JERSEY No. 1 Mariusz Cieminski struck gold on home soil as the Jersey Table Tennis Association hosted the 2026 Veterans Home Nations tournament at Oakfield Sports Centre over the weekend.
Around 130 players aged between 40 and 75 travelled to the island from Guernsey, the Isle of Man, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for three days of competition.
The tournament began at 9am on Friday and ran through to Sunday’s medal presentation at 2pm, with approximately 22 hours of table tennis played across the weekend.
Cieminski provided the standout result for the hosts, claiming the Over-40 Men’s Singles title after producing his best form when it mattered most.
The Jersey top seed defeated Scotland’s Marek Domagala 3-0 in the final to secure the gold medal, having earlier survived a thrilling semi-final against England No.1 and top seed Andy Wilkinson.
The contest ebbed and flowed, with Cieminski taking the opening game before moving 2-1 ahead. Wilkinson fought back to level the match at 2-2, leaving the title to be decided in a fifth and final game.
Cieminski held his nerve, maintaining a narrow advantage before closing out an 11-8 victory to seal a memorable 3-2 win and send the home crowd into celebration.
There was further success for Cieminski in the Over-40 Men’s Doubles, where he partnered fellow Jersey player and head coach Miguel Freitas.
The pair reached the final before facing England’s top-seeded combination of Wilkinson and Jason Ramage.
The English pairing proved too strong on the day, winning 3-0, leaving Cieminski and Freitas with a silver medal.
The Jersey duo also came within touching distance of yet another medal in the Over-40 Men’s Team event.
The silver medallists recorded impressive 3-2 victories over both Ireland and Scotland, but narrowly missed out on the silver and bronze medals after a three-way countback with Wales and Scotland.
With all three teams finishing level on points, the final positions were decided on games won and lost.
Cieminski’s gold was therefore the highlight of a significant weekend for Jersey Table Tennis, with 19 island veterans competing across the various age groups.
Jersey fielded six teams during the tournament, while island players also joined three mixed teams, providing opportunities for competitors across the veteran age categories to represent their island on home soil.
The team competition was played using the Davis Cup format, while the individual honours were decided through group stages before progressing into knockout rounds.
Away from the tables, the tournament also provided a social occasion for the visiting nations, with players and officials coming together for a gala dinner at the Merton Hotel on Saturday evening.
For organiser Martin Tupper, the size of Jersey’s contingent and the response from the visiting players made it a particularly memorable occasion.
“It was a fantastic tournament and a really positive weekend for Jersey Table Tennis,” he said.
“This was by far our biggest turnout of Jersey veteran players at the Veterans Home Countries International, and everyone represented the Island extremely well.”
The women’s competition was another source of pride for the hosts, with Jersey Table Tennis Association president Eleni Middleton and Hilary Le Cornu both taking part. Anne-Cécile Clair was due to compete but was forced to withdraw through injury.
Tupper also paid tribute to the volunteers who helped deliver an event which had been more than a year in the planning.
“Oakfield Sports Centre proved to be a great venue for the tournament and we received some excellent feedback from the visiting players about both the facilities and the event,” he said.
“I would also like to thank our main sponsor TMF Jersey for their support, Altair for sponsoring the Jersey team shirts and Tees Sport for supplying the match balls.
“We are very grateful too to the army of JTTA volunteers who worked so hard over the past year and especially over the weekend to make the tournament happen.
“Their support helped us put on an event of which Jersey Table Tennis can be very proud.”
And with Cieminski’s singles gold providing the headline result, Jersey’s veterans ensured the island’s biggest-ever presence at the competition was matched by success on the tables.
Jersey Squads:
Over 40’s Men: Maruisz Cieminski (A), Miguel Freitas (A), Almel Jacob (B), Alex Silva (B), Bruno De Poerck (B)
Over 50’s Men: Terry Boucher, Roland Tracums (Gsy)
Over 60’s Men: Eugen Ellis (A), Tony Wood (B), Tom Quinn, Mick Michel (B), Magnus Olsson (B), Callum Renault (B)
Over 70’s Men: Paul Routier, Dave Le Clercq
Over 75’s Men: Michael Sampson, Kevin O’Sullivan, John Barden
Over 40’s Ladies: Eleni Middleton, Kay Chivers (Gsy)
Over 60’s Ladies: Hilary Le Cornu, Catherine Inverarity (Scot)
