Excitement is building ahead of the biggest synagogue table tennis event of the year, with an upsurge in interest from first-time participants

Wembley, Borehamwood’s Beis Israel and Neveh Shalom in Harrow are amongst a number of teams looking to be crowned as winners of the prestigious National Shul Table Tennis League (NSTTL) Championships, supported by Maccabi GB.

Previous Open event winners, Mill Hill and Norrice Lea, will be expected to make a strong showing, but Radlett Synagogue - with Maccabi GB Scotland’s Maccabiah star, Jeremy Banks - could prove a surprise package.

With teams for this year’s European Maccabi Games in Berlin expected to be announced in the coming weeks, the NSTTL will provide spectators with the first glimpse of many potential Team Maccabi GB athletes in action, mixed with many of the more established stars of Anglo-Jewry table tennis.

These include Mill Hill’s Dov Katz and Norrice Lea's Michael Gerrard, Adam Black and Jonathan Stelzer. A host of Junior Maccabi GB talent such as Sammy Kaye and Joe Kaye, with Judah Jackson and Josh Banks are also set to battle it out. However, they will be hard-pushed to prevent favourites, Elstree and Borehamwood, from winning the junior title again.

In the region of 120 players compete each year and with such strong interest shown from newcomers the stage is set for another action-packed day which also features the MGB Community Table Tennis Day.