Regional Hardbat Championships of Grafschaft Bentheim 2001/2002 at 11.10.2001 in Hoogstede

Reinhold Nuesse was rewarded for taking risks Hoogstede (HH). For the first time with the regional table tennis championships of Grafschaft Bentheim also a competition in the hardbat class was held, which was performed at the tournament start on thursday evening at Hoogstede. This old and nevertheless quite current version of the table tennis game is played exclusively with simple pimpled rubber bats with short pimples out and without any sponge. Not the material is to be in the foreground, but just the ability of the players. Additionally, the fun of the game plays a dominant role, because in contrast to current table tennis in hardbat table tennis there are a lot of rallies with numerous net crossings, and most points must be fought for very hard. And it was shown that the eight hardbat beginners had gotten accustomed very fast to the almost uniform material and could keep up quite well with the four players, who had already gained their experiences in May with the Nordhorn Brettchen Open. Thus not only Rainer Schatton of the host club SV Hoogstede did reach the 3rd place at his first hardbat tournament and Eintracht Nordhorn's Christian Harms-Ensink the 4th place in the singles competition, latter won at his first attempt even the doubles competition together with his clubmate Hilmar Heinrichmeyer against the two players from SpVgg. Brandlecht-Hestrup, Reinhold Nuesse and Frederik Beckert. These two had left all competitors behind themselves in the singles however. In the club internal Brandlecht final of numbers 5 and 6 of Nordhorn Brettchen Open of May Reinhold Nuesse finally won in the fifth and last game of the new 11-point-match against excluding defensively acting Frederik Beckert due to his greater willingness to take risks and became so first regional hardbat champion of Grafschaft Bentheim, an area of 1000 km² with nearly 130,000 inhabitants and 14 table tennis clubs. The easily favored players of Eintracht Nordhorn however, on whose initiative this new competition had been introduced, finally appeared at places 4 to 7. Playing in the new hardbat class was much fun for all starters, but a better participation had been wished. The unfavorable date on thursday evening and the not central venue Hoogstede surely prevented a better participation than the twelve starters, particularly since even from the clubs near Hoogstede the hoped resonance was not shown. Only host club SV Hoogstede represented this part of the county with five starters. In the next year the hardbat class perhaps should not be coupled directly to the regional championship weekend, but be scheduled e.g. on Saturday of the previous week. This would give all hardbat starters a whole week to get accustomed again to their sponge racket after the play with the unusual material.