Table tennis ace Howieson named athlete of the month

Published on Saturday 5 July 2008 11:19

EDINBURGH table tennis player Craig Howieson, who has high hopes of competing in future Olympic and Commonwealth Games, has been awarded Athlete of the Month from Clydesdale Bank, writes ROB EYTON JONES.

Howieson, 18, started table tennis as a 7-year-old when his father built a table in his attic. By coincidence, he discovered that one of Scotland’s leading table tennis clubs, Merchiston Boys, was on his doorstep and he has since been training under their coach Tom Hook before moving to Bristol’s Filton Table Tennis Academy as a full-timer a year ago.

“I spend six hours on the table each day doing different drills and exercises, then an hour in the gym with a specialised strength and conditioning trainer,” said Howieson, who has been in Scotland’s senior team since he was 14 and is a member of the British Table Tennis Federation (BTTF) Talent ID squad, selected for preparation for London 2012.

This season’s highlights include a bronze medal at the UK School Games and a gold medal at under-18s in the British Schools International. In the World Team Championships in China, Craig won six of his ten matches, helping Scotland gain promotion to Division 2. He has also beaten England’s Paul Drinkhall, the World junior No.4 and Europe’s top junior player.

Howieson has already reached the qualifying criteria set for the Scottish team heading for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune. Next month, when Commonwealth Games Scotland considers all nominations against the sport’s selection policy, he will know if he is in the team.

“It’s massive to represent your country at a multi-sport event like the Youth Commonwealths,” he said.

“It’s important to do well in the run-up to a senior Games and hopefully I’ll win a medal in Pune then carry that on possibly to Delhi 2010.

“To get to London 2012 would be fantastic but the icing on the cake for me would be to get to Glasgow 2014 and win a medal there.”

Howieson added: “It’s fantastic that Clydesdale Bank have put the funding up. It gives athletes an extra incentive to train hard and get more opportunities for doing so. I think it’s a good scheme to run and I’m delighted I’ve been given it for this month.”

THE newly-formed Corstorphine Table Tennis Club are looking for players to take part in the Edinburgh and Lothians League in the coming season. Contact Dougie Smith on 334 4668 for more details. The club have access to three tables and play on Tuesday nights.