Senior Corner

January/February 2008
By Olga & Stan Kahan,

Co-Chairs, USATT Senior Committee

949-830-6699 (ph) • 949-240-7167 (fax)

natashafeingold@gmail.com

Last December, George Braithwaite, a New Yorker from Rooswelt Island, was honored with the 2007 Mark Matthews Lifetime Achievement Award – as “a perennial Senior Champion” – at the USATT Hall of Fame Induction Banquet, held during the National Championships in Las Vegas.
Among his opponents, George is widely known as a king of over 50’s, over 60’s and over 70’s; and he is admired by table tennis veterans in general.

George Braithwaite was born in Georgetown, Guyana, more than 70 years ago, and in his young years he became deeply involved in many sports in Trinidad, namely track and field, cricket, soccer, cycling, etc. His name became well known in Kingston, Jamaica.
In 1959 he arrived in New York and started working at the United Nations. The same year, at work, he found a hard rubber racket and discovered a table tennis club at the UN, which was functioning on the forty-first floor. He started practicing table tennis daily and became addicted to the game. Eight months later, the then 35-year-old sport enthusiast won the finals of the UN Championships. Soon he started branching into other clubs and met Marty Riesman, Bobby Gusikoff, Tim Boggan, Dave Sakai, and many others.
In 1970, George was selected to join the US team to fly to Central America for the Goodwill exhibitions in Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and elsewhere. In 1971, as a member of the US team, George flew to Nagoya, Japan, where Chinese players participated in that event also. The Chinese players extended an invitation to the US Team for a tour in China – the so-called “Historic Ping Pong Diplomacy” – and George Braithwaite joined the table tennis rollercoaster at local, regional, national, and international events. “In my 70’s I am blessed with good health,” said the former USATT vice president, smiling, when he was interviewed at the last US Nationals.
“I love this sport. It is fantastic aerobics. It is wonderful for eye-coordination and for a proper functioning of the cardiovascular system; it helps to maintain discipline and motivation. I wish the best for everybody and not to quit, just enjoy life to the fullest.”
George Braithewaite; a Genuine perennial Senior Champion!

TIBHAR VETERAN CUP IN HUNGARY
After the fourteenth World Veterans Table Tennis Championships are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil May 24-30, and after the Meiklejohn Memorial North American Seniors, (June 5-8 in Laguna Woods, CA), and just before the US Open in Las Vegas at the beginning of July, readers should be focused on the fourth Tibhar Cup International Veteran Table Tennis Competition in Hungary at Lake Balaton, June 28,29.
The Competition Director, Istvan Bajdik, on behalf of the organizer, Tibhar Hungary Ltd, has sent an official invitation for the competition.The registration form can be found on the following website: www.tabletennis.hu The location is Batalonfured, a nice city at the northern part of Lake Balaton, 130 km from Budapest. Istvan Bajdik hopes that those table tennis veterans who will be coming to Hungary in June won’t be disappointed, and will also have a chance to visit the beautiful Hungarian capital, Budapest. “We are waiting for you,” says Bajdik, “and I hope we can meet in Hungary in June. Best friendly wishes from Budapest!” (his email: bajdik@unn.hu)
One last note: at the World Championships, our team featured Cheng Ying-Hua who took his first US Senior title almost ten years ago. So here we are, with our seniors, to the rescue. Ilija Lupulesku was unable to play this year, but since he now is a senior veteran, we can look forward to great things from him. You 70-year-olds better watch out!