Member Associations | 3 Oct 2010
Admiral Turgutreis Friendship: vets enjoyable tournament in Bodrum
04/10/2010 – So, let me tell you some words about the 9th Admiral Turgutreis Table Tennis Friendship Tournament that took place in a nice sunny Turkish city Bodrum between 20th and 25th of September. This tournament was originally organized for vete
04/10/2010 – So, let me tell you some words about the 9th Admiral Turgutreis Table Tennis Friendship Tournament that took place in a nice sunny Turkish city Bodrum between 20th and 25th of September. This tournament was originally organized for veterans of table tennis. The participants were divided into the following categories: 30-40 years old, 40 – 50 and so on. Moreover, players of younger age had a chance to take part in it as well as all the veterans.
Bodrum’s organization of tournament was similar to Olympic. Tennis players competed in different categories: singles, couples and teams. And a special tournament was organized for those who didn’t win in their age category. This year Admiral Turgutreis Table Tennis Friendship Tournament welcomed 140 table tennis players. The United Kingdom was represented by a big and united team headed by Roy NORTON. He is an awarded multiple winner of veterans World Championships and European Cups. The tournament was attended by teams of Bulgaria, Denmark and Turkey, as well.
The Russian Federation was represented by strong and experienced veterans. Between them we could see such names as Aleksandr SAVELYEV ( prizewinner of Veterans Championship in Brazil), Anatoliy BONDARENKO, Vyacheslav MOROZOV. The Russians won a reasonable number of awards for their excellent game. For instance, Sergey SAVELYEV took the first place in the main competition.
It is interesting to notice that usually Russian team consists of quite a small number of players. This year there were 10 people from Saint-Petersburg and a couple of players from Moscow. Our sportsmen were as usually very excited to combine playing their favorite sport with relaxing and comfortable vacations.
Basically they only had to buy airplane tickets. The problem of accommodation was on the shoulders of the organizers. The participants were offered special deals on hotel prices. The hotel was 5star all inclusive. Rooms matched good 4 star European quality. Price for a double room was 100 euro per night. Eventually our trip turned out to be 30 percent less pricy than a similar one we could find in a tourist agency “NevaTravel”.
All in all atmosphere during the tournament was really welcoming and friendly. The main facility roomed 9 tennis tables. All games were properly scheduled and viewed by qualified judges. Free transportation was provided by the sponsors. The sports center was located on a mountain with a beautiful view on the seaside and a Greek island Cos.
Just small inconveniences happoened due to unavailability of air conditioning in the facilities area. But the sponsors promised to fix this problem by the next year: the 10th anniversary tournament will be even better…
(by Sergey SAVELYEV, courtesy ttsport.ru)
Click here to consult complete results
Click here for further information
Photo: group of participants in Turkish Bodrum
