Now how does that song go again? "It's Christmas in Las Vegas..." That means it's time again for the US National Table Tennis Championships 1997 style!

So here we are at the airport again and boy were we looking forward to this one. It's been a long year and Vegas waits for us like an oasis in a desert. Wait! It is an oasis in the desert, imagine that. Once again, the tournament hotel was the Imperial Palace. While Sue was once more working the control desk, Terry shifted gears from Referee of the tournament last years to Match Umpire this year. It was much less stressful.

It wasn't all work though. We had time to get out and see the sites of the strip. But of course it was about the table tennis. Sue and I did try to time our shifts together. This let us get out to places like New York New York and Excaliber. We even stopped at Coke World and M&M World. These excursions were rare though as the venue demanded we be there most of the time.

The play was outstanding. From the elementary school levels, through the juniors, the youth, the Men's and Women's, the Over 30's, rating events, all the way to the Hard Bat and the Over 60's competitors were intense. We particularly enjoyed the Men's Doubles and the Over 60 Doubles.

Vegas is like no place else on earth. This tournament reflected that uniqueness. Alan Barth put in extra effort to make sure that the events would run smotthly and on time. He was successful.

Since we took so many great pictures of super play at the Nationals, we are going to put up thumbs in groups. Hope you like 'em!

Finals audience shot.

Cheng Yinghua signing autographs.

Look who's in the background.

Cheng Yinghua and why he wins!

Wonderful form.

Sheer Power.

Sorry Cheng, that one's not legal! (Note the ball behind the trunk of his body) Looks great though. (service rule 7.5)

This ones a winner.

David showed strong power early in the tournament.

This was true in the semi-finals.

His speed was incredible,

As was his determination.

His leg drive put fast pace on his shots.

Consistant stroke and placement put him in the finals.

His towering high-toss serve helped as well!

Known world wide for his backhand stroke.

He used superior placement to get to the semi-finals.

But Cheng had him on the run the entire match,

Driving him all the way to the barriers on several ocaisions.

Jim still struck the ball aggresively when given the chance.

He tried to conceal his serves to gain any advantage.

But Jim's best was not good enough this day.

Even this powerful shot was returned by Cheng Yinghua.

Jack dominated the Men's Over 40.

He also shown brightly all the way to the semi-finals of the Men's.

Despite his quickness and power, David was too strong for him.

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Danny is amazing after all these years.

He still shows flashes of brilliance, but could not pull it off this year.

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Marty at almost 70 is an icon.

His smooth strokes and enormous confidence shine still.

Exhibition or championship match, Marty is there to play.

Nothing could get by Gao in this tournament.

She showed more power than most of the men.

Amy was ready, but just not able to take Gao out at this tournament.

Barny's comeback against Sean O'Neill

allowed him to face Cheng in the 1/4 Finals.

He used great serves and shots,

but Cheng was not fooled or pushed in this match. Here are some more of the gals. Tawny Bahn, Virginia Sung, Ms. Viktorova, and Ms. Roufe. A figure well known at tournament sites was among those inducted into the Hall of Fame at this tournament, Mal Anderson.

Our umpire corps consisted of both domestic and foreign umpires from The Netherlands, Japan, England, Canada, Cuasao, and China. Jimmy McClure was the Chief Umpire. Sue made a new Chinese freind of one of the International Umpires. We took her to the top of the Stratosphere and had a great time. We thank them all for their hard work. Terry was fortunate enough to umpire both the Men's Finals and the Hard Rubber Finals at this event. He would like to say a personal "thank you" to Dr. Michael Scott for his award.

We also went to a tremendous show on the Strip. This tournament was a lot of fun, but boy were we tired at the end!