Senior Corner

March/April 2009
By Olga & Stan Kahan,

Co-Chairs, USATT Senior Committee

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

natashafeingold@gmail.com

THE WORLD’S OLDEST TABLE TENNIS PLAYER

Competeing in the Fourteenth World Veteran Championships in Rio de Janeiro in 2008, Australia’s Dorothy de Low was recognized by Guiness World Records as the world’s oldest table tennis player. According to the Table Tennis Illustrated, the official journal of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF, issue No. 74 Winter 2009), Dorothy was 97 years and 232 days old when she competed on May 25, 2008, in the World Veteran championships. It would be exciting to watch her competing in the 2009 USA International Veterans Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 1-4. Let our American Table Tennis members enter this tournament, too, by signing in together with other seasoned athletes from various parts of the globe. Please mail your completed entry form with full payment ($10.00 per event plus $45.00 registration fee) to
USA Table Tennis, 1 Olympic Plaza, Colorado Springs, Co. 80909, USA or call USATT at 719-866-4583/ext. 5 or email:
admin@usatt.org
Meanwhile do not miss the date of the Meiklejohn North American Seniors Tournament which will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary under the pleasant California sun this June 4-7 in Laguna Woods. During these summer days senior players will be competing in a variety of events, displaying their skills, endurance, ingenuity and passion for life.

ONE OF THE LAST MOHICANS

Browsing swiftly through this tournanment’s twenty year history archives, in addition to its main sponsor, the late Bill Meiklejohn, readers may recognize a familiar figure not only among table tennis seniors, but also among world acadmicians-a Professor of Economics Emeritus, Julius Margolis. After his lifelong academic career in various universities in California (i.e. Irvine, Stanford, Berkeley) and also in Chicago and Pennsylvania, and as American Consultant to President John Kennedy for European Economic Planning, Julius Magolis retired settling down in Leisure World, California(Laguna Woods Village now) - a unique retirement community of 20,000 people. In addition to his passion for painting, Julius “literally stumbled on table tennis and fell in love with the sport.” Reminiscing over the 20 long years of this Meiklejohn Tournament, Julius shared with us the following notions: “Since I was a very competitive soul, I immediately entered tournaments and learned how little I knew and how tedious the long tournament days could be. I apprenticed myself to Harold Kopper who was the godfather of table tennis in Southern California. When Meiklejohn proposed underwriting a National Seniors Tournament, I felt more than ready to direct it. At first, we linked up with David Sakai’s Senior League, but then we designed a new format to attract the elite seniors and also satisfy the low level players. The Meiklejohn tournament attracted almost every high ranking senior. It has doubled in size, prize money and play quality. The computer program has made it a model of decorum and efficiency. But in the good old days, when the tournament was “organized chaos.” it was exciting confusion and a challenge to do it better each year...One victory of which I am very proud is the insistence of an Over 40 Singles Open to men and women. No one had objected to this event until the formidable Insook Bhushan became a senior and entered the event. The men protested...It took firm, very firm insistence that at this tournament the Open Singles was truly an open, not a sexist event, and I am happy to report that Bhushan became the third winner of the “Meiklejohn Cup.” In concluding this interview, Julius Margolis emphasizes that: “ A ballroom is far from an optimal tournament site, but we have had two dedicated chairpersons, three tournament directors (Julius Margolis (6years), Olga Feingold kahan (8 years), Ray Kunze (6 years) and a dedicated committee which worked through the year to produce this great tournament.”

SPORTS FOR LIFE - THE EUROPEAN STYLE - SENIOR GAMES 2009

The Netherlands Table Tennis Association just recently informed us that this year, their Senior Games will be held on September 7-12, in the Dutch province Zeeland (southern part of the Netherlands). The organizer of their grand event are estimating that approximately 4,500 athletes, 50 years and older, from all over Europe and, hopefully, from the USA, will be attending this multi-sport event. Table Tennis is one of the main sports in this 2009 program which is the first of its kind in Europe - a unique opportunity for the Netherlands. For more information please refer to the website www.seniorgames2009.com or contact by email info@seniorgames2009.com
You won’t be disappointed as table tennis is the “number 1 Brain Sport” in the world. Meanwhile if you relax and take your life easy, drop in the watch the Hardbat National Championship Finals in Las Vegas, just one week before the USATT Open where the “Best in Bar” champions from the Bastonian Roggie’s will be competing with other hardbat players for a check worth $100,000. However, it is not clear to us whether this hardbat classic national champion might win this huge sum of money in a classic “Bud Light Way” after having a few buds and seeing the elusive ball twice.
How the U.S. Olympic Committee will react to an Olympic Sport being promoted and sponsored by a company whose primary commodity is alcohol remains to be seen. CHEERS!