
By Ross Kendall
The Byron Bay Table Tennis Club held their inaugural mixed doubles tournament last week at Newrybar Hall and declared Ian Evans and Janice Best champions, after they won three from three matches.
Amazingly the duo only met each other on the night.
Mark Smith and Ashni Murdolo were the main rivals after winning three form four matches.
Ian Cohen and Vashti Eastern had to forfeit their last match owing to unforeseen circumstance, which also left the door open for the new team.
‘There are no champions, just luck on the night,’ Janice said.
‘It’s wonderful playing with such a competent partner, Ian was happy to share tips and his knowledge about game strategy.
‘Any pressure was totally alleviated by the goodwill of all players on the night,’ she said.
Teams including Richard Ray and Penny Young, and Shokei and Julia Fox were also competitive.
Memories of the big night will long linger.
‘I didn’t just get a trophy, I got a bottle of kombucha,’ Janice said.


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