbreaking deuce games and the match 3-1. Ma dominated Jorgen.  The same was true for the finals as this was his reemergence onto the world's top level.

The women were battling at the same time with the two shooting stars of Romania's Steff and  France's Boileau taking the spotlight.  Steff took out the top seed while Boileau waded through the field like someone possessed.  Korea had the most impressive women's team with several dominant players and the best uniforms.  Ryu Jie Hye is clearly their top, but the rest are no slouches!  This was the most chopper heavy field of women.  At least 6 top choppers were in contention with one of them prevailing. Australia's Shirley Zhou traveled the longest distance to lose out to Hong Kong's chopper.  The women use superior ball placement and quickness as opposed to brute strength, but it does not mean they are not powerful.

The USA's Gao Jun had to face two in a row and you could tell it had taken its toll when she had to face attackers.  Still, she proved that she is worthy of a top world ranking as she battled her way through to the semifinals.  It should be noted that, for one of the first times, Canada's Cada fought her way through all of the qualifying rounds to reach the main draw.  While she lost to an excellent Japanese player there, her game has leaped to international levels.

Congratulations go out to Jie Schopp and Ma Wenge as they took the men's and women's titles. Also, Trinko Keen's efforts were not in vain as he and fellow countryman took the Men's Doubles crown over a determined Polish team.  Similarly, the Koreans were able to take some consolation in grabbing the Women's Doubles crown and check.

As we got up in the pre dawn hours to catch our shuttle to our train to our subway to our subway to our plane to our car to our home, we snuck out to the beach one last time to catch a final sunrise over European waters.  Thank you England and the ETTA for a wonderful time and a truly great event.

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