San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

November 18th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA. Call to order 7:04pm by James. SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Mark Adelman and James Kahn. SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: Simon Lee and Borko Dragojlovic. SDTTA Member(s) Present: None. Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes. The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for October 2014 by James and seconded by John. The Board carried the motion. Treasurer’s Report:  John Anderson passed out the Treasurer’s Report which has been reconciled through October 2014. The Club has a net income for the year of $4,766.73. Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report. Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is. Equipment Report: Our current table count is 27. Action Items:

1. We recently sold 3 tables which brought in a total of $1100.00.
2. James suggested that the Club look into other insurance companies to see if we can get a better rate than what we are currently paying.
3. John informed us that BPAC has approved our new hours and that the starting time during the weekdays will now all be at 4:00 pm.
4. A memorial for Jock Oubichon is scheduled for this Saturday, but the Club will be closed for a volleyball tournament. We will try to work with BPAC and see if the memorial can still be held on that day.
5. Club elections are coming up in December with James, Mark and Simon’s positions up for re-election. We will get with Phil, John and Suresh on forming a nominating committee to run the election.
6. The Board unanimously approved the new 2015 membership stickers to be red. John volunteered to order the new stickers.
7. Bob recently re-did the Club brochure using MS Word. John and Bob will go over the brochure and make any corrections/modifications before getting the Boards approval.
8. Discussed pro-rating membership dues as we get closer to the end of the year. It was decided to table the discussion until the new Board is elected and in place.
9. James brought up D.J. Alto’s Juniors Program and how the higher level kids just haven’t been coming to the club lately. It was suggested that maybe we should open the program up to all members of the club. We will look into this and see if this is a feasible option.
10. Behnam informed the Board that the Baja team will be at the Club on November 29th, and we’ll need to get a group of players together to challenge them.

The motion to adjourn was made by Mark and seconded by Behnam at 7:55pm.   The next meeting is December 9th at 7:00pm.   Respectfully Submitted,   Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

Hello everyone, Jock’s Family will be taking him to DC area where most of his family lives now for the services. I have let them know that Jock touched many lives here and was well loved. The date of his funeral is November 21st. If you are making travel plans the airport to fly into is DCA Reagan National. Ron Spencer

Dear beloved members of the SDTTA and friends. We are at a great loss today. Jock Oubichon, one of our most beloved members, has bid us and this world goodbye. He was one of the biggest hearted and kind individuals I have ever known. There has never been anyone that worked so hard at using a grizzly shield to hide the most gentle teddy bear. Originally from New Orleans, I insisted that he come to San Diego and he and I both agreed that was one of the best decisions he ever made. He loved San Diego and all it had to offer: biking, hiking, fast cars and yes table tennis even though he didn’t get to play as often.

Jock, more than most people I’ve met, enjoyed helping and taking care of people, all kinds of people: young, old, physically disabled and mentally challenged. When I first met him he was a physical therapy tech at Tulane hospital in New Orleans and he loved his job. He worked with injured and elderly persons most of the time. But he also worked with the mentally challenged, teaching basic life skills in addition to volunteering at the children’s hospital aiding kids with cancer. Many in terminal situations where the main goal was to make them laugh one more time. That’s something I could never have the strength to do. He did ask me to go once, the other tech could not make it that day, I declined. Partially joking, I told him “that’s why God put strong people like you on this planet, that’s your job.” And he excelled at it.

When it came to table tennis coaching, Jock was an expert at game and player analysis, stats and strategies. He could see strengths and weakness far better than I could. As a table tennis player, the fastest first step, the heaviest top spin, and next to an Umel he simply had the most powerful forehand I have ever seen of any level. He enjoyed coaching kids, seniors and any adult with a passion for learning table tennis. Many might not know he was one of the original co-founders of the San Diego Jr Table Tennis Team. That first year Jock, Sungill Kim, and Tom Plaisted really helped me get that off the ground with amazing time and effort. He enjoyed every minute. As I have enjoyed every minute of time I have known with him. To everyone that has had their lives enriched and blessed to have known Jock, please don’t repay that with sadness and regret of what is lost. Rather pay that due forward. Help a person in need, soothe someones pain, make a kid laugh, teach a person brand new to the table tennis how to hold a paddle the correct way. This is what Jock would do, this is what Jock did, every day in all of his social groups. And that, will be his legacy. Rest in peace good friend, Ron Spencer *** Update about the remembrance ***

The ART Show will occupy our space starting this Sunday November 2, 2014 and we won’t reopen until Thursday November 13, 2014. Sorry for this inconvenience, but the art show is a good revenue generator for BPAC.  Hope all of you can find some other opportunities to play.
Best Regards,
James Kahn, President SDTTA

Click here to see the hotel’s brochure!

We had a great and very successful tournament on Saturday. Our team included David Flores, Ragu, Chip, Behnam, Bob, Kia, James, Vladimir, Danny, John, Kasra, Suzan, Sahil. We played against Baja and Sorrento teams. All players  showed their skills and sportsmanship in these games. These games will help create new friendships and momentum for better Table Tennis.  I’d like to thank the Sorrento club and Baja team for bringing their players to our club to play. I hope we can arrange for more tournaments in the future. I also like to thank all the people who came early to help set up the tables and barriers. My special thanks goes to Baja coaches Roberto and Juan for running our tournament. Without all the volunteer’s  help we would not have been able to make it. If you like to play in future tournaments please let me know. Behnam Kazemi

Here’s some footage from the semi-final match (in the highest rated event) at the Hunstman 2014 tournament: Ray Mack vs Karl Assenmacher