Blog 2: 5/30/25
The boss (President Byron Risner) and I burned the midnight oil on Friday trying to revamp the EKTT website. Almost every page needed an update and even more so because of our historic move to the Morgan County Wellness Center. I have to say we are both happy with the new look and fresh material that our website now presents.
I saw a nasty Facebook post that someone made, a disgruntled basketball player, no doubt with NBA aspirations, saying that he was angry that table tennis takes up the gym at the Wellness Center on Thursdays. The post was obscene and classless, but that is common nowadays on the social media scene.
The answer is very simple: The Morgan County Wellness Center is a facility that belongs to the community and includes a diverse variety of sports to meet the needs of our citizens. Eastern Kentucky Table Tennis now has 41 members and tables take up a large amount of floor space-plus we host large table tennis special events like the Butterfly Dan Seemiller Classic and the Bluegrass State Games Table Tennis. Maybe he should try table tennis-it’s great for stress management.
Big match coming up as it looks like the second half of 2025 is going to showcase some of our best action in sometime. Competition for titles hasn’t been this strong arguably since 2019. “The Legend” Byron Risner and Craigh Sheehan have had one of the league’s best rivalries and the winner will of their next sanctioned match will crown the new Inter-County Champion.
We are going to broadcast his live on Facebook and it should be a classic-they have split their last two series and 15-13 and 15-13 decided their last two games. The I-C title will now be contested in a best of seven series, just like the EKTT title. One thing is for sure: both players will leave it all on the table.
EKTT is in the process of developing a series of events (probably 3 or so a year) that will present what is essentially a card-a set of matches that will be shown on Facebook live, while other players can warm-up, play open matches, or watch the action. The last time we did this was Play for Keeps, in June of 2024.
The big match there was a classic in which Caleb Lemaster won the EKTT Championship in a match that went to the seventh and final game. It’s a unique concept and it will likely feature all the EKTT titles if that can be organized. You, or we, the fans, can see the match, the score, and here commentary, which will allow you to invest in the event.
A table tennis match with no score to keep the fans informed is likely what keeps many people from following it…which we hope to change. President Risner said names for the event or series of events is currently being discussed. Play for Keeps was the original name, but it’s likely that it will be changed for a fresh start.
The EKTT Doubles Championship has been difficult to situate and prepare, but it is going to be decided by a match soon. The EKTT Championship Committee will decide on the top two contenders-and yes, yours truly is on the Committee. Right now, it looks like Perry Franklin and Byron Risner as the number one contenders, with the likely number two team to be Farhan Fazal and Craig Sheehan. If it develops and happens, it will be a fun match to watch.
We want to wish Hall of Famer and Regional Champion Dickie Williams a speedy recovery on his eye injury. A class act on and off the table and a big congratulations again to Dickie for being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2025. We also want to wish another Hall of Famer and league icon Langley Franklin a speedy recovery on an eye procedure he recently had. Our events aren’t the same without these two all-time greats.
We also miss Caleb Lemaster at our recent events as he has been our league MVP in attenance in addition to The Legend, but recently had a schedule change due to a new job. He is still number one in the Rankings Point Challenge and the no. 1 contender to the EKTT title.
That’s all for this round, see you next time!
Blog 1: 5/25/25
After a long sabbatical I’m back and the goal is to do at least one blog per week for EKTT. I’ve been busy to say the least with our social media accounts and promoting the greatest table tennis ever: The Butterfly Dan Seemiller Classic 2.
Last year Byron and I worked on “Dan Seemiller’s Top 12 Table Tennis Memories.” It was humbling to be chosen to write about the career of the greatest table tennis player ever.
It was exhilarating, because each week we had a new memory and had to get it out on time each Sunday. Now it’s literally a part of table tennis history and the most viewed part of our website by a large margin.
Speaking of history, we changed table tennis homes during the course of the BDSC2! We left the Morgan County Community Center Gym, our home of nearly 30 years, for the most part, and moved to the state-of-the-art Morgan County Wellness Center-it’s arguably the most important move in league history.
Our attendance had stalled at the Morgan County Gym, we simply weren’t growing. EKTT President Byron Risner has voiced concern over the relative inactivity and lower attendance over the past 18 months or so…during the first week at the Wellness Center, we had 25 players (up from 17 at the gym).
The possibility for growth at the Morgan Co. Wellness Center is immeasurable due to the foot traffic, various activities there (like bowling), and of course, the concession stand. It is the hub of activity in the county and table tennis fits in perfectly with the theme of “health and exercise”-that’s what our sport does.
Now on Thursdays, we start at 6 pm and end at 9 pm. We now have the capability to set up 14 tables instead of 9, which is huge when you factor recruiting new and beginning players; most do not want to be thrown into league play when they haven’t learned the rules or developed a feel for the game. Now we can accommodate the needs of all players.
If there is a better table tennis venue in the Midwest, I’m unaware of it-and that is a massive feather in our cap. Lighting, new oak floor (no sliding as one snide guy once said), air conditioning, and a ceiling that any lobber would be proud to play under.
The Butterfly Dan Seemiller Classic is now a premier brand in table tennis, consecutive tournaments and clinics-it’s not just an event, it’s an EXPERIENCE…only happens once per year and with the best player to ever pick up a paddle. Baseball has Babe Ruth, table tennis has Dan Seemiller.
We have the Bluegrass State Games coming up and it’s going to be electric. More news on that soon. We set several records at the Butterly Dan Seemiller Classic 2: most doubles teams to ever participate in a KY tournament, 17; 144 participants (record) entered in 16 events, all in one day, which is an amazing feat to achieve. We also had over 400 spectators, the estimate is 428, which would break an attendance record. Spectators would come in and out all day and enjoyed the action and concessions.
We can’t wait for next year and I’ll see you Thursday for a follow up edition.
In the meantime, see you at the tables.
Eastern Kentucky Table Tennis 