Lens Blog

Len's Hawaii & Table Tennis Blog

8/31/2010 2:48pm

Had a good time in Hilo on Sunday coaching 4 of the best players there. All the players in Hilo seem to be improving and that is great to see. Had a decent group yesterday in Waimea with Lesi coming out the round robin champion! Hope to have a good group tonight in Kohala with a few players from last week's clinic coming back as regulars. Be sure to make plans for our great tournament in November. I wish everyone a super Labor Day Holiday Weekend...Stay well....Aloha

8/26/2010 8:17am

We had our 2 table tennis clinics the past two nights; at Kapa'au & Waimea. We had 4 new players in North Kohala and hopefully they come back and become permanent members. We had 2 players come to Waimea and also hope they will be fixtures each week. We all enjoyed meeting these new players, welcome them to our club, and hope we can continue to grow. Start making your plans as the November Tournament is growing closer & closer. We honestly expect it to be the biggest yet! I can't say enough good things about my Droid X Smartphone...simply amazing pictures it takes as well as HD video. Matt got the same phone and I think, likes his also. Deb has been subbing a lot lately as teachers are all calling her to be their "personal" subs.....keeps her very busy. Aloha!

8/19/2010 12:10pm

Was happy to see our former Hawaii Island player, Shigemi, here in Waimea playing....he was here for a week and played with us twice.....he recently moved to Oahu and is playing 5 times a week! Everybody better watch out as he plans on playing at the November tournament.....we have our free clinics coming up next week and I have had some pre registrations already; so I'm looking forward to a good turnout. Was great driving home from the Waimea Club last nite as I talked on my ham radio the entire drive home....clear, loud, crisp reception to Oregon. The funniest thing is....he used to live here in Kona about 10 years ago...it really is a small world. I still love my Droid X phone and am eagerly awaiting the 2.2 update. Had a good time in Hilo this past Sunday coaching 5 different players from 11am-4pm....I hope I helped them improve and hope others will want to improve and take some training. Aloha!

8/11/2010 9:45am

It's official! The 2010 Hawai'i Island Open Table Tennis Tournament is now a ONE STAR Sanctioned Tournament! http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2010AHawaiiIslandTournament.htm The FIRST ONE STAR USATT Sanctioned Table Tennis Tournament EVER in the State of Hawaii.....$300.00 1st Prize....almost $1000.00 to be awarded in cash & prizes! Make your plans now to attend. Also, I have scheduled FREE Table Tennis clinics in Hawi & Waimea on August 24 & 25, respectively. I hope many new players attend. Exciting times in table tennis now all over the world. Popularity is growing and the USA is getting better & better. I hope you are playing and enjoying yourself. Aloha!

7/30/2010 8:00am

OK, so it has been 2 weeks since I updated my blog.....Yep, got home from Denver safely & very much enjoyed my trip; seeing my daughter & granddaughter. Plus, I loved eating all my favorite foods that I cannot get on my island. Alas, I gained a few too many pounds and have been exercising and eating better since my ret6urn, and am now down to my normal weight again. I replaced my nearly 4 year old cellphone with a new, smartphone, a Droid X....all I can say is Welcome to the 21st Century! This phone does everything, including taking HD video, hdmi output, and too many things to mention. Still learning about all the apps available and how to really use it, but so far I am enjoying it and the fact that I can get e-mails wherever I am. (send me a few).....Our November Tournament is just around the corner. We have had a venue change, moving to a better facility in the beautiful city of Hilo, The Boys & Girls Club, where the Hilo Club meets 4 days a week and plays. There are plenty of great places to stay near there for as little as $25.00 per night! Check out the new events added, hotel info, and more on the tournament site: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2010AHawaiiIslandTournament.htm Our Giant Round Robin will be a bit smaller this time around with only 2-4 person preliminary round groups before the A, B, & C medal round. Make your plans now to come and have fun. We are making plans for a great Saturday night PotLuck Dinner, and, as always, all player/visitors (and their families) to our island are invited to attend as our honored guests! Aloha

7/13/2010 4:05am

Still enjoying Denver. Went to the Aurora TTC on Sunday and got to play with a number of players there. Saw John Leach training and took some time to talk to Richard McAfee, National Coach that I have known for a number of years.. . I may go back on Thursday night for my table tennis fix. The weather here is nice but hot. Expected temps today can set a record of over 100f! Sorry to hear New York Yankee owner, George Steinbrenner died....Hard to believe we are getting closer to our November tournament....make your plans now! Aloha

7/5/2010 12:01pm

Beautiful here in Denver.....Saw my beautiful granddaughter, Bryn, and now she's learning the hula! Happy 4th of July Holiday to all....Aloha!

7/1/2010 9:19am

Leaving for Denver in a few days. Went to a nice lunch yesterday at the local school to thank "us" for helping the kids...my table tennis coaching program. I hope to continue it and increase the amount of students when classes begin in August. Not sure if I'll even bring my racket to Denver....Some fun videos on YouTube with Waldner playing at SpinNY. The US Open is happening now in Grand Rapids. A student of mine in Phoenix, Jay Turberville, has won the US Open Doubles Hardbat event...congrats to Jay & his partner. Table tennis is starting to get more & more media attention which hopefully will cause the sport to grow and get some USA TV exposure. Susan Sarandon is marketing a reality TV series involving table tennis and opening a few more SPIN locations....in Milwaukee and Los Angeles. Can the Big Island be next? SPINBI......Aloha

6/22/2010 9:01am

Looking forward to our trip to Denver very soon, and seeing my daughter, her husband, and my granddaughter. The classes I am teaching of table tennis to the local kids are going very well. I uploaded some videos of their progress. This is one of the videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&eurl=http://www.youtube.com/lenwink%23p/a/u/0/HzDkPvac8Qs&v=HzDkPvac8Qs Not bad for less than 3 months playing 2 times a week, 11 year olds. Wish they'd clean the oil spill up soon. Love that my Diamondbacks beat the Yankees last night. Let's see if they can win the series. I watched them beat the Yankees in the 2001 World Series! Yes, go D'Backs......I was granted a new FCC Ham Radio callsign today. I am no longer KB7LPW; I am now KH7LW. I like my new call. I am strongly considering going to the Nationals in December, in Las Vegas. Would be a nice trip and get to see my son play. He seems to really be enjoying his time at the ICC, learning from all the great players and great coaches, like Stellan. Matt is working hard but gets to play & train also, which is great. Aloha

6/13/2010 7:41am

WOW..what a whirlwind few days...........arrived back late last nite from Oahu, from the Aloha State Games. It was the first time I was the tournament director and the first time I was able to meet so many of the talented and interesting players on Oahu. 1st off, I am THRILLED that I live on the Big Island, so much more quiet, laid back, and without the dreaded traffic! The playing venue on Oahu was very good as the weather held up nicely with very little wind. All players were there on time and ready to play. My assistance in the form of Kiyoko & Chisae at the control desk was superb; without them I could not have run the tournament. Other players helped setting up the tables, nets, and all else that is needed to run a large 2 day event. MAHALO TO ALL THAT HELPED. The tournament ran smoothly from my vantage point with all events starting on time and finishing on time. In the Elite division, some absolutely amazing table tennis was played, with Allen Kaichi back in great form, making blocks and looping with super efficiency. I certainly hope that all that attended enjoyed themselves, even those that did not win, and hope that the event is twice the size next year! We got some new USATT members and sure hope we can get many more in the coming year as well as more USATT tournaments in the Hawaiian Islands. Players came from Maui & the Big Island, as well as Oahu for the Aloha State Games. Our next tournament is on the Big Island in November. Please let me hear from you if you played at the Games and have any comments or suggestions. Again, it was great meeting some of the Oahu players and watching some exciting table tennis. I am exhausted, but it was well worth it. My son, Matt, is currently on his way to California, given a great opportunity. He will be coaching at the ICC Training Facility! He will be assisting the likes of Stellan and other great players and coaches. He will have a great learning opportunity as well as working hard for the next few weeks. Good luck to Matt. ALOHA!

6/2/2010 9:55am

Getting ready for the Aloha State Games on Oahu. Will be there next Thursday and looking forward to a nice tournament and meeting many of the Oahu players. Summer has come to Hawaii and with it, the Hurricane Season. Hopefully, we'll have a quiet year on that front. Am looking forward also to my visiting my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter in Denver, in July. Have so many new bananas from our trees; cannot eat them all, but will try. Also, I freeze many for my daily fruit smoothies. Sad to hear Dennis Hopper died as he was a great actor in many movies. See Easy Rider & Blue Velvet to show his unique talents. Who thinks Lady Gaga is a good entertainer?...raise your hands. Now that the school year has ended, it is summer school time. I have started an "A" table tennis class, twice per week, at my home. I coach 3 students from the 6th grade that have good potential and are about the same skill level. They catch on quick, work hard, and want to improve. I will be starting a new player's group of students at the Hisaoka Gym soon. The key to the sport's growth is through junior players. Great to watch the World Championships last weekend live on the Internet. Also great to see Singapore's ladies win the Gold. Keep in touch...let me hear from you.

5/19/2010 8:35am

Not much new here....school is over next Wednesday but my table tennis class will continue through summer school and again when school begins in August. Deb & I celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary this coming Monday. The Aloha State Games are coming soon, June 11 & 12th on Oahu. I will be there to help run the tournament and also be the tournament referee as it will be a USATT Sanctioned Event this year. One of my students, David Backus is making huge improvements. he is moving up fast, playing so much better the past few weeks. He played Lesi last night at the North Kohala Club and Lesi was surprised how much David has improved. He heads back to Alaska soon for the summer months. We'll miss him here while he enjoys the 49th State and welcome him back in September/October. Our next tournament here on the Big Island is in November; make plans now. Aloha! and thanks for reading.

5/5/2010 12:04pm

Thankfully, my back is back to normal & I can bend and play. Still afraid to loop strongly or exercise at our gym...but hopefully by Friday or Saturday. My school classes of table tennis are going well with 3 or 4 kids really enjoying it and improving each session. I fed multiball yesterday, for the 1st time, and got a few of them to loop which was a good sign. I have a mix of 3rd-5th graders in that class, with a few girls. Weather is surely warming up here as summer is quickly approaching. Still enjoying amateur radio and making lots of contacts in the mobile as well as at home. I hope you're enjoying whatever you are doing and having some time to play some pong.....Keep in touch, Aloha.

4/27/2010 11:27am

Saturday at our exercise club, at the Fairmont Orchid, we saw their new training machines. They looked so new, so modern, so clean, so inviting! I had to use them....so, I went on the elliptical as normal, then onto the new machinery! Wow, what a great workout...I could FEEL the difference between these weight machines and the electronic machines they replaced. I then did my normal Yoga stretches for the next 20 minutes, and walked to my favorite bench on the water. What a beautiful day. Sunday, I raked leaves in our little forest and then, suddenly, without any warning at all; I felt a slight tingle! In a place I don't like tingles.......my lower back. I had been back pain free since moving to Hawaii and now the tingle! I knew I was in trouble. Well, it is now Tuesday and I have to leave in an hour to run my 2 classes for the Elementary Students. Thankfully, Debbie will put out the tables and move the barriers as I cannot bend...heck, I can hardly walk! Yesterday, when David came for a lesson, we used my Amicus Robot...but I think that went very well. I have a bit less pain than yesterday, but still too much to move well. I should be fine by this weekend; hopefully I make it till then. I hate those new exercise machines! Aloha

4/22/2010 4:31pm

Thankfully, I am now rested a bit from the last weekend and the very successful tournament. Results are up and I even was able to get all the USATT ratings updated today from this past weekend....fast work, huh! This week I started running classes in table tennis as part of the program for the local Elementary School. On Tuesdays & Thursdays, students sign up for an hour table tennis class. I had 7 players today, 3 on Tuesday, and now 2 more will come next week making a total of 9. The local middle school now is also involved and may have some signups. With that and the special Kids Stay off of Drugs Program, I coached a 2nd grade class in table tennis also today and a 5th grade class on Tuesday. In addition, I was asked if I want to give classes on a regular basis at the school during the summer as part of a summer school program. Adding this to my normal schedule of the Kohala Club, Waimea Club, and private lessons, I am as busy as I ever would want to be. I cannot say enough about how fantastic this past weekend's tournament was...all the great help from John Romoa and so many others made it a real quality event that I'm sure all that attended enjoyed. Not to mention; there was some great table tennis action. Had a chance to spend some time on Skype this morning talking to my daughter and granddaughter in Denver. During the call, they had tornado sirens go off and they went into the basement. Thankfully, the all clear came soon thereafter and there was no damage, although they had hail hitting the house. I have decided to continue to use my new Butterfly blade as I am now used to it and enjoy the extra speed. So far my control has not been adversely affected but time will tell. I sure do like the feel. It was good to see some of my student's USATT ratings go up in the tournament so congrats to Jeffrey Cumes going up 163 points, David Ebrahimi up 250 points, Noah Clark up 184 points, and even Debbie Winkler up....4 points! Make plans for the USATT Sanctioned Aloha State Games June 11 & 12 on Oahu, and the next Big Island Tournament in November. Aloha

4/19/2010 5:53am

http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/results2010bigislandopen.htm

4/10/2010 7:45am

John Romoa & I ran a table tennis clinic for students at Parker School in Waimea the past 2 days. Pictures & videos at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/parker2010clinic.htm It was a fun and learning experience for all. The 2nd graders at Kohala Elementary School have been improving in playing table tennis with their weekly Thursday table tennis class that I run. The kids are learning about controlling the ball on their rackets and actually keeping it on the table. Grip is very important and so is having fun. I teach a 5th grade group on Tuesdays from the school once every few weeks. Starting next week, I'll be conducting a class twice a week for students signing up for the 21st Century Project, a local project for kids to teach them skills. This should be fun and will keep me very busy. My Thursday schedule will become coaching a local player 10-11am, then 2nd grade class 1-2pm, followed by 21st Century class 2:30-3:30pm, followed by the North Kohala Club 6-9pm. The April USATT Tournament is next weekend and we have 37 players entered! It will be a great event with the Saturday Super Round Robin being spectacular. We have a whopping 28 players in that event with all different skill levels. We'll have a good dinner for all players on Saturday night, after doubles and we actually have 10 teams! You can still enter the tournament but need to contact me first for space availability. Another good thing happened this week..........baseball season began & the Diamondbacks are playing good ball and their pitchers have done well so far. If Brandon Webb gets healthy and comes back to pitch, they will really have a chance to make the playoffs! Keep it going D'Backs......See you all at the tournament. ALOHA

3/31/2010 8:42am

Another good session at the North Kohala Club last night and another new player. Originally from Germany, he has some great "older" strokes, but they are strong and when he gets his timing back, will be a great addition to table tennis on the Island. Monday was a super night in Waimea with our every other Monday night round robin tournament. Was trying to practice backhand looping from all over the table but I still am not good at it...have to improve my backhand so trying to use it all the time but not working! Am using the new Butterfly Innerforce blade and getting used to it. Lots different feeling from my normal Diablo and still not sure if I want to continue with it but am giving it 2 months before I make a decision. Our April tournament is fast approaching and entries are trickling in, which is very normal. Players always wait till the last possible moment to enter...LOL....I teach another 2nd grade class tomorrow afternoon and next week, Thursday & Friday, John & I will coach a 2 day class to Parker School Students which should be fun. This will be our 3rd year doing it and it is a very popular class there. I wish Parker School would start a table tennis club. I made a contact, from my truck, to the Galapagos Islands last week, a rare DX contact and proud to have done it on 10m......I have to keep working on my truck ham radio install as I am having some tuning problems due to RF problems. I have bonded to the frame in many places and still have some more work to do. I cannot believe the high winds we are having and it will last a week or more, constantly....we are having gusts here in North Kohala as high as 55mph; sustained at 23-28mph. I am thrilled that power has remained on as has Internet & my HF Vertical antenna is doing good also. Get your entries in.....aloha!

3/18/2010 8:41pm

More time than usual has passed since my last entry, mostly due to being very busy.....I have been lucky enough to give more table tennis lessons lately than usual and Noah from Maui was here for a bit short of a week to get some intense training, taking lots of my time....he is really improving. Watch out in the April Tournament! http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2010BigIslandTournament.htm Our every other Monday night round robins in Waimea are fun with about 10 players coming to play. We start at 4:30pm. I'm going to Hilo this Sunday to coach and hope to see many of you there. Looking forward to the April Waimea Tournament and the dinner we'll provide on Saturday night. Also, the Aloha State Games should be fun this year on Oahu, a USATT Sanctioned event. I got my ham radio installed in my truck, made my 1st contact Internationally from the mobile, to Russia! It has taken lots of time, but will be fun. For all you wrestling fans, Wrestlemania takes place in less than 2 weeks, in Phoenix Arizona. Should be quite a show. For those of you that don't know, I worked for them part time many years ago. Anybody know when the housing market will turn around? Congrats to JO Waldner for winning the Swedish National Championship at 44 years of age! He still has it. Do you? Prove it at our Waimea Tournament in April, Get your entries in now.......Aloha!

3/1/2010 10:42am

Saturday was exciting, but not in a good way...We had a tsunami warning due to the huge earthquake in Chile. Good thing it became a non-event and there was no damage on our island nor anywhere in Hawaii; thankfully. Today, we have high wind warnings for the entire State, and I am getting gusts over 35mph at my home. It is now official that the 2010 Aloha State Games on Oahu, will be a USATT Sanctioned Tournament. It is listed on the USATT website now and entry forms and more info are forthcoming. Dates will be June 11 & 12th. Should be an exciting event as will our April USATT Tournament in Waimea, here on the Big Island. Get your entries in.............Aloha!

2/16/2010 9:01am

So many whales along the Kohala Coast these days....simply beautiful as they are truly amazing creatures. You can see them from our lanai as they play, breach, spout water, and throw their babies up into the air. Almost 10,000 Humpbacks migrate from Alaska each year to mate here.....watching the whales is a huge tourist attraction and you never get tired watching this amazing creatures...you can hear them talking also and it is amazing. Last night we started a new, every 2 weeks, round robin match play in Waimea. It was very nice as we had 3 tables set up with Lesi, Rachel, Debbie, Len, John R, John B, Alex, Ted, Andrew, & Jeffrey playing each other; a good time was had by all. It looks like I am going to begin teaching a table tennis class as part of a Federal Grant to the local Public School. I will teach twice per week, right before our Kohala Club meets and it will be great to get more juniors playing table tennis. Also, I'll teach another class once a week in the Safe & Drugs Free Schools activities to 2nd graders. Hopefully, this will all lead to North Kohala having a good junior's group and they can challenge the Hilo Juniors. Our April USATT Tournament is fast approaching and I have a few entries already so get yours in also. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2010BigIslandTournament.htm If you are coming from the Mainland, April is a great month to visit! Aloha

1/27/2010 7:17am

Lots of stuff has happened in past 10 days........We had a nice ping pong tournament here last Tuesday, in North Kohala, with Joe Heney winning for the 2nd year in a row. Results, pictures, and video at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35098616/ns/world_news-wonderful_world/ Then, Saturday, in Hilo, we had another tournament for new players, adult division and a junior's division. A great time was had by all with plenty of nice trophies given out and a super job done by the BITTA (Big Island Table Tennis Association). I have been busy training a very lovely couple from Boston. They are here on vacation for a few weeks, taking some lessons, and playing at the Kohala & Waimea Clubs; so it is keeping me very busy. In Hilo on Saturday, I had the pleasure of hitting with Clyde and that is always an enjoyable & learning experience. A shame we are 2 hours apart or I'd love to do it more. I finalized the events for our April USATT Tournament in Waimea http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2010BigIslandTournament.htm You can print out and mail in the entry form or enter online. Another busy day today and a full schedule in Waimea later today, after my weekly, to die for, Dairy Queen Blizzard! Audi & Loco, our animals, (http://www.hamradioandmore.com/audi.htm) enjoy themselves everyday, playing together more & more. They now tend to sleep on the same furniture near each other & in bed at night. Our espresso machine broke & is on the Mainland being repaired. I sure miss that coffee! Got a copy of Howard Stern's book, Private Parts and started reading it....very interesting story. Thinking about getting a new table tennis blade as Butterfly just came out with some new ones that look very intriguing, but they are expensive; but, maybe worth it. Aloha!

1/15/2010 3:02pm

Wow, we had 19 players show up to play last night at the North Kohala Club...FANTASTIC....we're in the process of getting the 2 tables at the Hawi Gym and bringing them over to the Hisaoka Gym to give us 7 usable tables. We had juniors, women, and players of all skill levels, as well as 2 players visiting from Boston. I am looking forward to Tuesday's ping pong tournament. Aloha!

1/12/2010 10:12am

How time flies! I am beginning my 3rd full year living in Hawaii...I cannot believe that I have been here 2 full years already...WOW....Much has changed during those 2 years, as now I am a grandpa, the I-Phone has come out, Blu-Ray is getting popular, and table tennis is getting tremendous publicity...I also am back into amateur radio and the political landscape in the USA has also changed. I have a couple flying in later today from the Mainland, spending 3 weeks renting a home in Kohala, and taking table tennis lessons from me a few times each week while here on vacation. I look forward to improving their skill levels. We are going to start a North Kohala Ham Radio Social Group and more fun on the way....I hope everyone is enjoying their life....Aloha

1/5/2010 8:08am

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The North Kohala Table Tennis Club has a local tournament on January 19th. All recreational level players are welcome to play, free entry with prizes to winner. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawaiittm.htm has info. Also, The Hilo Club has a FREE tournament on January 29th for juniors under 18 and for Novice players. Contact Pete for more info at: ppetersenjr@gmail.com. Our Kohala Hamakua Radio Club meets this Sunday here in Hawi at 2pm. All are welcome to attend. Our USATT Tournaments have been sanctioned for this April & November. Make your vacation plans now to attend. More info at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2010BigIslandTournament.htm Received my new Scorpion Mobile Antenna and now waiting for some coax to arrive; then will install my Icom 706 in my truck with the new antenna. Should be a great set up; but we'll see. Wish all of you a GREAT 2010. Looks like table tennis is growing & growing....Aloha

12/27/2009 11:28am

Noah has returned to Maui, hopefully with more wisdom about table tennis, more experience, new strokes, new footwork, and tremendous enthusiasm. You can watch some of his training at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WotU8afhqWo Christmas has come & gone and the New Year is right around the corner. 2010 should be a great year in table tennis. It's amazing how much publicity table tennis is getting these days. With the New York Times putting a great article on it's FRONT PAGE and other newspapers all over the country picking the story up (Denver, California), with Susan Sarandon's Spin in New York and her appearances on Letterman, Tonight Show, Ellen, and more. Now is the time to make table tennis a more Chic' sport where everyone wants to play, have fun, and grow the sport in the USA. It's time to increase table tennis leagues, on all skill levels as that's what Europe and the rest of the world does, which is very popular. I'd like to see a league formed here on hte Big Island and played on Mondays in Waimea. We have the space & time reserved already; so let's use it. Somehow, I was talked into becoming Vice President of the Kohala Amateur Radio Club so I am more involved in ham radio again. I hope to get some T'hunting started here as well as other fun activities. I am preparing events for our April Tournament and still looking for any new ideas as well as sponsors. Let me know any comments, suggestions, etc. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.....Aloha

12/21/2009 10:14am

Been awhile since I last "blogged".....Had some crazy weather yesterday as I drove to Hilo....we had hail and rain so heavy, I could hardly see the hood on my truck. Plus, waterfalls on the side of the road was normal and flooding of the road was bad, but we made it to Hilo and had a great time. (this picture is at noon) Hilo Table Tennis club had a great Xmas Party with pizza, drinks, and good fun. Lots of players were there as were many juniors and a GREAT time was had by all. Thank you to the Hilo group and all their hard working people for making it possible. . Noah, a junior from Maui is on the Big Island having a table tennis adventure for a week. I am giving him lots of training and he is playing everywhere possible. He's been to the North Kohala club, going to Waimea tonight, and was in Hilo yesterday. He has lots of potential and hopefully will continue to improve and thoroughly enjoy the sport. Hilo has a few juniors that have great potential. Watch out in another year as they will all be very good by then. Good to see table tennis, sort of, exploding here on the Big Island. Happy Holidays to All....................Aloha

12/3/2009 8:19am

Have scheduled the dates for our Hawaii Island USATT Tournaments in 2010.....April 16-18, 2010 & NOVEMBER 12-14, 2010. Make your plans now to attend. If you're coming from the Mainland, let me know as soon as you know. We are looking at having a Junior's Island Championship on the Friday night and possible Team Event and women's event. The Super Round Robin will also be available again with better spacing allowing for some rest.....New barriers should arrive later today for the North Kohala Table Tennis Club....My thanks goes out to John Romoa for getting the venue again for our 2010 Tournaments and thanks also to the Hawaii County Parks & Rec for helping to sponsor our events. If you have not played at a Hawai'i Island USATT Tournament, you don't know what good comaradity with aloha is. We have up to 20 tables available so plenty of players can enter. We also are looking to have a few warm-up tables available. Any ideas for special events or activities, please let me know. Rain has been falling here for the past 3 weeks, almost every night and one day we got close to 5". All the weeds are growing along with everything else. I cannot spray weed killer as it keeps raining!But, everything is beautiful with all the green. Deb & I got a new Blu Ray Player and WOW is all I can say...the sound & picture is unreal....it also really improves the picture of older DVD's...Aloha!

11/24/2009 7:43am

The tournament ratings went up as planned the Friday following the tournament. Some great results and super fun. Thank you to all the people that sent e-mails saying how much fun they had at the event. We are tentatively looking at April 17 & 18 and November 13 & 14, 2010 as our USATT Events next year. Make your vacation plans now. Some major changes to improve the events are forthcoming. The table tennis skill level on the Big Island is definitely improving as is table tennis all through the State. I just checked at there are 41current USATT rated players in Hawaii. When I moved here 2 years ago, there were 14...not bad 300% increase! The BITTA has a junior league that is playing in Hilo and 2010 will bring a huge increase in the number of teams. Can you believe the Holidays are already here! This year flew by. A VERY VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all of you......I am really enjoying my ham radio activities, making contacts all over the world and now using new digital modes to "work" stations throughout the world. I am putting an HF antenna on my truck by the end of December and will be making worldwide contacts from my truck soon...Should be lots of fun. Let me hear from you. Aloha

11/12/2009 7:30am

What a weekend! First off, the tournament went sensationally, from my standpoint. I hope the players and spectators thought so also. We had the largest turnout to date for a USATT sanctioned table tennis tournament and the best competition. We had very good matches at every skill level. The unrated group was strong as was the middle skill levels and heavy competition also at the highest level. So much thankis must go out to ALL the people that made the tournament a success. Without the tremendous dedication and help from John Romoa, John Buck, Pete & Grezie Petersen, Lesi Sekona and his son, Jeff Legge, Gloria Chapman, Debbie Winkler, and many others, the tournament would never have happened. And thanks to John & Gloria for allowing us the use of their home for the great bon-fire BBQ we had Saturday night. The food was great, the fire was great, the friendship/aloha was off the charts! Thanks to all the players that made the trip from the other islands to attend and play. Special thanks to Alan Kaichi for coming from Oahu and being the #1 rated player in Hawaii and to Noah and his mom, coming from Maui, only 12 years of age. Hope to see you at our next tournament in 2010...Aloha

11/3/2009 10:35am

Tournament is this weekend so lots to do. We have 34 players entered which is really good. There will be plenty of playing, lots of talent, players as young as 12 and players over 70! Singles, doubles, rated, unrated, and lots of newbies. FANTASTIC! We will have practice available on Friday and a BBQ for the players/family Saturday night. This should be a fun experience for all. If you are not coming, you are going to miss a super event. I am still taking LATE entries for certain events till Thursday, 9am HST. I had a nice birthday this past weekend. Hard to believe how old I am....jeeesh! Weather has been great lately with some raindrops in the late night hours to water the grass & veggies. My Butterfly robot was jammed so I took it all apart & fixed it, so now works super again. Still doing Yoga, learning it very slowly and I mean VERY. Ham radio is still enjoyable as I bought a new radio....well, a used new radio....LOL....cannot wait to get it later this week and then want to install another in my truck. Went to the local Hawi Mexican restaurant recently, and let me tell you, the place doesn't look like much, but the food was super. Good low prices and fresh ingredients. Salsa was hot, chips were fresh, food was excellent. If you come to Hawi, you have to try it. Aloha

10/28/2009 6:43am

Lots happening now as we approach the tournament. You can still enter until next Thursday morning, with a $5.00 late fee...limited to space availability. We have 30 players signed up so far and more are expected. This is shaping up to be our best USATT Sanctioned tournament ever!...and more to come in 2010. A new table tennis junior's school league is starting here on the Big Island and more and more juniors are getting involved in the Hilo area...some great people are spearheading and coaching the kids. We have 2 juniors in North Kohala, aged 10-11 and they are rapidly improving. We have a 12 year old player in the tournament coming from Maui. We are planning a great BBQ dinner on Saturday night of the tournament. All players from the other islands are invited to attend as the BI player guests. The food will be good and maybe we'll have some great entertainment...LOL...maybe not. Looks like we'll be ready for some Friday night warm-up practice from 5-7pm. In ham radio news, I've been making contacts all over the world which is really exciting. Lastly, our garden is doing well with some fresh grown peppers, arugula, parsley, and tomatoes. Aloha!

10/16/2009 6:49pm

Starting to get some more entries for the tournament. Looking good as we are still 3+ weeks away from the tournament. I think we should hit about 30 players! We have players coming from Oahu, Maui, and all over the Big Island. There's still plenty of time for some Mainland player surprises also, now that airfares are kind of low for the next 7 weeks. I just put up a new website about amateur radio. It is very UNDER CONSTRUCTION, but will continue to update & improve it: www.hamradioandmore.com. Has a neat ring to the name, don't you think? Also, on the tournament page, I now have a link that I continue to update with a list of the players that have already sent in their entries for the tournament. Have you entered yet?

9/29/2009 7:22am

Looking forward to tonight's North Kohala TTC get together. Should be a good turnout. We have about 8 juniors playing each week now and slowly improving. It's good to see a potential next generation of players! Too bad the Hardbat Classic on ESPN was rescheduled till next Sunday, but I will be sure to watch it then. Lots of players I know will be playing and are on camera. I have been studying recently for upgrading my ham radio license class. And, I took the test, and passed it 100%, no wrong answers! So now I'm a General Class and got a new radio, installed a new antenna, and am on the air. Had the opportunity to chat with some people in Finland, Japan, other Hawaii Islands, the Mainland, and a small island near New Zealand. Here's a picture . I have received some entries for the upcoming November USATT Tournament and look forward to the event. I hope more players will come from the other Islands and some surprises from the Mainland also. Get your entries in and be sure to play the Super Round Robin Event. It's obvious that summer is over as temps seem a few degrees cooler recently and humidity is down....feels good. Oh, and I was just notified that my granddaughter got her 1st tooth in yesterday! Aloha all!

9/15/2009 11:28am

Had a good clinic with John Romoa, Pete, Steve, Stewart & more at the Hilo TTC, at the Boys & Girls Club, for all the kids. More than 30 attended in many age groups, and I think they all enjoyed themselves and had fun. A few of them are standouts and can become really good players with some training. That was on Thursday. Then, on Saturday, I switched gears and went back to Amateur Radio, a hobby I was heavily involved in during the 1990's. Anyway, I went to a Hamfest in Waimea and about 100 hams attended. Lots of used equipment and I bought some great coax very cheap! Also, I passed my upgrade test so now I am a General Class ham. I received a new radio I bought from a guy in Nevada and also have a new 8 band HF Antenna coming. I am excited about getting back into the hobby. I went to a ham radio club meeting on Sunday, here in Hawi, met some local hams, and will be getting involved in some local emergency communications (ARES). Our USATT Tournament is less than 7 weeks away so please start getting your entries in. Enter either online or save a few bucks, print out the entry form, and mail it in. I really want to encourage you to enter the Super Round Robin, giving you lots of match play against players of all skill levels, and then a final round robin with players close to your level. A really popular event and growing. Any questions or comments, let me know. Finally, the air has been so clear recently that Maui is looking so huge from our lanai....so neat! ALOHA

9/8/2009 7:58am

Went for a nice Labor Day walk at our local vacant airport, although a helicopter landed for some excitement. There were plenty of ATV'ers. It was a beautiful day, but windy. What a great walk along the ocean and only a 3 minute drive from our home. We also had a police car stop us and ask if we heard gunshots as there was a report that somebody was target shooting. Not sure we could hear anything with all the wind....LOL...here are some quick pictures I took:

9/5/2009 8:24am

Happy birthday greetings today to my wife Debbie.......Yesterday we had a tremendously successful demonstration for some 3rd grade students from Kohala Elementary School See pictures & video at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/Kohala%203rd%20graders.htm I am preparing to go next Thursday to Hilo and help John romoa and the Hilo Club initialize the reaining program for the juniors at the new Club Location inside Hilo's Boys & Girls Club. Big things are happening in table tennis on the Big Island! Keep it GROWING......also, I am getting back into amateur radio. I ordered a new ham rig, some new antenna equipment, and even installed an antenna in my truck. I am taking the General Class License exam next Saturday in Waimea at the Big Island Ham Swapfest. I hope I pass. The November USATT Tournament here is ONLY 2 months away....Keep those entries coming in as certain events can fill up and we don't want you turned away! Let me hear from all of you. One final note; very sad, indeed. I was informed yesterday, for those that knew him, that Tyler Score, son of Ron Score passed away in mid August. He was just short of 18 years of age. I coached him, as did Matthew, for a few years. He had great ability and was a fun kid. It's such a shame when a great kid like that leaves us so soon. My deepest sympathies go out to Ron & his entire family. Aloha

8/292009 4:27pm

Great day at Hisaoka Gym. A few videos to look at. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kodRNGHratc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfXmU9Ti7AE&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qzVPQ-HCCA&feature=channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBfab4d1B1U&feature=channel We had more than 50 people come by the table tennis room and play on the 4 tables we set up. A big thank you (mahalo) to David Ebrahimi, Debbie Winkler, John Romoa, & Shigemi Degawa for helping out to make it a success. We have changed the name of our club to the new North Kohala Table Tennis Club (NKTTC). We hope to be able to play at the Hawi Gym as well, maybe on Thursday nights but we'll know more within the next week. Next Friday I will "coach" a table tennis class for more than 70 students at the Hisaoka Gym, students from Kohala Elementary School. I'm looking forward to that. Our November tournament is getting closer & closer so make your plans now. Any comments or questions, please let me know......Aloha!

8/19/2009 8:34pm

Well you all know by now that Hurricane Felicia missed us, thankfully...when it did pass by us, it was already a weak tropical depression. We got a little rain with almost no wind and are back to normal here now. Looks like the Earthquake destroyed Hisaoka Gym is ready to reopen and we will be having our table tennis club meet there on Tuesday nights and at the Hawi Gym on Thursday nights. If we're lucky, we may be able to get a 3rd day to play but we'll have to wait & see. Our November USATT tournament is fast approaching so not to early to send in your entry forms. We are ordering more shirts on Monday and already have a good batch for Hawaii players, including white, silver, forest green, and the standards of black & royal blue. If you want a shirt, let me know. On Saturday, the 29th, we'll be at the Grand Opening of the Hisaoka Gym with a booth passing out flyers about table tennis and we'll give a demonstration on table tennis and have 3 tables available for play. This may be a great way to increase our membership up here in Kohala. Maybe we can get the Mayor to play! We set up at 9am and it opens at 10am...everyone is invited so drop by if you are around.....Aloha!

8/6/2009 10:14am

There is a rumor going around that some highly skilled players will be here in November for our USATT Tournament...from Neighbor Islands....maybe even from the Mainland! Hope the rumors are true. I am planning an extensive weekend training clinic here, only a few players can participate in the clinic due to lack of space. I have a few that want it and am looking for a few more. Would include Friday night, Saturday most of the day, & Sunday morning. About 13 hours of training focusing on many different aspects of the game; from footwork, serving, serve return, strategy, and new table tennis strokes being used at the highest level. If interested, let me know. I have cousins on the Island, visiting from California...will see them soon. We have Hurricane Felicia heading our way.....hopefully, it breaks apart & is merely a rain storm when it hits on Monday. The tracking map shows it coming to 20n, 155.5w & that is EXACTLY where we are! I am in the process of ordering my t-shirts. They will be in black, royal blue, and cream/white or silver. If you're interested in ordering any, please contact me. Aloha

7/30/2009 1:41pm

I'm kind of excited that we had 2 GINORMOUS trees cut way down in front of our home, in our neighbor's yard. It had made our view of the Ocean and surrounding areas 3x better than it was....simply amazing! Also, my new Panasonic camera is doing fantastic...taking great pictures as well as super HD video. I am going to start a new little venture offering to digitize people's photographs for them (old ones usually), slides, old vhs movies, etc and make them into DVD's. I enjoy doing it so I'll do it fairly cheap and make people happy. Many older photographs start losing their color, depth, etc and I will preserve them in a long lasting entertaining DVD with music backgrounds. It's not a new on the market service, but I know many people would like it available at a reasonable cost & I have all the equipment. Also, finally in my part of the World, fiber optics have arrived! As of today, we no longer have to use microwaves for Internet connection at a speed of 1mps down & 36kbs up as we are not 8mps down and 1mbs up. We also now have digital phone available. We're getting into the 21st Century! It's almost August 1st, so 3 more months to our USATT Tournament...make your plans now for what is shaping up to be a really good event. Aloha

7/26/2009 7:42am

Discussing now about having a USATT sanctioned tournament once per month, every month, in Waimea, on a Monday night. Each Tournament would be a small event with only 1 or 2 divisions. I'd like to get more input so please let me know what you think. Ideas are a giant round robin event, a double's event, unrated event, under 1000 event, handicap open event, 1000-1400 event, single elimination open singles, etc. A trophy would be given out for 1st & 2nd place and all wins/losses would actually count for your REAL USATT rating.....Obviously, mostly Big Island Players would participate, but unless we have a "closed" event for BI players only, any player can enter. We also have the big 2 tournaments here in April & November. I'd love to hear that another Island wants to hold a USATT Sanctioned Tournament...I'd be thrilled to help you fulfill that goal. Aloha!

7/18/2009 7:29am

Been kind of quiet here and so I've been lazy in updating my blog. The Aloha Games on Oahu & the US Open in Vegas have come & gone. Congrats to John Romoa for getting 3rd place in the Aloha Games in one of his events. Matt played pretty well in Vegas, gained a few points, beat a player rated close to 2400 and had the opportunity to play one of the World's top woman players, from Germany. So now our attention is focused on the Big Island's next USATT Tournament in November http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2009hawaiiislandtournament.htm The Super Round Robin will be a really fun event, allowing for lots of match play against players of all skill levels and then with players your own level....we are still securing sponsorship funds so we can offer good prizes, along with trophies. Make your plans to attend and see what a USATT Sanctioned Table Tennis Tournament in Hawai'i is all about. Schedule a fun vacation & table tennis together! Oh, our TT&M Logo new shirts are so light that it's like not wearing one! Also, the sweat dries so quickly and away from your body...truly the best athletic shirts I have ever worn. We may get more printed VERY soon as I want some in white to wear. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts & ideas, so don't hesitate to e-mail me...I always respond....Aloha!

7/1/2009 10:57am

The new Table Tennis & More shirts look awesome! and they feel that way also. Matt sent me some pictures & I should get the shirts either today or tomorrow. All the shirts are moisture protective athletic wear and very lightweight. Even the polo shirts look great! I can't wait to finally wear new shirts with Arizona & Hawaii on them! Aloha! (If you ordered them, you should have them soon).

6/28/2009 9:51am

The Hardbat Classic Tournament in Vegas is going strong; $100,000.00 to the winner...WOW....Many of the top players in the USA have been eliminated due to the handicap system being used. I congratulate Jay Turberville from Phoenix, a former student of mine who won some matches, advanced in round, and then lost. The final four are playing as I type this...should be an exciting finish. I hope it translates to more & more table tennis players in Hawaii....I would love to see it grow here as well as getting more youngsters to play. Would be fantastic to have a Junior from Hawaii make it big in table tennis! Next week begins the US Open Table Tennis Tournament, also in Las Vegas. Good luck to the large group of players going from Arizona....strange that the Aloha Games on Oahu picked the same days to have their event as the ITTF/USATT US Open in Las Vegas....Good luck to the Big island players going to the Aloha Games. Finally; strange and sad how 3 of Entertainment's most popular/well known celebs died this week.....Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, & Ed McMahon....like them or not, all talented and well known. You just never know when it will be you.....Live everyday to it's fullest...Aloha!

6/24/2009 8:39am

Love my new Panasonic camera....takes great HD video in a new format that allows many hours on a single memory disc...and the pictures are super with a tremendous zoom for a point & shoot compact. The Hardbat table tennis tournament for $100,000.00 is this coming weekend in Las Vegas. Some huge TV and movie stars will also play along with pro tennis players. Should really promote table tennis to the masses. I know the Aloha Games will take place early July on Oahu. Good luck to all the participants. Our next REAL USATT tournament in Hawaii will be in November, in Waimea, on the Big Island; a USATT Sanctioned Event. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2009hawaiiislandtournament.htm will have information soon, so make your plans now. We will have a SUPER ROUND ROBIN event that will give players of ALL skill levels a chance to play against better & lower skilled players and then players of your own skill level....all in the one event! Planted some pink grapefruit at my home and cannot wait till it grows as I love grapefruit! Coaching a few new players lately and they have very good potential. Great to see a new crop of players coming up...keep in touch and aloha!

6/11/2009 12:08pm

Back home in beautiful Hawaii, safe & sound. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip to Phoenix & Denver, seeing my son, daughter, and granddaughter Bryn. I'll be posting a few pictures on Bryn's page soon. We ordered our shirts, all moisture wicking shirts, t-shirts & polos....Should have them in Hawaii in early July and in Phoenix by the end of June. They will look great & wear really well. If you want one and have not yet ordered, let me know and I can try to add it to the printing, if possible. Our sights are set on the November USATT Tournament in Waimea. We will have the entry forms soon but still trying to come up with an exciting extra event or two and some good prizes......Keep checking for more info. Love my new digital camera but the LCD must have had a hairline break and I just sent it back for repair, under warranty. We'll see how long their turnaround time is. I was "LUCKY" enough to be at the sight of the tornado in Denver last Sunday. I was actually at a Best Buy Store in Southlands Mall, exactly where it touched down.....made International news.....What an exciting life....LOL Aloha, & keep in touch.

6/4/2009 12:58pm (Denver)

Spending time with my daughter, son-in-law, & granddaughter. She is so cute! Weather is a bit cold for me here in Denver but suppose to warm up today. Taking lots of pictures with my new camera and lots of video....probably too many! LOL I miss table tennis but will be back in Hawaii too soon, anyway, and get to play and coach again. It appears that the sport of table tennis is beginning to steadily grow in the USA & that's a good thing. Hopefully, more & more juniors will begin to take the sport seriously and the USA will sometime soon really compete on the World scene.

5/28/2009 10:27pm (AZ)

In Arizona now and enjoying every minute even though I already miss Hawaii. Played a little table tennis last night at the Phoenix Club and enjoyed seeing all my former students, friends, and opponents. Was able to hit for about 2 hours with Jay. He played with a hardbat so it was definitely uncomfortable for me, but I enjoyed the challenge and tried to keep up. Afterwards, we went for a beer and talked a lot...Filex, Matt, Andrew, Jay, & myself. Had the pleasure of having a beer and dinner today with a friend for almost 35 years, Sal. In fact, Sal introduced Debbie to me and the rest is history. Went to the local ham radio store today and saw my old friend, Gary, the store manager. When I was doing my radio show, I worked there part time. And get this.....he was wearing a Ford Ironman, Kona Hawaii, shirt! I was amazed. He and his wife are coming to the Big Island next month so I will see them at that time. What a small world! Ate my favorite stuffed pizza tonight, my favorite Mexican food Tuesday night and going to Marco's place tomorrow. Sunday I leave for Denver to see my daughter, her husband, and my granddaughter.....should be more fun and then back to Hawaii later in June..............Went to the place that is printing our shirts and the shirts look really good, and the polo shirts with collars. The logo is going to be nice and we are ordering about 50 shirts to start. If you want one and have not yet let me know, please do so ASAP so I can add it to my order..Mahalo.....

5/17/2009 4:27pm

Had the Hilo tournament this past weekend and it was a success. Clyde Young won the Elite Open with Stephen Freedman coming in 2nd place. Lesi Sekona won the Intermediate division and Toni Sekona won the Novice with Ulu Sekona winning 2nd place. The Sekona's are taking over table tennis on the Big Island.....LOL...I'm glad John Romoa came in 3rd place in the Open Elite as he is steadily improving as are some of the new Hawi players. I can't wait to see their performances in our November USATT Tournament in Waimea. Results of this weekend's tournament as well as pictures and a short video is at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hiloresults.htm I leave next Monday for the Mainland to visit my son and then my daughter & grandchild...should be lots of fun as well as eating some of my missed food.....Hawaii has MANY advantages but I do miss some of the food available in Phoenix. Another busy week for me coming up and the Hawi club meets Monday night rather than Tuesday night, this week only. Had a call from a friend in Phoenix that is visiting here next week. A shame it is the same time I am leaving for the Mainland....oh well, hopefully they will go to the Big Island Clubs and play some Table Tennis. I'm looking forward to seeing my granddaughter soon and am very happy to hear that Matt won the Phoenix Tournament today against his nemesis and player rated 150 points above him! Congrats Matthew......

5/14/2009 5:24pm

Hilo has their Ping Pong Tournament this Saturday and we already have 30 players signed up to play. Should be a fun tournament with cash prizes in the Novice event. I have another week here on the Island then off to the Mainland to visit Matt & then my daughter & granddaughter. When I get back, it'll be time to start the heavy duty planning for the upcoming November Big Island USATT Tournament. If you want to input some event ideas, please send them to me; I'm all ears and always happy to add an interesting event. We are also looking for sponsors to help with prizes and maybe helping to give away more cash! It would be great if we can get some more players from the Mainland here to play in November as a tune up for the Las Vegas Nationals. We've been getting a few new players at the Waimea Club and a few in Hawi, but we can use many more...please tell your friends and bring them along. Once they get the bug, they'll be hooked and an asset to the table tennis community. John Romoa, Terry Moon, and myself were on a local Hilo radio station earlier this week for a 30 minute segment...to promote the upcoming tournament and table tennis in general. I think it turned out very well. I love my new Panasonic compact camera. DMC-ZS3K. It has 25-300 zoom and high definition video plus too many more things to list. I recommend it if you are looking for a good little, easy to use, camera. Keep in touch and Aloha!

5/2/2009 4:07pm

Ratings are up from the last tournament and I just added some new GREAT pictures from Julia Cumes on the results page. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/Results409Tournament.htm This coming Wednesday, in Waimea, we're going to be filmed for a local TV show. They will show us playing & training table tennis. Then May 12th, Terry from Hilo will be doing a 30 minute radio interview about Island table tennis, so we are really promoting and hopefully, we'll see some growth soon. I'll be going to Phoenix and then Denver at the end of May so I'm looking forward to that. Hilo has their ping pong tournament on May 16th, free to enter, and I'll be there to help run it. Hilo has 2 new tables coming as well as a bunch of barriers. Waimea Club has been getting 10+ players each week and is now sometimes open on Monday nights also, so give John a call if you want to play there on a Monday night. Weather here is starting to get great again, not that it ever is really bad....LOL...just a bunch of rain. I like the Gambler Outlaw rubber but prefer Donic Platin as the Outlaw stalls as you move back from the table. I suggest it for players 1000-1600. Give thought to come here for the November tournament as air prices are lower again and we have plenty of Aloha....

4 /20/2009 7:38am

WOW, what a weekend! A great tournament was played this past weekend on the Big Island of Hawai'i; table tennis all the way......John Romoa did a great job of getting the tables and other things to the venue and bringing refreshments so the players were treated like royalty. The Aloha spirit prevailed everywhere! Ed Lima & Peter Loui came from Oahu making the tournament a great get together. They played very well and hopefully thoroughly enjoyed themselves. 8 great events with the largest player turnout yet for a USATT Sanctioned Hawaii Tournament. Clyde Young was the Elite Open winner with Stephen Freedman coming in 2nd place. Clyde won $100.00 PLUS a hand carved Koa Wood paddle with gold plated engraved plate. John Romoa hand made the beautiful rackets and even made stands for them....REAL table tennis trophies were given out in all other events. Pictures, results, and videos will be up soon and you can find some now on my website...Thanks to all for participating. After the tournament on Saturday night, we were all invited to John & Gloria's home for a BBQ/Bon-Fire...Wow....so much DELICIOUS food and drink.....and what a gloriously beautiful night! Lesi brought meat and many brought other food, drinks, or cooked stuff. But the best part was the friendship and fellowship by all the players and guests...a GREAT time had by all...You should really plan now to attend our next USATT Tournament in November...........ALOHA

4/14/2009 11:56am

What a great session we had this past Thursday & Friday in Waimea. John Romoa & I conducted a table tennis class for 16 students from Parker School. They all used legal rackets and we taught them the basics of "real" table tennis, from the stance, to the grip, to all about spin, the rules. the USATT, different types of rubber, and we ended with a single's tournament & a double's tournament. I uploaded the video which shows lots of training as well as some matches and some photographs at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1338412056041519542&hl=en We have our USATT sanctioned tournament this coming weekend so everyone is getting in their last minute training. We have a few players coming from Oahu and the rest from the Big Island. It should be a fun event and a good experience for all involved. Hopefully, we get a good number of spectators to enjoy the action. I have been on the radio promoting it and it has been mentioned also in the local newspapers. We have 22 players entered. We had 21 players in our November tournament and 18 in our first USATT tournament last April. So, we are increasing numbers, albeit very slowly. Considering the economy, I am happy with the participation. I made reservations to go to Phoenix & Denver end of May to see my kids and grandchild. Weather has been getting a bit warmer but still very wet....but better than 110f. Aloha

4/1/2009 8:01am

Getting closer & closer to our April USATT Tournament. Hope you have your entries coming soon.........boy have we had rain here in Hawi! We have had days in the past 2 weeks where we received 3" or more of rain. Last year in March we had a drought and I thought the residents were pulling my leg when they said March was a rainy month, but now I see they were right! I need to mow my lawn but grass is too wet! Been using my new chainsaw trimming some branches and other things. Deb is taking a weeklong course and being paid for it by the Feds....she is working as a part time Census Bureau worker as the 10 year Census is coming up next year. I am impatiently waiting for a new camera to be released here in the USA. The new Panasonic DMC-ZS3 is due out any day now. It takes HD video but has a great lens for a point & shoot camera...I cannot wait! Drove to Hilo last Thursday and coached about 10 different players in 15 minute segments. I think it went well. It would be good if I can be there more often and help the new players. Clyde does a good job and I think I add to that to help them all improve faster. Nice to see the stock market coming back a tiny amount; better than continuing to drift lower. Airfares are becoming a bit more reasonable and Delta has just scheduled a Jumbo 747 flight to Honolulu daily, some good news. Keep in touch, ALOHA.

3/22/2009 7:58am

Another beautiful week in Paradise! LOL...had some great table tennis sessions this week. One of my students really had a great session and passed another hurdle or 2. John & I played a few more games as a double's team. We still need to work out many kinks, but we're doing better each time. Doubles is a fun event, one that isn't played that much here, but maybe we can change that. Had a couple players come here from Hilo for some training. I think I helped one of them very much and opened the eyes of the other to see that there is much more to improve on, yet he is good already. I think I will go to Hilo on Thursday and see how the club is doing, give some coaching advice to anyone wanting it, promote our April Tournament, and meet all the new players they have been getting recently. Also, I'll see the 3 new Butterfly tables they recently got. I'm starting to plan a trip to the Mainland, maybe in May. Want to visit Phoenix and Matthew, then go to Denver and see my daughter & granddaughter. Aloha

3/12/2009 12:54pm

This past Tuesday night in Hawi was another good night for table tennis. We had a visitor, Jerry, from Washington State and he was a good player. We had another visitor from Alaska that played, as well as 4 ladies and 4 other juniors....We even had John Romoa come by and we played some doubles. This afternoon, Lesi picked up 2 more tables and brought them to the Hawi Gym, giving us 7 ping pong tables to play on! This should really help out as 8 players had to sit out this past Tuesday and wait their turn. Deb & I are going to learn how to make pan & stuffed pizza in the next few days from a new resident of Hawi, a table tennis player, and pro chef, Mario. Hope to see you next Tuesday night. And plane fares are under $300.00 round trip to Honolulu from Phoenix now, and only another $50 to Kona. Aloha!

3/4/2009 8:06am

Wow, what a night last night at the Hawi Table Tennis Club! We had our 5 tables going from 6pm till almost 9pm….with MANY players waiting. Actually, we had 3 tables where doubles were being played since there were so many players there waiting to play! From 6:45pm-8:10pm, we had 5 women, 5 kids, and 12 men, 22 total players. I want to thank all of you for coming and those that help take out & put away the tables, MAHALO….See some new pictures of the play at the Hawi Club here: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawittc.htm We had the winner from our last tournament there and he brought a friend. Both players are around 1200 playing level with great reflexes and tremendous potential. I hope they continue to come and play. On another note, Debbie quit her job at the Gallery yesterday and took a fulltime/partime job as a teacher/tutor at Kohala Elementary School. She loves working with the kids and she is looking forward to it. Would be nice if the stock market and economy would improve. The house next door to mine here in Hawi is now for sale, if you are interested......I will be interviewed tonight in Waimea by the Island newspaper for an article on table tennis. The April Tournament is coming...be sure to enter. John Romoa and myself have entered the Doubles event as a team. Do you have a partner?

2/21/2009 3:58pm

I just finished playing tourist....LOL....at our resort spa club, they had a special complimentary snorkel cruise. It was fabulous.....They picked us up at 8:30am and we returned at 1:45pm. We were served a buffet breakfast, a delicious buffet lunch, and a well stocked OPEN bar which many members took great advantage of....the cruise line is famous for their mai-tai! We saw many humpback whales and a huge school of dolphins...they are a site to behold! We saw some whales with their babies in tow.....a group of 3 dived in the water in front of our boat. We went snorkeling and the sea was so clear...plenty of fish and the coral reefs were amazing to see....I certainly suggest this trip for anyone visiting the Big Island. Aloha!

2/18/2009 1:38pm

OK, well, lots has happened since the last entry..........the house next to ours in Hawi is up for sale, anybody want to move here & buy it? We can have a great table tennis training area! Last night, after putting up MANY flyers for our free ping pong tournament in Hawi, including getting a few newspaper articles about it, a few online sites mentioning it, and passing our flyers everywhere we could think of; we had our tournament. It was a FANTASTIC success! THANK YOU IF YOU PARTICIPATED. Thanks goes out to all the helpers....Joe, David, Debbie, Lesi (umpiring & keeping score), Shigemi, and John. We had 17 new players enter and there were some darn good players. I have uploaded some pictures and a video from the event here: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawittc.htm It has random video of players and points, but has the recreational final match in full. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the quality of these recreational players. They can be pretty good in a short time of training. The next Hawaii tournament is in Waimea in April, a USATT Sanctioned event. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2009bigislandopen.htm

2/4/2009 1:23pm

This is the 3rd straight day of rain up here in Kohala. We have gotten over 4 1/4" in the 3 days.....Looks like time to mow again VERY soon....Had all our tables out at the Hawi Club last night and players were still waiting, so we may need 1 or 2 more tables. We'll see how many players we get at the ping pong tournament on the 17th. Looking forward to it. I started a Hawaii Table Tennis group on Facebook, then "in place" to be these days. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59289598222 Anyone can join.....I ask any players or clubs in Hawaii to send me information and I'll post it there as well as my website....let's get table tennis promoted as much as possible in Hawaii...all the islands. I'll be at the Waimea Club this evening to give a few lessons and play. Last week, we had all our tables out and players waiting.....just great to see an increased demand in playing. The more, the better. Looking to have a Hawai'i Island meeting of every table tennis club or even playing group. Have the meeting in Waimea to discuss clinics, publicity, coaching, playing, team events, tournaments, exhibitions, getting table tennis in schools, and more. Let me know if you're interested in being involved. Hard to believe how low airfare prices have come down.....looked at prices from the Mainland to here for our April tournament and saw prices of about $300.00 round trip, not bad at all. We are looking at having about a dozen players from our island go to the US Nationals in Vegas in December. If the economy is half way decent, we should be able to do it. If you want to go and have not told me yet, let me know as we will try to get some group airfare rates as well as other lower cost travel options. Keep in touch, Aloha.

1/28/2009 2:20pm

Online registration is now available for our FREE ping pong tournament in Hawi, on Tuesday night, February 17. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawiregister.htm It is for beginners that live in Kohala. We're giving out prizes and trophies and should be a fun time for all. Looks like the Hilo Tournament was a real success with them getting more than 25 players to show up at their club on playing nights. That's WAY WAY up from 4-8. Looks like Hilo's next tournament is in May, while we'll have our USATT Tournament in April, in Waimea. No doubt about it; table tennis is ON FIRE on the Big Island........

1/23/2009 4:57pm

ONLINE registration is now available http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2009bigislandopen.htm as well as a form to print out and mail in http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/entry.htm for our upcoming USATT Sanctioned Tournament in April. We are looking for a few more sponsors so we can give out more prize money, but the economy is a bit slow as we all know. If anyone wants to help sponsor or knows who we should contact, please let me or John Romoa know. The Hawi TTC is having a ping pong tournament for fun and to hopefully increase membership, during the month of February. The Waimea Club this past week had a real large group of players show up, including some kids. The Hawi Club had 5 players under 12 years of age there this week also. I'm always looking for suggestions, ideas, comments on increasing visibility of table tennis on the Big Island. I hope you will consider coming and playing in our April Tournament. Aloha

1/18/2009 8:21am

WOWWOWOWO is all I can say about the ping pong tournament in Hilo yesterday. Hopefully, I will be getting a bunch of pictures that were taken from the event, as I did not bring my trusty camera. We had 56 players entered, 40 of them in Novice division. I made 10 groups of 4 and played 2 out of 3 games to make it run quicker. Worked out great. And, we had 8 players in each of the other 2 divisons. We had players from Hawi, 2+ hour drive, players from Honokaa, an hour+ drive, and players from almost everywhere on the Island. We had a great group of spectators, probably about 30+ that came just to watch. The event had promotion on the radio and newspapers. Terry moon did a great job promoting table tennis on the radio station that had him on. And, best of all, the Army was overjoyed by the response....in fact, I would say there was a look of astonishment from all the people that were there....it was, indeed, a HUGE success and the next one will be in May. Results & pictures at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hiloresults11709.htm Of course, in April, we have the USATT Sanctioned Tournament in Waimea that I hope many of you can come and attend. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2009BigIslandTournamentFlyer.htm I was able to give some lessons while I was in Hilo, help run the tournament, get a chance to meet and greet many of the players I never met before, and even sell some equipment. I got back home at 5pm, ate a great dinner, and went to bed at 6:30pm! Woke up today at 6am and waiting for Lesi to be here for his lesson, then we'll watch the Cardinals play in a Championship Football Game...unreal! I want to REALLY THANK Stewart Hunter and his wife for letting me stay at their home. It was GREAT and they are tremendous hosts. If you are in the Hilo area and want a GREAT place to stay, I suggest their Bed & Breakfast.... http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/accom/bibhi.htm On that page, go down to OLD HAWAIIAN B&B........Thanks to the Hilo Club for putting it all together & the Army and CAPTAIN CHAD for for letting us use the facilities. Clyde Young won the Elite Open Championships! Aloha!

1/13/2009 5:10pm

I know, why has it been so long between blog entries! Well, sometimes not a lot to report. Anyway, this weekend, Hilo has its first tournament in awhile. We already have more than 30 players signed up and expect more. Should be a good event with lots of new players which may help to supercharge table tennis on this island. We'll also have clinics after the tournament for newcomers to learn. The next USATT Sanctioned tournament will be here April 18 & 19, 2009. More info at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/2009BigIslandTournamentFlyer.htm I have been looking at airfares and the prices are going down. You can travel now from Kona to Phoenix for less than $400.00 round trip! Make your reservations soon. We got a bit of rain the last few days, which we need, but overall, the weather is always beautiful and never lower than 61 and not higher than 85. Deb & I go to our resort club to work out twice a week or more and today, we stayed by the pool for a few hours to relax. Audi & Loco just love it here and I am about to celebrate my one year anniversary of living here ONE week from today. I was looking back at this blog and reading; wow, lots has happened in a year. I am going to Hilo on Friday and staying at a friend's home to get a good night's sleep for the tournament on Saturday. It takes about 2 hours 20 minutes to drive there from my home. Let me hear from you; keep in touch....Aloha

1/2/2009 3:22pm

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

So, it's 2009 and this year is suppose to be better than 2008.....we'll see. The President-elect left Hawaii for DC yesterday and we'll all see how that goes as the year goes on. I had a visitor here from Texas, Mike Gopin, and we played for an hour or so before my first student came by for his lesson. It was good to hit with a 1600+ level player. If you are visiting from the mainland or another island, please let me know you're coming. A player from New York area was in Hilo the past week, 1900+ level, with anti-spin, and played the Hilo guys a few times. I have been getting a few more entries for the Hilo tournament in January. If you want to play, it's free, just register online at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hiloregister.htm Also, I uploaded a very short video of the End of Year Party we had at my home, see it here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-865782875389604870&hl=en I got a bunch of New Years greetings from many of you, so mahalo for them....Aloha

12/28/2008 8:50am

Since it is holiday season, not a lot has been going on over here......Am encouraged by the increased amount of publicity table tennis is getting in the newspapers across the country...the more publicity, the better. The new ratings are out from the US Nationals and congrats to Filex, Andrew, Derrick, and Jay, who's ratings went way up. Matt uploaded 4 or 5 videos from the Nationals; if you want their location to watch them, just e-mail me. Have you made your travel plans yet for our April tournament? Aloha...............

12/21/2008 12:48pm

Aloha! Had some good pizza last night in Waimea, along with chicken wings and a pitcher of ice cold beer. Takes me about 30 minutes to drive there, but food was good, company was good, and prices are fair (for Hawaii). The Holiday season is here but life is as usual here, slow paced and lots of small talk. Debbie has been substitute teaching a lot lately and really enjoys doing that. The US Nationals table tennis tournament is over in Las Vegas with a few surprises. Congratulations to all the players and especially to some of our students that did REALLY well. Looks like there are 2 more Phoenix players that will have higher ratings than Matthew, as his coaching/playing/training buddies, did really well in Las Vegas and may get close to 2200. Way to go Andrew & Derrick! I have a new laptop and love it! Amazing how much technology changes in a few short years. My old laptop is still great but this one is unreal; has BluRay read & write. Using it to playback on my 1080P lcd tv, the picture is fantastic.....looking forward to the Hilo tournament in January and then we have 2 USATT Sanctioned tournaments scheduled for next year, here at the Parker Gym in Waimea, so mark your calendars now to be here for them, in April & November. Happy Holidays to all and a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR........let me hear from you. Aloha

12/14/2008 6:34am

Aloha & Happy Holidays All........had a fun Table Tennis & More Party yesterday at our home. Some of the pictures I took:

Raining this morning which is always good as we are still very dry in my part of the island. I've been a bit tired of late since I got a new laptop and began the slow moving of all my files from one computer to the next; but I love my new laptop so far. Let me hear from you and stay in touch.........

12/2/2008 8:42am

Aloha all. A reminder that the Hilo club has a tournament on 1/17/2009; more info under tournaments on my webpages. Gave some lessons of late and it is reassuring seeing the quick improvement by players like Lesi, John, Joe, David, Jeffrey and Shigemi. It shows that taking lessons once or more per week and then practicing what we train on works wonders. The quick changes being made by David and the others is amazing. I can visualize how good they will be at this time next year; ready to make the trip to the USATT Nationals in Vegas! CONGRATULATIONS to Andrew Manginelli as he is now a USATT Certified Coach and helps at our facility in Phoenix. Andrew is a lefty two winged looper, with great serves. I recall his beginning in table tennis and he has really improved rapidly to become one of the top players in Arizona. Both my kids had their birthdays this past weekend; wow does time fly! My granddaughter is already 3+months old and I'm not getting any younger either!!!! I hope you all had a GREAT THANKSGIVING....I ate too much as we all probably did, but we had a good time and the food was super. We had 3 couples over here and ate everything in sight and still had plenty of leftovers. I am hoping, starting in 2009, we can schedule beginner table tennis clinics and promote table tennis more and more here on our little Island. Some good news of late is that a few new airlines are now flying direct to Kona (our Island). We now have Alaska & Delta, as well as US Air, United, and Hawaiian. Because of the new airlines, we have more seats available and prices have come down a decent amount. I just checked and you can fly from Phoenix to Kona for $445.00 which is half of what it was 6 months ago! Come & visit................

11/26/2008 10:20am

Had some rain here yesterday and again today........saw a beautiful rainbow and a nice DOUBLE rainbow, all from my lanai. For an Arizonian, this is a unique sight.

11/25/2008 9:39am

Just uploaded a short video of Matt & I, as we drove up to the summit of Mauna Kea, an absolutely surreal sight, as you are way high above the clouds. It was a beautiful, warm, and NOT windy day.... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9217663279885696475&hl=en

Yesterday, with the winds really strong in North Kohala, a huge tree was blown down on the upper road. Our power went out, and my student from Waimea had to turn back home as the road was closed. Funny, earlier in the day, Lesi called to ask if he could come by later for a lesson and I said yes; then John called while I was giving a lesson to another student and he wanted a lesson also; but alas, no time. As it turned out, Lesi knew about the tree and the road closed, and he stopped by and took a good lesson...he is DEFINITELY improving rapidly. On my website, you can look at the students I have coached or Matt has coached. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/students.htm There is an (H) next to a name if the player is from Hawaii. Click on the picture and it may become a larger picture; click on the name, and it will show the players current USATT rating, if they have one. It also shows the top 10 players that we have trained in Arizona & Hawaii....lots of information on our website if you look closely....LOL....ALOHA and HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE..........let me hear from you.

11/20/2008 9:39am

A quick update.......we're expecting a HUGE RAIN EVENT this weekend...not sure what that means, but doesn't sound reassuring. The Hilo Club is having a fun tournament January 17, 2009. Not a USATT Sanctioned event, but should be fun with plenty of ALOHA, including a free clinic for beginners and money prizes for novice players. More info at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hilotournament109.htm

Had a fun night yesterday at the ever expanding Waimea Club. Some good players came by, a new player, and Andrew from Hilo. Good to see him again. All the tables were busy and lots of fun for all. I sure feel as if table tennis is starting to gain some momentum here on the Big Island. I have a lesson to give in a few minutes and tonight is the Hawi Club.....so more & more table tennis.....ALOHA

11/12/2008 7:15am

Aloha all. Matthew went back to Phoenix last night and, yes, I already miss him. We had a fairly busy 12 days together and I'm sure as a dad, I enjoyed his company here more than he enjoyed being here....o well....hope we can do it again very soon. This past weekend we had our 2nd USATT Tournament with 21 players, 31% more players than our first tournament last April. It was a fantastic success thanks to hard work by some local players and I want to thank everyone for helping and all the players that participated. There was some tremendous action and in the Open Singles Final, a great match occurred. Even the U-1000 finals was fun to watch and went to 11-9 in the 5th game! Results, pictures, and videos are all available at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/resultshawitournament42608.htm We had 7 new players that joined the USATT and that was great. I hope all the new and updated ratings can be on the USATT website by the end of this week. So, now life gets back to normal here in paradise. I will start practicing some new serves that my son suggested and hope to play a bit better with some new ideas. It was amazing to see the progress of some of the players at the tournament. By this time next year, I think we will have a group of fairly high level players here on the Big Island. More to come..........Be sure to check out the results page for all the action.

11/8/2008 6:21am

Top (l-r) Ed Lima, Stewart Hunter, Jamie Stokes, Stephen Freedman

Middle (l-r) Joe Ayer, David Ebrahimi, Shigemi Degawa; Bottom (l-r) Matt Winkler, Clyde Young, Debbie Winkler, John Romoa

A fantastic clinic was held last night in Waimea. We had 13 people there and we trained on serving, return of serve, footwork, and the opening attack. The time went so fast, but all had a good time. I'll post a group picture tomorrow. The tournament starts today and should be good with some competitive matches, some fun, and lots of ALOHA....................plus some GREAT PRIZES!

11/4/2008 7:23am

Matt has been here since Friday and we are enjoying the time together. I got to play a little table tennis with him and will play more the next week till he leaves next Tuesday night. I think we are all set for this weekend's tournament and coaching clinic; should be a fun time and a good learning experience for all. We've been getting a bit of rain here in Hawi the past few days and that's great, as we need it. It's a shame about Circuit City closing so many stores and not opening their store here on the Big Island as we sure could use an electronics superstore. Maybe, Best Buy can open instead. See many of you this weekend. Aloha

10/27/2008 12:46pm

ALOHA.......Busy few weeks ahead for me. Matt comes this Friday and we want to show him the Island so we'll go touring, and, of course to the beach, getting in some table tennis also. We have the tournament in 2 weeks and the coaching clinic. Debbie started to sub teach at the local elementary school today to keep busy as well as work a day each week at the local art gallery. And, she has been playing table tennis lately & will play in our tournament and get her first USATT rating! Should be a fun event with 20 players entered so far..........still time to enter if you wish. We planted some cherry tomatoes and cannot wait till they start growing. We are also going to expand our vegetable garden to grow some lettuce, onions, peppers, and more. My granddaughter, Bryn, was 2 months old Saturday. Keep your comments about my blog coming in to me; I enjoy reading them and respond to all....let me hear about what you're doing..........

10/17/2008 7:14am

Aloha All: Lots of wind last night and some rain; good, as we need it badly. Had a good turnout last night for the Hawi TTC. Everyone was exhausted when they left. TOMORROW IS THE DEADLINE to NOT pay a late fee at our upcoming tournament; so get your entries postmarked or enter online. Noticed I never commented on the IRONMAN Championships from last Saturday, here on the Big Island. They will be televised on NBC, December 13. I went to town and watched as the bicycle riders turned around and went back from Hawi. We were the half way point. It is hard to believe that people can be in such great condition to be able to swim, bike, and then run a marathon, and the winner did it in about 8.5 hours; simply amazing!

10/8/2008 8:51am

Received a few more entries for our tournament in November. A few weeks remain before the late fee deadline, so get your entries in. Remember, we're giving away some good money prizes in the fun filled Giant Round Robin. You cannot be eliminated and there will be 2 champions in that event. Also, remember to enroll for the special coaching clinic on Friday night to improve your serves, serve returns, footwork, and opening attack strategy. This stock market roller coaster is crazy stuff. What about bailing out companies with Government money and then the executives go and spend hundreds of thousands of those dollars at a spa! DISGUSTING..... I sure hope the economy worldwide turns around. We can use some more tourism here in Hawaii....this week, though, our Island is overcrowded with 10,000 participants in the IRONMAN World Championships here. We see bicycle riders practicing everywhere. What a grueling event this is. They will swim more than 2 miles, bike over 100 miles, and THEN run a full marathon! I'm tired just thinking about it! Aloha

10/3/2008 8:43am

Aloha! Clyde Young & The Hilo TT Club had a newspaper article printed about them in the Honolulu Advertiser. Check it out at http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20081003/COLUMNISTS02/810030368/1120/LOCALNEWSFRONT

A new player, 12 years old, showed up at the Waimea Club this past week and is really excited to play and learn! I have 2 10 year olds I am teaching at the Hawi Club and 2 more are expected this coming Tuesday night to start. Also, I found out that the Boys Scouts have a merit badge for table tennis and more kids may come and play so they can learn and earn a badge. I am also hopeful that we can get table tennis into the schools as without new players that are young, all we'll have in a few years is old players, like myself. LOL We had a super session at my home last night with 2 tables going full strength for almost 3 full hours. Our November Tournament is fast approaching; get your entries in. So many crazy things are happening in this world, with politics, terrorism, business problems, energy crisis, etc; it's good we have table tennis to take our minds off that and focus on some fun and exercise, for both the mind and body. Do everyone a service and bring 2 new players to your club. Aloha

9/25/2008 7:20am

I am floored by the generosity of a company in Waimea. The BIG ISLAND ENDOSCOPY CENTER, Dr. Ron Ah Loy, MD, specifically, an avid table tennis player, has given a large TITLE SPONSORSHIP to our upcoming tournament. Thus, we have a new name for the Tournament.

BIG ISLAND ENDOSCOPY CENTER 2008 Big Island Open...............PLEASE call or write Dr. Ron Ah Loy and thank him at 808-887-0600 or 64-5188 Kinohou St., Kamuela, Hi. 96743. Also, please use his up to date modern services when necessary. he has more than 20 years of experience, trained in great schools and is also a GREAT guy.

9/24/2008 10:00am

We are going to re-order new Table Tennis & More shirts. These are going to be MUCH better than previous ones. First off, the material is super, quick dry, athletic, anti odor, and very stylish. They will be in black and royal blue; both available. Our logo will be on the front & back, but MUCH smaller on the back that past printings. It will be higher up on the back and about 4"x4". I'm telling you, they look REALLY COOL! Will be 3 color screen printed by a local Hawi Hawaii company. Matt will bring them back to Phoenix after his trip here in Hawaii, in November. If you have not ordered them yet, or want to add or change your order, please e-mail me as soon as possible. They are $25.00 each. ALOHA!

9/21/2008 11:54am

Yesterday was a GREAT day in Waimea. I had 4 players come from Hilo to take some table tennis training. They all arrived early and ready to train...HARD! It was great to see Clyde, rated close to 2000; Yen, rated around 1800 with ability close to 2100; Steven, rated around 1600; and Terry, rated about 1200. I worked one on one with each of them on specific problems in their game. John Romoa was there very early and brought cold drinking water and some delicious iced tea for us to drink while training. John had to leave but came back later for some playing. Also, Lesi, rated around 1100 came and trained with the Hilo players. Lesi was EXTREMELY generous as he bought a fantastic chicken plate lunch and cold beverages for all players. THANK YOU..... The group arrived before 9am and we all left around 3:30pm........a very tiring but very rewarding day. I hope that I was able to get each of them to think a bit differently towards the game and to improve some strokes and strategy. I look forward to doing it again soon. It appears that I may travel to Hilo every few months to conduct a beginner's clinic and have "fun" tournaments as the Hilo Club has entered into a new agreement with KMR Gym. I also want to thank the Hilo Group as they graciously donated some money towards our upcoming November tournament, making it even bigger and better......get your entries in. ALOHA

9/18/2008 6:58am

Finally going to get some t shirts made again with our new logo (Hawaii & Arizona). The shirts will be super stylish, excellent quality, the quick dry and odor resistant material. They are $25.00 in royal blue with logo. The price is kind of high but it is a really high quality shirt and our logo has 3 brilliant colors, so costly to print. Let me know how many you want and in what sizes....have a table tennis clinic this coming Saturday with some players from Hilo. Looks very promising as they will get 5 hours to train and practice which should help for the upcoming November tournament. I'm really looking forward to helping their level improve and increase the quality of play in Hawai'i. It's amazing how much better Shigemi, John, & Lesi have become in the past few months due to the new strokes and training we have been working on. The only one not improving, as usual, is ME.....LOL Looks like Debbie will start working as a sub teacher soon as she has her teaching certificate, got fingerprinted, and is ready to go. They pay decently for a day's work. We're still hitting the exercise room 3 times a week and it's doing our bodies some good. Keep your entries coming in for the November Tournament and stay in touch, ALOHA.

9/14/2008 8:54am

Looks like we'll have a TT clinic in Waimea next Saturday, for the Hilo players. It's much closer to Hilo than Hawi so the travel is easier, since gasoline is so expensive these days. I am looking forward to helping to improve the skills of all the players here, thus raising everybody's level. The upcoming tournament in November should really be a good one, especially with all the cash to be won. The winds have changed a bit here the last 2 days and we have VOG here in Kohala. Hope it's gone soon as I think it makes me a bit tired. I had a player here for a few hours yesterday from Hilo, another here today from Honakaa, and another tomorrow from Waimea; so slowly we are growing. This Thursday night, I'll take some pictures and post them here, and maybe some video, to see a little table tennis get together I am having here. I still really like my new rubber that I am using. I got the first sheets about July 18 and it is still good, 8 weeks later. I am playing far less than in Phoenix, but the humidity is so much higher and I think that may affect the rubber more. I think I am playing about 15 hours per week; so this rubber is about 120 hours old.......I changed my rubber once per month before, but used speed glue twice a week and it was Chinese rubber, playing 40 hours or more each week. Will be interesting to see how long this rubber does last......................ALOHA

9/11/2008 7:06am

Aloha.....Remember today in New York, 2001; where were you when you saw it or found out? I will never forget. I was getting my thrice daily injections of antibiotics for a bad dog bite, and while the fluid dripped into my veins, Debbie turned the TV on. What a nightmare that was! Last night at the Waimea Club, we had a new kid come that is an exchange student from Georgia (the Country). He will be there each week to learn and play. He has good contact with the ball and may become a very good player. We also had 2 others come and were excited to play and learn. It's great to continue to increase the number of players, albeit very slowly. I think the quality if play has vastly improved lately. John is playing better, as is Lesi, Chuck, David, Debbie, and Shigemi. I also have a new kid, Kyle, 10 years of age, that started playing 2 weeks ago and is thrilled with the opportunity to play and learn. John Romoa has secured some sponsors for our upcoming November tournament http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawai'iislandtournament2008.htm and we now have $400.00 we will give away as CASH PRIZES, with possibly more on the way........We are always looking for more sponsors (hint, hint). Keep those entries coming in.

9/6/2008 3:43pm

Back home in Hawi. It was fun going to Denver; change of weather, but most of all, seeing my daughter and first grandchild. Didn't get a chance to play any table tennis, but seeing Bryn was a better choice. I put up more pictures of Bryn as well as a video and more to come, so if you wish to see some baby pictures, click here. Our flight home was interesting as they switched us to a whole different itinerary due to a plane delay. But, we ended up getting home within 5 minutes of our scheduled original time, even though we went through Los Angeles instead of Frisco. I am looking into possibly going to The Nationals in Las Vegas, in December, as an Umpire, but only if airfares go down. They are close to $1000.00 now! Have a lesson to give Sunday, then Monday, then Tuesday, Wednesday, and next Saturday; possibly Friday also. Have received in a few new entries for our tournament in November. Looking forward to the Giant Round robin where you will play many more matches than in a regular event.....with NO ELIMINATIONS. Also, looking forward to seeing my son here again...not sure yet if he will play in the tournament, but he will help run the Friday night coaching clinic. Aloha

8/31/2008 1:50pm

Aloha: I'm in Denver meeting my granddaughter, Bryn, for the first time. Everything is good; she's very pretty...Deb & I are tired from the travel, but we had some good pizza yesterday and will eat some other things we miss in Hawaii.

8/26/2008 8:19am

Aloha all: I became a grandpa yesterday. My daughter gave birth to Bryn Karen, 6 pounds, 10 ounces, at 7:59am Denver time. It's my first and I'll be going to see her later this week. Pictures are available HERE. The next USATT Sanctioned tournament here in Hawaii looms closer everyday. Be sure to get your entries in. We're getting some sponsors lined up and more and more prizes will be announced. Yes, even some CASH PRIZES will be awarded.................leave any comments you may have in the comment box above.....Mahalo

8/23/2008 10:07am

Table tennis in the Olympics is over. Just as I predicted (as well as everyone else), The Chinese Team won Gold, and China took ALL the medals in ALL the single's events! Of course, if any of them did not win, the Chinese Government would have probably killed them. lol I am very happy that Jorgen Persson, of Sweden, did well, making it to the semi finals. Personally, my favorite matches to watch included Persson against Primorac and the women's match between the 2 defensive players that resulted in the expedite rule coming into play, and the match actually ending on the 13th return! UNREAL......watch it on REPLAY, online, if you get a chance. Let me see some of your comments in the comment's box above..........

8/21/2008 2:15pm

Getting ready for our trip to Denver to see my new grandchild.......love the new rubber I have been using, actually called J.O. Platin, not platinum. I like the 2.0mm as it has been more than 3 weeks now, still has the sound and power, and seems to be very durable. I suggest it for players of 1400 skill level and above, with good strokes. The Olympics have been fun to watch. Many good matches live on NBCOLYMPICS.COM. We cannot fault or women's USA team, as 2 of them made it to the top 16, and Wang Chen made it to the quarterfinals. Congrats to them. Let's look forward to 4 years from now and an Olympic medal in table tennis. It would be really great if we can all feel a popularity bump because of the Olympics. I heard on TV, that table tennis in America is the 3rd fastest growing Olympic sport. I know tennis was #2, but forget #1, basketball? I added a comment box above. I hope you will take the time and type something there. If you have questions, comments, etc, type it, and I can comment or another reader can. Be sure to sign up for our upcoming USATT Tournament here in Hawaii, and the coaching clinic, November 7-9, 2008. Aloha..........

8/10/2008 3:19pm

Updated the 2008 Hawai'i Island Tournament page and added a tournament entry form page to print out. You can enter online or by mail. The Olympics have begun. It is really a shame about the Americans killed in China, but hopefully it is a random act and nothing like that will be repeated. Be sure to watch online or on TV for table tennis, at it's best, at the Olympics. Also, expect some friends that do not play to ask you questions about table tennis, since it will be shown on TV.....give them positive feedback and hopefully we can see a surge in table tennis interest in the USA.

I am using the new Donic JO Waldner Platinum Soft rubber. It has the speed glue sound and speed glue effect. I would say that effect is about 75% of a freshly glued rubber, so that is very good. I am going to stay with the 2.0mm as the max thickness is too difficult to control for me. The only question now is length of time a sheet will last and it's durability. Only time will tell. I have some of the rubber in stock, here in Hawaii. I only recommend it, though, for higher level players, not beginners. Aloha.........

8/7/2008 11:22am

Aloha: We scheduled the next USATT Sanctioned Tournament, for November 8 & 9, 2008 http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawai%27iislandtournament2008.htm However, it is not TOTALLY completed, so you can look, but some additions and some changes will be forthcoming. If you have questions, suggestions, or comments on the proposed tournament, let me know. Also, Matthew will be here at that time to help co-ordinate a coaching clinic on Friday night, focusing on serve, serve return, footwork, and initializing your attack. GOOD STUFF......Make your reservations now.

The Olympics are fast approaching and I applaud NBC for all the coverage they have planned. Should be great! Too bad Waldner is not playing.......At least in the Team Competition, China can only win one medal, leaving room for 2 other countries to win something.....Be sure to watch online at nbcolympics.com all the streaming action. Table Tennis begins on the 13th and ends on the 23rd. Hopefully, with it being in China, and with NBC showing lots of table tennis, the sport in the USA can see another boost. There has been a very gradual increase in popularity & visibility in the past few years and this may be a big catalyst. Only time will tell.

I just received in more of the rubber I am trying. Some of it in maximum thickness. I am trying just 1 side in max. So far I really like the 2.0mm as I am getting used to the different throw angle and extra speed. I don't think I am losing any control as my short game is still decent and my serves have lots of spin. I am working on keeping them mid distance and I love not having to re-glue. After about 2 weeks so far, it still has a strong glued sound, no wear & tear showing, and doesn't attract dust & dirt like my older stuff. I will discuss more after 1 week with the max thickness.

I have a new student starting next week. He is not young but he is very committed, so anxious to improve him rapidly. I have seen improvement in the past week with John, playing lefty now, and last night, another of my students made super progress......WHO'S NEXT?

Looks like I will be a grandpa a day earlier than was expected....no surgery room available on the day my daughter wanted, so August 25 will be the birth of Bryn Karen.........

Had a phone call from a former student of mine who is thinking of coming for the November tournament here.....I hope he and his wife do....would be great to see him again. Let me hear from all of you; keep in touch, Aloha......

7/24/2008 2:36pm

Aloha.....We finally got some rain Tuesday & Wednesday....yippie! It has been so dry here that I have only mowed one time since early May, and that was not really necessary. We got a little over 3" and the grass, flowers, and trees loved it and showed their thanks by turning from brown to green, overnight!

I have been using this new rubber on my racket. I speed glued one side and regular glued the other side. I used it with my Butterfly robot, Tuesday night at the Hawi Club and yesterday in Waimea. The speed glued side, where the effect is almost all gone, does feel a bit softer than the other side. I am not sure yet of this rubber, but I do think the ball comes off quicker and the loops are more explosive. I'll give a final thought about it and name the rubber, sometime next week. I have been asked about the next USATT Sanctioned tournament in Hawaii. Well, we are now working on that, and we're tentatively looking at the 2nd weekend in November. When confirmed, the info will be here and on our website as well as out in e-mails. We are looking for interest in a coaching clinic along with the tournament. I may try to have my son here for it to help out. Let me know if you would be interested in participating in a clinic as well as playing in the tournament. Lastly, we are looking to have new Table Tennis & More shirts made. They would be the moisture free fabric, best type now available, in either royal blue or black; price is coming. Let me know if you want some.............probably 4-8 weeks from now before they will be available. Let me hear from you. Stay well. Aloha!

7/21/2008 10:11am

Aloha All.........Don't always have lots to write about so sometimes my frequency of posts is low.......Just received some new rubber to try on my racket. Not going to say which it is until I test it a bit longer. I speed glued one side and regular glued the other......I note almost no difference so far between it so that is good, implies no speed glue needed. It is only 2.0mm and that may be bad for me as I think I need the thicker version. It has very good control, is EXTREMELY light, and not a tacky topsheet, which I like. My serves still have good spin and loops are strong........I'll definitely write more by the end of this week about the rubber..........but it looks kind of promising as I need something after the speed glue ban. Yesterday, Deb & I were invited to "our club" for a beach day. They provided lunch, drinks, and free use of all beach equipment and canoes, kayaks, etc. We had a very nice time. OK, now hold your laughter at the next stuff..........

You know I have been spending lots of time at our club, exercising. I am use the weight machines a lot. I use the elliptical for 10-15 minutes to warm up, then use the machines. I do lots of ab bends, leg pushes, chest pushes, fly, lats, etc etc etc.......Then, I stretch for about 10 minutes and use a 15 pound dumbbell as a table tennis racket doing a loop stroke. I think of it as the same as a baseball player adding a weight to their bat for practice swings. I think it really helps.........Anyway, I have gained a few pounds, I am thinking mostly muscle. My arms are definitely bigger/stronger, and my legs muscles are also stronger.......It has been 2 months so far and look forward to seeing the change by the end of the year. Deb is also toning and gaining strength.......I sincerely suggest all of you start doing more and more of this.........Aloha till later.........Let me hear from you.............

7/6/2008 5:40pm

As they say, Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore...........and, for sure, we're not in Phoenix either! OK, what the heck are you talking about, Len? Alright, 2 things.......(1) On the way home from working out at our Beach club and enjoying the sun and water, we stopped at a place to eat. Had GREAT hot chicken wings, pizza, and beer.......THAT was a good thing. (2) Turned on the TV, started watching and then Deb & I hear what sounds like a chicken screaming and looking out the window, we see feathers flying! Audi (our dog) has a chicken by the throat! I run out and grab Audi. He lets go of the chicken as the chicken runs into a hole in the cement under our house, but only half his body can fit into the hole! I put Audi away, in the house. I come back, look at the chicken, who ran into the hole, head first so it's butt is handing out.......Deb & I have no clue what to do now.......so Deb phones a neighbor, Dick, who walks over with a large garbage can and rake. I get on a pair of gloves, get a big stick and we're ready.....I was sure the poor chicken was dead, as it was not moving, or at the minimum, severely injured. I found at least 100 feathers all over the yard. Dick used the end of the rake and forced the chicken out of the hole, backwards and he went into the garbage can! I think the chicken was happy to be in it and felt safe there.....it looked like it was in shock but not badly hurt. I saw no bleeding. Deb ran through our jungle and yelled for our neighbor Leah. She answered and Deb asked if she had a chicken....YES! It was their pet! So, I carried the garbage can over to their yard and deposited the garbage can over the fence. Leah opened the lid and said, "Ella", are you OK"? Ella was their pet chicken and she was so happy to get her back. I saved Ella's life! I am a HERO! lol

Anyway, another day in Paradise........................Aloha! Let me hear from you.

7/4/2008 10:44am

Happy 4th of July Holiday to all! Been very busy giving lessons of late........gave an 8+ hour lesson to Ed from Oahu on Saturday, Lesi was here Sunday, Ziggy here on Monday, Hawi Club Tuesday, on to Waimea Club and some lessons Wednesday, Steve from Hilo here Thursday for about 3 hours (he is really improving), and the Hawi Club Thursday night. Today, we're going to our beach club to work out, sit by the pool, play some table tennis, eat dinner under the stars on the beach, and watch some fireworks. Last night we had another new player show up. He is fairly good, has some rust, been hopefully becomes a regular. I have added some new pictures of new players at the Hawi Club on the Hawi Website http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawittc.htm Spoke to my son the last 2 days. He is in Las Vegas coaching his students at the US Open table tennis tournament. The lady, Bhoo, that plays at the Phoenix Club now, won the Over 40's US Women's Event and I interrupted Matthew when I phoned earlier, as he was coaching her against Tawny Banh in another major women's event. I saw the Gao Jun beat Tawny in the Over 30's Final. It would be kewl if I can get 4-8 players from here, that I coach, to go to the US Nationals in 2009.

This is the first place I ever lived where firecrackers were legal to buy for residents. So, it figures, that at my advanced age, I am no longer interested in lighting them off! Really wierd that in Phoenix, firecrackers, even sparklers are illegal, but you can walk around with a gun on your hip........here, guns are legal, but only in your home. You are not even allowed to have them in your vehicle unless it is to or from the gun store, gun range, or police station. In fact, you need a permit to buy bullets!

Been listening to the the History of Howard Stern on Sirius Satellite Radio; very interesting and funny. And, the Diamondbacks finally won a game in the 9th inning! hurray! After losing 5-0, bottom of the 9th inning, they scored 6 runs, winning the game, not even making one out......let's see if this build their momentum as they need it badly, after losing 2 of their stars to injuries.......ALOHA ALL, and keep in touch.

6/26/2008 1:38pm

Good lessons yesterday with John & Lesi in Waimea. Lesi is doing better & better, actually moving now, every so often and takes me 3 or 4 loops to get past him if I don't move the ball around lots. John is improving now that he is playing lefty. It's kind of amazing how good is left hand loop is, but, having no bad habit with his left side, he is progressing fast! There were 4 kids that showed up to Waimea TTC and played, so that's encouraging. Our Hawi club meets in 90 minutes as we do meet Thursdays from 3-5pm due to basketball on Thursday nights. We still have Tuesdays from 6-9pm also. This Saturday, Ed comes from the Island of Oahu for an 8 hour training session. He improved a few hundred skill points from his 1st to 2nd visit here and we'll see how well he does this time.....he is talented and certainly enthusiastic; a shame he doesn't live on this Island!

Always looking for new players here in Hawi and one showed up Tuesday night.........but we can use more. Deb & I really love the life here, weather is great, and people are nice. Gas prices you ask? Well, earlier this week, I paid $4.68 a gallon; cheaper than parts of California or other places; Germany is more than $8.00 gallon! Been eating some of our avocados that fall off our trees, YUMMY.........

6/23/2008 10:28am

Aloha! I heard the Grand Canyon State Summer Games went well this past weekend, run my Matthew and his crew. Good to hear. It was good to also see a Table Tennis & More player final in the OPEN....Derrick Cone beat Andrew Manginelli to win it all!

Deb & I are still going to the club 3 times a week. I can feel the muscle development, slowly but surely. Sadly, though, still gaining weight and stomach is still growing. I try to do ab exercises, but not really helping a lot. O well, not going to give up. Still love our WII Fit game on the WII. I strongly suggest it for everyone. A fun way to exercise for everyone, young & old. Boxing is very tiring.

Had a new Hawaii experience yesterday. Finally went to a restaurant with DELICIOUS HOT wings. I was in hog heaven! First place that had good Hot Wings on this island along with good beer and more.

Played table tennis at the pool yesterday with John Romoa. Of course, while getting the ball from an obstacle course, I tripped and fell on some lava. Scraped my arm but my left side is in pain. I should be OK, but am in pain. Tough getting old.

6/8/2008 6:43am

Last night was a new treat for me and Deb. We were invited to a graduation party for a local high school student. The student is the daughter of a friend of ours. WOW! It was at the place we play table tennis at and they did a great job of transforming a gymnasium into a banquet hall. First we eat the pupus, of which there were plenty. The pork was delicious as was the salad. I left the fish heads. When they opened the table with the dinner foods, the line formed quickly; but went very fast. There had to be 15 or so different items to choose from, so we took a little of everything, and a lot of the Ahi! There was rice, pork dishes, special pork steamed in seaweed and too many other things that I have no idea of what it was. We ate it all and everything tasted super! I guess I can live without poi. The desert table was incredible with at least 20 varieties of sweets. We ate too much of that!!! Anyway, there was OVER 400 people there. I don't know that many people to invite to anything! I could not believe the crowds as I think all of Kohala was there! They had some great entertainment. There were so many young children there, but all very well behaved. I was truly impressed by the entire occasion and am happy we were invited and could attend. Today I have a lesson to give in 2 hours and then another after that. I have just begun coaching a player that is about 1500 rated who hurt his right arm; so I am coaching him to be a lefty. After his first lesson, he was looping and blocking pretty well. I think he's close to 1000 level left handed....we'll see what this challenge brings.....after the lessons, we'll all go workout at our club......Aloha!

6/4/2008 9:13am

Been going to our Club a lot of late, working out at the facilities, using the weights, and workout machines. Deb is still working every Monday at a local gallery and has taken a 2nd day to work once or twice per month. She enjoys the change of scenery and meeting people there. Deb & I made our reservations to go to Denver for the birth of my granddaughter at the end of August. Table tennis is constant on this island, albeit at a very slow rate. You get a new player here and there, but we are on a small island with few people, so table tennis is not the number 1 activity here. Also, there is so much to do here from hiking, swimming, boating, fishing, etc etc etc etc, that table tennis takes a backseat. We had an article in this week's local paper about the tournament we had at the end of April:. Keep in touch and let me hear from you........Aloha.

5/26/2008 2:30pm

Sorry for my long absence........My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary this past Saturday and went to a great place for dinner, at the Fairmont Orchid, Browns Beach House. It was beautiful, right on the beach, watching the sunset.......the food was great as was the setting, and the place was surprisingly crowded. Deb started swimming and we joined a beach club which is great. We can now use their spa, workout facilities, tennis courts, swimming pool, beach (great snorkeling there), and get a nice discount on all food and beverages. When you come to visit us, we'll bring you there as our guest! Also, Deb & I bought a Wii game for our anniversary present, and were lucky enough to also get a Wii Fit game. It is really good. I recommend it for everyone. Use it for muscle strength, aerobics, balance, yoga, and for fun. We use it 4 times a week and go to the "club" 3 times a week to work out....also, we never forget table tennis. Had a student come for lessons yesterday morning which was a good workout, and have a players flying in Wednesday from Oahu to take a 3 hour session. Also, Wednesday may bring some players here from the University in Hilo for some training, as the Waimea club is closed this week. I hope everyone is doing well, improving their table tennis game, enjoying life, and thinking about a short trip to Hawaii! Aloha

5/15/2008 5:09pm

My daughter left, back to Denver and we had a great time while she and her husband were here. This island of paradise has been a bit hazy of late. Our flowing volcano, Kilauea is spurting out of a new vent and causing VOG to cover most of the Island. It's beautiful here when the wind blows, but days without wind causes the VOG to even get to where I live, more than 100 miles from the volcano. Even Oahu, some 250 miles from here is getting the VOG. Our microwave oven died yesterday morning, so we travel to Kona tomorrow and pick up a new one; about 3 hours of driving. We'll stop at Costco, Macys, and Home Depot before returning.

And, I am VERY proud of my son, Matt......he was called today and told that he is now a USATT Certified Referee and, also, according to his work, a test, and the USATT website, he is now upgraded in his USATT Coaching level also.......

5/9/2008 8:12am

Last night at the Hawi Club, we had 4 new players come by, 2 players were visiting from California. Alex and his wife. Alex is about 2000 and we played over an hour which was great! Had a chance to practice serves, return of serves, backhand & forehand. I took no pity on poor Alex who was playing with my spare racket and his flip flops.....so he could not move well and my rubber gave him problems to use...LOL..he was still a very good player and extremely enjoyable to hit with. His wife played for an hour with my wife and a good time was had by all. The 2 other new players that came by; one was from Kohala and he was there to watch Matt & Leo play back in August, but this was his first time back to play....and he brought his friend from the East side of our Island. Hopefully, they will return as they are both decent players and could be very good with a bit of practice and some coaching.....It was good to see Ziggy and Nella show up also and play. Both are 9 years old and getting better, so a new crop of players are upcoming..........if you are reading this and going to be in our area, please let me know and come by to play! Keep in touch, and Aloha..............

5/7/2008 6:46am

My pregnant daughter and her husband came in yesterday from Denver to visit........She's due end of August with my first grandchild, a girl. They'll be here for a week, so we've got lots of places to take them to see. Our volcano is acting up a bit of late and a new vent has opened expelling lots of toxic ash and smoke. If if continues to vent and the winds are bad, we'll have to pass on seeing it while they are here. But, I must say, up here in Kohala, it is simply beautiful; clean air, sunshine, and cool breezes. Our April table tennis tournament is now only a memory and we are looking at possibly having another one later this year and trying to promote table tennis more and more on this Island. A tournament took place in Phoenix this past weekend and my son's double's team won the Open Doubles Event which was a toughie with all the great players entered. There are a few more 2000+ players in Phoenix these days......if you plan on coming to Hawaii, especially the Big Island of Hawai'i, be sure to let me know so we can play a game or two....Aloha!

4/29/2008 6:44am

Aloha! The tournament is over and the results, along with pictures and video is up at: http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/resultshawitournament42608.htm

We ended up with 18 players signed up and all but one, came and played. A good time was had by all. We used 7 tables, the 5 new Stiga Tables and 2 Butterfly Centrefold Tables. There was some great table tennis action. The Open was won by a Hilo, Big Island resident, Yen Wen Fang, and both, the U-1400 & U-1800 were won by Big Island resident, Charles Moore. The Unrated event was won by Big Island resident John Romoa, and the Seniors event was won by Oahu resident, Kiyoko Endo. We had players signed up from Oahu, Kauai, Big Island, Maui, and the Mainland, but I guess the Big Island location helped the Big Island residents win. From the results, it sure appears that the Big Island Table Tennis Community is alive and well and getting stronger everyday...........The food prepared and available at the tournament from the Kohala Cultural Center was excellent and well priced. There was a delicious Dorito salad, hot dogs, pork plate, chicken plate, and more. Thanks to Gambler for their great Platinum Balls. John Romoa was a great help in getting the tournament prepared and the trophies he put together for fantastic! He used epoxy and more to create a lava flow as the base of our trophies. Our Open winner won some great coffee and a Koa Wood paddle. My Mainland guests have gone home and now I prepare for my daughter and son-in-law to arrive next week. My daughter is 6 months pregnant with my first grandchild, so it is exciting. I am still exhausted from the last week and will try to rest up this week for next week's activities. Mahalo/Thanks to all of you that attended the tournament and hope to have another very soon..............keep in touch. Aloha.

4/25/2008 6:40am

Mark came in on Wednesday from Phoenix; good to see him again. Alan came in from Kauai on Monday; gave him a lesson Monday & Tuesday and he is trying to change some of his strokes. Good turnout Tuesday night at Hawi club, many there to practice for this week's USATT tournament here. Then, yesterday, it happened! The new tables were delivered! Mark & I unloaded them from the truck with some help from the driver. We sure could have used another person or 2 as there were 7 tables with each box weighing over 225 pounds, and no dolly or hand truck to use. So, we ended up using a plastic mop bucket to help roll the boxes into the gym. Mark hurt his back a bit as did I. Then it was time to put the tables together........well, it takes 3 people and there was only me & Mark. So we waited till late afternoon and John was able to arrive and help. He & Mark lifted each half as I steadied the wheels sections into the table slots. After Mark & I both losing blood, the tables were put together. The empty boxes were loaded on my truck and Mark & I threw the trash in the recycle bin at the transfer station. We set the tables up and a really good turnout was at the club last night. The tables have a great surface to play on and everyone commented how good they played on them! Lesi then went to my home with me, John, & Chuck. We loaded my 2 Butterfly tables on Lesi's truck; John tied them down really good, & Lesi brought them to the Club. We are now ready for the tournament, table wise......it will be a long day of LOTS of playing. I heard from many of the entrants that they wanted to play LOTS of games, so I have events planned out, some as large round robins....there will be lots of matches......everyone will be exhausted, but hopefully will have lots of fun. We'll have food available at the tournament and some, small, but unique trophy prizes, along with special prizes for 1st & 2nd place Open Single winners. Tonight we have practice starting at 5pm...My friend Joe and his wife will arrive at my home today, from Phoenix, in time to practice and be ready for the tournament...........just a shame we have so much darn VOG on the Island past few days.................and one new entrant into the tournament, Marcus Vincent, from Hilo....

4/22/2008 6:39am

Current player's list for upcoming 2008 Big Island Open Tournament.......more entries are in the mail....

UPDATED 4/22/2008......current list of players entered, more coming.

Players List 04-19-2008 07:34:56: Ah Loy, Ron UR ,Degawa, Shigemi UR, DeWitt, Mark A. 1583, Endo, Kiyoko 1055, Esterle, Richard UR, Fang, Yen Wen UR, Meadows, Todd 1855, Moore, Charles 1291, Oda, Harley D. 1454, Papapetrou, George Alle1494, Pierotti, Joe 1599, Romoa, John UR, Sekona, Lesi UR, Tone, Ben 1456, Young, Daniel H. 1352, Freedman, Stephen, UR

4/13/2008 3:25pm

The uploads are finished. I used YouTube instead of Google.......

For the video on our cat, Loco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n6fZ5xGhDo

For the video of the Parker School 2 day table tennis class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsanyQVIwWo

4/13/2008 6:28pm

First off, thanks for reading my blog and thanks also go out to those of you that send me comments and those that have complained, nicely, that I do not update my blog often enough! lol Actually, I have been holding updating the past few days as I have been attempting to upload a few files of video to GoogleVideos but they are having problems....many people are complaining that they upload the video and it is blank. So, as I type this, I am trying to upload via youtube, instead. The videos are about my cat, Loco that arrived in Hawaii with me, and a nice video of the kids John Romoa and myself taught table tennis to, last Thursday & Friday. I will update here again when those videos are available. Anyways, Loco is doing GREAT with Audi. He loves it here and Audi is happy to have him here again with him, and they play a bit together. I think they keep each other company. Loco has found a great hiding place; going under our platform bed from the back, then jumping into MY drawer of sweaters and making himself very comfortable. He also enjoys sitting in the window and watching the birds as well as listening to them 24/7...John & I spent all day Thursday & Friday teaching 17 students at Parker High School in Waimea, table tennis. Thursday saw me going over all the rules of table tennis, telling them some history of the sport, explaining the types of rubbers available, the grips, stance, and then we worked on forehand and backhand counters. We had some time for pushing as well as practicing legal serves. I must say I was extremelt happy that by our "impromptu" tournament on Friday, almost all of them were serving legally and having a good time. We crowned double's champs as well as Group A & Group B Single's Champions. Again, the videos will be available soon, I hope....

Our Hawi Big Island Tournament is within 2 weeks now.... http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawitournament42608.htm We will have a small, cozy turnout of about 20 players, but it will be fun and we will play lots of table tennis. Friday night will be practice. A friend comes from Kauai a week from Monday and another of my friends/students, from Phoenix arrives on the 23rd and another 2 days later. It will be a tiring, but fun time. My wife goes to Oahu next Sunday for a week to help run a Corporation Convention at Turtle Bay. We are still waiting for the 5 new tables to arrive in Hawi and the 2 new tables for the Waimea Club. Hopefully, they show up before our tournament; but, if not, we will go with plan B and still be fine. Loving it here and keep in touch....Aloha

4/4/2008 10:14am

Made it back to Hawaii with my cat, Loco........he and his brother, Audi (dog), are loving each other and are thrilled to see each other again! Loco was in bed with Debbie enjoying old times.......made it back in time for the Hawi club last night. John from Waimea came by as well as about 8 others. Ziggy, 9 years old came by and I fed him multi-ball etc for about 20 minutes. He may be incredible with his first serve actually bouncing low over the net with enough backspin, that it jumped back over to his side! He is already backhand looping underspin and has only been playing 4 weeks....received a few more entries into the Hawi Tournament http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawitournament42608.htm Grass has grown much and I will need to mow again, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3246721818911687934&hl=en

Will go to Waimea tomorrow and exhibit some table tennis. Also, next Thursday & Friday, John Romoa and myself will train kids at Parker School and have a tournament........If all goes well as planned, we'll start a class at Parker School in the fall! Was REALLY GREAT seeing all my friends from Phoenix and thank you to Robbie for taking me at an UNGODLY hour to the airport. Aloha

3/31/2008 7:41am

Just finished the Arizona State table tennis Tournament over the past weekend. Results are up at http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/GCSGResults308.htm

The tournament went great! We had more than 60 participants in 15 events with some great action. The tournament went so smooth with so many players telling me or Matt how much they enjoyed the "Aloha" pace of the tournament and the fun atmosphere. It's a shame that when the tournament was almost done, with just 2 double's events left to play, that one player that only played one event, complained about the timing of events and how badly the tournament was set up. I have received e-mails and even a phone call since then, telling me that that player that complained is a nutcase and bothered everyone he was complaining to. Other than that, the tournament was a complete success. I now look forward to our Hawaii Island tournament on April 26th http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawitournament42608.htm

So far, being back here in Arizona has been great! I have been able to spend time with my son and see some of my favorite things in Phoenix. Last Friday night, I even got to go to a Diamondback's baseball game, albeit an exhibition game. I sat in my regular seats and enjoyed just being there. They built a new jumbotron screen which is in high def...FANTASTIC! I have gone to eat at all my favorite places that I kind of miss. Had some delicious pizza & wings, great Mexican Food, and even had on tap Kona beer at a local place near the house. It has been super to see all my friends from here at the tournament and talk about table tennis and "teach" them about Hawaii.

Lastly, I must say that I was very happy to hear from so many people that I really looked rested, relaxed, and seemed to have a more calm feeling about me, plus I really looked good as I have more color and seem to have gained some fullness to my face. I do feel so much better since the move to Hawaii and am glad that it actually shows......now to prepare for my going to back to Hawaii at 5:30am Thursday with my cat, Loco.....Aloha

3/22/2008 4:13pm

OK, you asked for it, you will get it now............I have put up a video to show I do mow the lawn here! Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5MytA0GozQ I cannot believe the number of e-mails I have got from people that looked at pics of my house and wondered who mows the lawn!

3/21/2008 9:05am

Lots of rain last night........great for our fruit trees, grass, and keeping the air absolutely fresh and clean......temperatures are delightful. I go to sleep each night with all the windows open, about 65f; and wake up in the early morning, keeping all windows open and opening our doors, to 68f, and later in the day it gets to about 78f........a gentle and sometimes strong wind, but very nice.......Played table tennis lots yesterday; with the senior group in the morning and with the Hawi Club at night. Hit with Chuck at the Hawi Club and had him serve and attempt 3rd ball attack....he is doing well and preparing for the upcoming April USATT Tournament here. When I return his serve easily, he is really good at finishing the point.....potential 1800 level player..........More good news this morning......not mentioning names but a 2nd player from Phoenix is coming to play in our April Tournament.........FANTASTIC! Also, got news that a player from Maui, who actually I met years ago, when he stopped into my Club in Phoenix on 32nd Street, will be coming to the Big Island to play in our tournament also........he is close to 1900! The April Big Island Tournament is starting to shape up as a really fun, exciting event.....hope you will be there......Like getting e-mails from those of you that read my blog...keep in touch and ALOHA!

3/19/2008 1:47pm

Not a bunch of new things happening here..........just enjoying life......leaving for Waimea in an hour to coach and then play at the Waimea Club...The new tables for the Hawi Club should have been shipped and I expect them within 4 weeks; in time, hopefully, for our April 26th Tournament. Been helping a new youngster at the Hawi Club and also had him at my home. He's only 9 years old but catches on so quickly. He is a natural athlete. I have 3 other kids that also play and that I am training, but this kid can be the best! I'll be looking forward to seeing my friends in Phoenix next week as I go there to run the State Tournament. When I return, I'll bring our cat, Loco, back with me. Weather here has been interesting, with lots of wind, periods of intense, then light rains, and lots of sunshine. The grass grows fast! Think I'll mow on Friday....keep in touch......Aloha

3/13/2008 2:35pm

WOW! I cannot believe how many days have gone by since my last entry! I guess time flies when you live in Paradise! Some good things have happened recently regarding table tennis. We were given the go ahead by the local Government agency and they purchased 5 new Stiga tables which will be shipped to us shortly. At the same time, both the Waimea & Hilo table tennis clubs, on the Big Island, ordered some new tables for their expanding clubs also.....We have started the Senior's Table tennis league http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/seniorleague.htm and I gave a presentation to the Kohala Senior's Club about table tennis http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8718451266692175420&hl=en

I have also uploaded an 11 minute video about Audi (our dog) and his new home in Hawaii http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7613604654143611934&hl=en Debbie has a new job......well, a very part time one that she is enjoying, working almost a full day once per week at a local art gallery. I had discussions with a private middle school/high school in Waimea and in April, John Romoa and I will spend 2 days training students and running a tournament for them. Then, hopefully, I will be able to start an elective program in September for them, with a goal of starting clubs in many schools throughout the Island and then playing each other in a table tennis league.

/So, lots has been happening. We have gone to the beach a few times, and just enjoying life here in the Islands.......Come and join us! Hope to hear from you all soon......Aloha!/

3/5/2008 8:21am

Been a few days since my last entry..........but things are so relaxing here that sometimes there's not much to discuss. I am getting entries to the Grand Canyon State Games that I am going to run at the end of March, so that is keeping me a bit busy. Yesterday was a super day! Robert Shapiro from the Hilo area was on this side of the Island, so he and a friend from Wisconsin came by. Rob is a fairly new table tennis player, but pretty good for his limited experience. I estimate his rating around 1100-1250. We played together for almost 3 hours, then went to my Hawi Club. We had a great turnout there last night with all tables full by 6:15pm. By 6:45pm, we had people waiting. I think we had about 17 people play last night which is not too bad for a city of less than 800 residents! John Romoa drove over from Waimea to participate and it was good to see him there. And, more great news! The funds have arrived at Parks & Rec here in Hawi and the bid process is on to buy 5 Stiga tables for the Hawi Club! Fantastic news....hopefully, we can have them in time for the April tournament here.....Today, I drive to Waimea, give 2 private lessons, then help train a few players at the Waimea club.......so, things are moving along.......SO, we are now ready to train hard in my "facility". Do you want a great vacation get-a-way? Take a trip to Hawaii, to me, and enjoy Hawaii, take some lessons, play at our Island Clubs, and I'll guide you around the Island........let me hear from you.....ALOHA

2/29/2008 7:42am

Another good day yesterday........we started our Senior's League table tennis...each Thursday morning for a few hours. We had 9 people show up to play and a good time was had by all. Then, at the Hawi Club last night, we had a decent turnout and I coached a few of the new kids, helping them learn the sport. One of the new kids (17 years old) is a natural talent and can be really good, really quick. We have been cleaning out our jungle in the backyard. It is getting thinner and less insects are being seen, thankfully. We got some great Apple Bananas off our trees.

Debbie made a couple of banana breads from them; YUMMY! We had an incident with our neighbors 2 days ago. We saw Audi running near the back fence earlier and then heard somebody yelling at him, then hosed him with water! Our neighbor! So, I walked over to the back fence and confronted him. He tells me that Audi was about to grab his cat from near the fence and would kill his cat! He then told me that I needed to build a new fence closer in my yard to stop my dog from going closer to MY FENCE that we built! Then he says that he has lived here 26 years and he will make big trouble for me. I told him I will cut down all the trees he likes, ON MY PROPERTY, so he has no shade and no privacy, and walked away. His wife comes over 2 minutes later and speaks to Debbie. She admits that THEIR cat came over ON OUR PROPERTY and Audi confronted the cat. Anyway, we built the fence to keep our dog inside and that works, but somehow, they think it is our fault that THEIR CAT CAME INTO OUR YARD and we should build a new fence. So Deb told her to build her own fence on HER PROPERTY.....anyway, it seems the incident has blown over and they will prevent their cat from coming over here. Just to sum it up, we spent lots of money to have a quality fence built all around our property to keep our dog INSIDE, and it has worked well as Audi doesn't even try to jump over it, but somehow we are blamed when other people's cats come into our yard! O well, you live and learn....back to table tennis, PLEASE!

2/26/2008 12:58pm

Yesterday morning at our weekly "old age" group, actually, Senior's Group of Kohala, we had our sign up sheet ready for the Senior's Table Tennis League, which I am beginning, this Thursday morning, from 10-noon. I was expecting a good group of about 4-6 players, but, unexpectedly, 16 people signed up! Whether they all show up or not, we'll see, but that is a great start! I'll be sure to take some pictures, maybe even video, and put it up on my website...Next week at the "group", they will have a speaker talking about the Big Island Senior Olympics taking place in a few months. But, alas, there is no table tennis, only 19 other events! She will DEFINITELY hear from me at the meeting. And, the following week, March 10, I am the featured speaker to discuss table tennis and will explain all the rules, types of rubber, etc., and show some videos. That may spark even more interest. Aloha!

2/23/2008 2:50pm

Went to Waimea this morning to meet John and do a little table tennis P.R....John brought his "little" table, .......actually a full length table, only 1/2 the width. People stopped by the entire time and played We had a few kids that played really well and gave out some flyers promoting the Waimea & Hawi Clubs; and, a GREAT time was had by all. And, if you want some BEAUTIFUL ORCHIDS, this is the place to go....John and Gloria have some of the most beautiful orchids that they grow

2/21/2008 4:04pm

Tuesday night at the Hawi Club was FANTASTIC! Because of the great newspaper article, which you can see on the TT&M Hawaii page, http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawaiittm.htm we had MORE than 20 players show up to play! A few were kids, but mostly adults thanking me for offering a place to play their favorite sport.....We put up the 4th table, from John Romoa (thank you), and all tables were filled, with players waiting to play, from 6pm till we left a bit after 9pm. I want to thank each of you that came to play and hopefully, more will show up every time. My first "student" comes here to train in 30 minutes..........the facility looks great! I have all our TV's set up now, and Deb has been clearing our forest. We will have a helper early next week get the forest even more clean, trim a few trees, and it should look super......then we can eat some of the fruit! We got some pillows delivered today for our couch and they look good.....let me hear from you..........Aloha

2/18/2008 1:18pm

Great weather weekend................could not ask for better weather......76 days and 62 nights; mostly sunny and nice breezes. I am getting spoiled, FAST...read the results in the Phoenix tournament this past weekend and good to see Table Tennis & More winning the Open Doubles. Congrats Matt & Andrew. Congrats also to Trevor Traylor for winning the U-1300.....he is improving rapidly. I painted my garage here on Friday and put a 2nd coat on this morning. It'll be ready to play on next week. The garage here is about 4 1/2 feet longer than in Phoenix, 5 feet wider, and 2 feet taller.....so make your training reservations NOW..........

2/15/2008 4:50pm

Had a nice Valentine's day........Deb & I spent the day with John Romoa and Gloria. Went to lunch and then to a nice hike along the beach and to a hot tub and pool....we saw Humpback whales as we walked along the shore....FANTASTIC, to put it mildly.....Dropped off a new/old table tennis table to the Hawi club, making 4 tables, thank you John Romoa and the Waimea TTC. The local paper had a super article, with pictures, of the Hawi Club yesterday that hopefully will bring out a few more players in the next week or so. Got a few more entries in for the Hawi tournament. Deb has been busy planting flowers and other plants in our front yard. The garage is starting to look more & more like the Phoenix facility......weather has been delightful with 74-78f days and 62-65f at night with a little rain each night, after midnight. Let me hear from you. Aloha!

2/13/2008 8:23am

Yesterday, another great day in Paradise...........weather beautiful and we went to Kona to get Deb's car registered; then to our insurance agent, then to Home Depot, then to our furniture guy to get some pillows, then to Costco, then to the BBQ guy, so we can do use our BBQ we brought from Phoenix, then to the post office, gas station, and finally, back home.....rested for a few then out to the Hawi Club last night. Well, guess what! We had a blurb in the newspaper yesterday & I got 3 phone calls from players asking about the Hawi Club. One of them showed up to play last night and is not bad; plays lots of tennis so has some of the wrong strokes, but wants to take some private lessons, and will become a pretty good player in time. In all, we had 13 players last night on 3 tables, 1 of which really sux! Hopefully, more tables are coming soon. Also, had some GREAT news in that a player I coach from Phoenix, and his wife, will be coming to the Big Island to play in the Hawi tournament and visit the Island....The Hawi Tournament is now shown online at the USATT website....Today I have to go to get fingerprinted for my handguns, get an inspection decal for Deb's car, go to the local bank, and then off to Waimea to give 2 private lessons, then play at the Waimea Club tonight. I hope the people that read this blog give me some feedback.....keep in touch. Aloha

2/10/2008 10:09am

WOW.....3 great days in a row; now I feel like I really am in Hawaii. Yesterday was a first.....I used my new lawn tractor and today I will try out my weedwhacker & edger.....all gasoline powered. OK, so I need to learn about tractor mowing. I figured to put it on the lowest to the ground setting so I need not mow as much......well, anyway, I have a few depths of grass now in the backyard; but could be worse....will mow the front today...put up so many pictures in the house yesterday, but now it is more & more like "home"....even have my troll out protecting us again! Went to Ruths Chris last night in the Mauna Lani for the absolute best deal in Hawaii! They are my favorite steaks anywhere and between 5-6pm, they have a super special which includes your choice of salad, Filet steak, potato or vegetable, and a great bread pudding with whiskey sauce dessert, all for $39.95.....it was GREAT! Deb & I keep pinching ourselves as we drive and cannot believe we live here now....what's funny? well, we have no stoplights in our town of Hawi, nor in the neighbor town of Kapaau; and on the drive to RuthsChris, about 30 miles, not one stoplight! and almost no traffic.....a HUGE change from the mainland.....and refreshing. OK, off to remove some weeds, lower the front lawn, and get my audio/video equipment set up in the family room.......Aloha!

2/8/2008 8:57am

Another great day yesterday; NO, REALLY it was! It was a beautiful day...no rain, great temperatures (70f), and sunny. Got all our boxes unpacked and putting stuff away. Got our Plasma operating and lots of other stuff.......went to the Club last night; had a decent turnout, and the photographer, Darren, from the newspaper was there. He took lots of pictures and was extremely nice. Next Thursday, the article will appear so we should get some feedback from it, I hope. A table tennis player from Kauai, Allen, was kind enough to make the Hawi tournament entry form into .pdf format, so it is easy to download now; thank you, Allen. Today, we will meet friends of ours at the Hilton, and have lunch next to the Dolphin pool.....KEWL! I finally finished setting up my office here so feeling more "at home"....Let me hear from you from time to time for feedback and up to date info on your playing progress or just in life, in general. Aloha!

2/7/2008 6:26am

Yesterday was an unreal day! I need to get a REAL job so I can have some rest! lol Anyway, early yesterday, Cindy, from the local paper came to my home and interviewed me for an upcoming article about table tennis in Hawi and the Hawi Table Tennis Club. She is a very nice lady and I think I got all the important things out about table tennis & the club. Tonight, at the club, the paper is sending a photographer to take some pictures; hope we have a big crowd. After she left, the movers showed up..............with close to 200 boxes and pieces of furniture. Amazing the process needed to get your items here from the Mainland. The movers had to box each item, wrap them well, seal the boxes, load them in lift vans very compactly, nail the vans shut, metal band them, drive them from Phoenix to California, load them in a 40' container, load them on a ship, the ship sails to Honolulu, the container is then reloaded on a barge to Hilo, the container unloaded, the lift vans for us are sorted, loaded onto a 20' truck, driven almost 2 hours to our home, lift vans opened with hammer and other tools, all boxes unloaded and put in garage (thankfully it stopped raining here for the 4 hours of unloading), boxes opened and then put away stuff, boxes broken down with all the wrapping papers, then loaded on my truck, dropped off at dump! We still have about 40 more boxes..................Then Kelly showed up, our yard guy who built our fence and kept our lawn groomed while we were in Phoenix; he did some edging and then taught me how to use my new Lawn Tractor...what a nice guy! After that, we ate a frozen pizza, and had some phone calls. Matt called to report that he is so busy he cannot believe it! Sold lots of rubber, blades, etc and is trying to keep up....LOL....while on phone with him, spoke to a gentleman from Hilo and then heard from a guy in Kauai that I met 2 years ago while vacationing there, trying to decide with Debbie, which island we liked best. He's a good player and I was very happy to hear from him. He is thinking about spending some time here, on the Big Island, to play more table tennis, play in our upcoming USATT tournament, and maybe take some training....and "rent" my Butterfly Robot. It was so good to then go to bed with our regular mattress and pillows.....feels much more like home now, especially this morning with our Expresso machine...........more work today unloading the boxes, setting up 1 of our HD tvs, registering my handguns, and more.....then off to the Club tonight for pictures and a bit of the PingyPong.........................

2/5/2008 6:46am

Got Debbie's car yesterday. It was in perfect shape........well, almost....the battery was dead! But the man at the port was very nice and had a portable car jump kit and the car started right up. This is sure a small town. The guy saw we lived in Hawi and said he does also. So, he introduced himself and said he owned the liquor store in Hawi. We went there last night after dinner, and bought some ice cream. I was given the opportunity to give a table tennis presentation on March 10 to my senior group. We have Sears delivering today and our furniture tomorrow. I have a local newspaper reporter coming to my home tomorrow morning for an interview about table tennis in Hawi. Thursday night, we'll have a photographer there to take pictures for the newspaper......I already received my first entry for the Hawi tournament in April. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawitournament42608.htm Still raining lots here, but it's a change we enjoy. Have to get Deb's car inspected this morning at 8am so we can register it for plates on Thursday..........

2/1/2008 3:06pm

It sure can be wet in Hawi, Hawaii! Yesterday, we had 1.89" of rain and we have had .34" today and it is still coming down! I want my suntan! I think I have seen more rain in the week and half here than in my 30+ years in Phoenix.....O well, I love it.....Guess what else: Debbie found that a Maui Male Cardinal lives in our little forest on our property....he is beautiful.... http://www.micktravels.com/maui/kahana/maui-male-cardinal.html

Also, got confirmation today that the newspaper is doing an article on the Hawi Club and will even have a photographer here next week....things are moving along............

1/31/2008 11:01am

Went to the Waimea TTC last night. A nice trip, about 35 minute drive each way with beautiful scenery on the upper road.....Went to "real" grocery stores as well as a huge Ace Hardware that seems to have everything. Was able to help John coach an 11 year old boy that looks to be improving; his strokes are getting better. Our riding lawn tractor has come in at Sears and they will deliver...soon...our furniture is sitting in Hilo and hopefully they will deliver it this year! Guess I'll watch the Super Bowl in high def on my 26: screen....bummer! Met a doctor last night at the Waimea club. He is about 1000 or so. Very nice guy. There are a few good players there in the 1000-1500 range. Had a very interesting event this morning....well, interesting and funny to me, anyway! I walked down my road to get the morning paper in the paper delivery cyclinder, and as I was about to get the paper (6:30am and still no sunrise), a big head came up from behind the newspaper box....there were 2 horses there, grazing.....I reached to pet them, but scared them away and they trotted away! Never happened to me in Phoenix like that......going to lunch in a few and to shop at the new shops that recently opened......tonight we meet again at the Hawi TTC. We were approved for the first Hawaiian USATT sanctioned tournament on April 26, 2008.. http://www.tabletennisandmore.com/hawitournament42608.htm ......let me hear from you.

1/29/2008 9:39pm

Another day in paradise......Actually, it's been raining a lot...so much, in fact, that I truly believe I have seen more rain this past week here than in the 30 years I lived in Phoenix! But my fruit is growing, so that's good. I got tentative approval for Hawaii's first USATT sanctioned tournament ever,,,,we'll have it in Hawi on April 26. More info to follow but it will include age, doubles, and rated events. We had 11 people at the Hawi Club tonight and I spent time feeding multi-ball to one of the kids that will be a good player, in time. We also worked on serving. Still waiting for our furniture and hope it comes this week so I can watch the Super Bowl on High Def on my big screen.....feel like a real resident as we opened a bank account at the local Hawaiian bank, ate lunch at a neighborhood bistro, and our dog, Audi has made a friend with Arnie, a yellow lab next door......he also likes BJ, the horse in our backyard! Tomorrow night I go to the Waimea club............

1/28/2008 2:59pm

OK OK OK, so now it is confirmed; I am a senior citizen! Deb & I went to an invite meeting this morning at the Kohala Senior Citizen's Club. We filled out intensive applications, went before the Executive Committee, spoke before the entire group of about 65, and we admitted to the club! Deb & I also each won, after the meeting, in Bingo! OK, so I am an old fart; you guys already knew that anyway! Now we are entitled, with our OLD PERSON card, to no sales tax on many items sold in Hawaii and special other discounts for meals, etc. Aside from all that, the people there are truly nice. They have a competitive softball team playing this Saturday, bowling a few times per month, and I am starting a senior's table tennis league. Got my vehicle inspection decal today so I am a real resident. Our stuff arrived at the port today, available for pick up by the moving company tomorrow. Then they must make arrangements for delivery to us....hope it is soon as I need my printer and....ping pong tables!

1/27/2008 10:49am:

I am sitting here watching the rain fall...it is simply amazing how much rain there is! We had 1/3" yesterday and almost that amount already today. I guess the severe drought on this Island is over. It's about 67 degrees, windy, with the rain. If I were to drive less than 20 minutes, it would be 82 and sunny, on the beach! We had DirecTV installed and it takes TWO 4 1/2 foot dishes for the service with high definition as opposed to a small single dish in Phoenix, so my front yard kind of looks like Moon Base Alpha!.........If you have never been to Hawaii, you should visit....the clouds are simply amazing! They are constantly moving, and fast. We see rainbows on most days and sometimes a double rainbow; awesome! I have not seen the Humpback Whales yet, but supposedly they are crossing the water in my view many times per day. I hope to get a glimpse soon and have a telescope ready.....

1/26/2008 10:31am:

Aloha!

Sitting here watching the rain and hearing the wind......it's a warm 71 right now with, as usual, high humidity. It is still winter for another 10 days or so.....then the rain usually ends, or so we are told. Life is slower here and people are very warm. There is a genuine concern shown by most and there is a feeling that all should share in the ALOHA spirit (a feeling of warmth, kindness, helping to your fellow citizen)...

Am waiting for our furniture, belongings, and table tennis stuff to arrive from Phoenix. It should be in the local port on Monday and they will deliver soon after. Took the 70 minute drive each way to Costco and Home Depot yesterday, spent almost $1000.00 there for food and other essentials, but now we are stocked up with goodies.....We are going with a friend to Salsa Night tonight in our town and are invited to a Senior's event this Monday at 9am.....Table tennis is Tuesday thru Thursday nights and I do have some students lined up for private lessons starting after I get my tables.......Keep in touch,

1/24/2008:

Aloha all!

Hope Phoenix is doing well………….

Just a VERY quick update on me……….am home now in Hawi. Got my truck in almost perfect condition on Tuesday, got Debbie & Audi in perfect condition yesterday, and expecting our furniture next week, along with Deb’s car.

Went to the Hawi Club Tuesday night and about 10 or so players were there. Many were absent due to a “major” basketball game in Waimea. We had a lady show up from Kona that is a very good player from Japan, possibly 1800-1900 range….she is Japanese Penhold with Long Pips that she can hit with on the forehand and a reversing long pip on her backhand she uses sparingly. We have another good player from Waikoloa, about 14-1500, about 20 minutes away, and, John Romoa was also there, another 1500 level player; so we are on our way….In fact, there was a local article about the table tennis in Hawi just this week!

We tentatively have our first USATT Sanctioned tournament EVER in Hawaii, scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2008, awaiting approval from USATT. You are all welcome to come and play in it! We even have an 8 room, cozy Country Inn, right next door, with reasonable rates for all you “MAINLANDERS”…..

Keep in touch.