Ormesby Table Tennis Club was founded in 1957 and has continued to provide facilities for coaching and competitions at all levels for the past 48 years, firstly in the garden of Alan Ransome’s house on Meadow Close, Church Lane, Ormesby, then at the Middlesbrough Tertiary College and finally in our own new facility on Cargo Fleet Lane in Middlesbrough.

The Club was most successful in the 1960/70’s when many leading international players were developed due to the high level coaching program at the Club. These players included: Denis Neale, Alan Ransome, Nicky Jarvis, Jimmy Walker, David Alderson, Robert Wiley, Linda Bashford, Carole Knight (Moore), Angela Tierney, Jane Skipp (Durham), Helen Robinson (Stoker), June Williams and Norma Carne (Bonson).

The highlight of the Club’s history was in 1972 when Ormesby won the European Club Cup (see photo below), the only English Club still to have achieved this honour. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the Club won the National Club Championship 10 times.

The Ormesby Team who won the European Club Cup in 1972 Nicky Jarvis, Trevor Taylor, Alan Ransome (captain) and Denis Neale - click here to view larger version

During the 1980’s and early 1990’s Ormesby participated in the British League, winning it in 1991. Many famous players represented Ormesby in the British League, including Chen Xinhua, Alan Cooke, Donald Parker, Richard Yule, Nigel Eckersley and Calin Kreanga.

During the last few years a high level coaching program has been renewed under the direction of Carole Knight Moore, and once again Ormesby has many young players climbing up the National rankings at both senior and junior levels.

The most recent success has been Paul Drinkhall’s performance in the 2005 European Youth Championships in Prague where he won the Gold Medal in the Cadet Boys Singles, Gold in the Cadet Boy’s Team event and Silver in the Mixed Doubles. Paul also won three titles at the English Junior Championships, as well as the Under 21 Men’s Singles in the 2004/5 season. Paul is currently ranked No. 1 Cadet in Europe, No. 7 in the Senior Men’s list and No. 1 in the Junior and Cadet Boys lists… and all this at the age of 15!

Coaching sessions at the beginner, advanced and excellence levels play an important part of the Ormesby programme, with  Alan Ransome, Michael Marsden and Neil Besford all working hard on a voluntary basis with the youngsters.

As well as running a program for talented players, Ormesby Table Tennis Club offers a wide range of activities for players of all ages and abilities and the opportunity for members to represent the Club in both the Middlesbrough & District League and the Cleveland Summer League. There are club nights for senior players, after school sessions for beginners, and a Saturday morning Junior Club giving youngsters an introduction to the sport, and the opportunity to benefit from basic coaching and to play competitively in the Ormesby Junior League.

Ormesby Table Tennis Club have a dedicated Management Committee which meets regularly, comprising Alan and Jose Ransome,  Brenda Stephenson, Gary Whyman, June Lynch, and Malcolm Muldoon and are in the process of introducing a Friends of Ormesby Table Tennis Club group.