My second table tennis tournament was held on the 10th December 2006 at the Greenbank Centre, Liverpool. I was able to travel to Liverpool by train when I was fortunate to claim two free 1st Class rail tickets through Virgin trains when they celebrated carrying 20 million passengers. I asked my friend, Lawrence Poole, whether he would accompany me for the weekend and he duly accepted the invite.

The train journey to Liverpool was excellent and this was when the fun started in earnest. The week prior to the tournament through the web, I had been trying to find some accommodation in Liverpool without any success and even the Liverpool Tourist Information Board were unable to assist me. The Tourist Information Board personnel advised me to turn up on the day and they would sort something out, but this information proved to be incorrect.

Accompanying myself on the train to Liverpool was Lawrence and my Father. On arrival at Liverpool at approximately 13:00 hours we walked straight to the Tourist Information Centre, only to be told, “Sorry, unable to help with finding any accommodation because all rooms are fully booked due to Liverpool FC playing at home”. Not to be deterred, my father walked around Liverpool City Centre going from hotel to hotel trying to find something whilst Lawrence was using his mobile trying to achieve the same result without any success. Three hours later and by the skin of our teeth we found a vacancy at the Brittania Adelphi Hotel.

Proceedings at the reception desk were also eventful as when I was watching the 100 metre hurdle race a young gentleman came charging past me and jumped clear over the 4 foot high reception desk to hide from three people trying to manhandle him. Welcome to Liverpool! Saturday evening was quiet, relaxing in the hotel prior to the tournament.

Sunday morning arrived and after a hearty breakfast we caught a taxi to the Greenbank Centre. The centre caters for people with disabilities and I was impressed with the facilities.

When I registered myself for the tournament, I was placed in the ‘Open’ category expecting five matches. In the end, three opponents didn’t arrive and I ended up with only two matches. Both players were more able bodied and could move around the table quite freely. Therefore, unfortunately I didn’t stand much of a chance. Whilst I lost both matches easily, at least I started using my forehand in both matches and had some forehand smashes.

Whilst I was a little bit less nervous compared to my first Disability Sports England tournament in September at Grantham, it was a good learning curve before entering future table tennis tournaments around the country.

Ian Thomas