Bernard Elksteine Found Dead in Maroochydore Home

ARTTSL President Bernard Elksteine has been found dead in his Maroochydore home.

Early reports indicate that Elksteine's wife, Patricia, found the 45-year-old Rebound Table Tennis supremo slumped over his desk in his study at the back of the couple's Maroochydore home about 12:30pm today while bringing him his lunch, a bacon and peanut butter sandwich.

Paramedics were called to the house, but Elksteine was pronounced dead immediately.

The death comes just hours after the announcement that all Second-Division clubs, and the Tweed Heads portion of ARTTSL runners up Gold Coast-Tweed, had defected to HyperBall.

A spokesman from Queensland Health spoke briefly to the media, stating that while an autopsy would be performed, the most likely cause of death from initial observations of the body was a heart attack, and that murder or suicide seemed unlikely at this stage. He said it was apparent Elksteine had been dead in his study for up to two hours before being discovered.

However the timing of the death is already sparking a media frenzy with speculation that Elksteine may have been murdered by one of many enemies he is believed to have had in the Rebound Table Tennis world. Elksteine had been reported to have received threats, and indeed a number of subtly threatening comments have been posted on this very blog from time to time.
A neighbour, who identified herself only as "Mrs C", spoke to the media. "They were a lovely couple. He was nothing like they made him out to be on TV. He was very down to Earth. Sometimes he'd mow my lawn for me. But he didn't eat very well and could have stood to lose a little weight. Almost every day I'd see him arrive home through my front window carrying some sort of take away food for dinner. Still, I'm just devastated".

Elksteine was known for his high living, particularly in regard to food and alcohol, often visiting steakhouses and chickenhouses on his wide travels as ARTTSL Director. As recently as last night he was known to be dining while having his hair done at Kingswood Chicken Man and Hair, in Sydney's west, when the news of the defections broke.

While Elksteine often feigned disinterest in the HyperBall breakaway issue, many suspected this was a front and were actually concerned for his health and well-being, his wife Patricia being amoung those to voice concerns. A long-time friend recently spoke out in the media about Elksteine's deep-seated fear of losing control of the empire he'd built up over 15 years, saying this was taking a toll and driving his eating and drinking habits.

BERNARD ELKSTEINE, 1965-2010

Bernard Elksteine was born in Ipswich, Queensland, in 1965 to German immigrant parents Elma and Elka. The young Bernard showed early promise in all sports that involved rebounding of some form. He was Australian Junior Squash and Trampoline champion simultaneously in 1982, at age 17, and two years later competed in the World Airhockey Campionships in Los Angeles, an event held in parallel with the Olympic Games. Elksteine was said to be keen to qualify to compete for Australia in squash at the 1988 Olympics, but unable to cope with coming second in the World Airhockey Championships, Elksteine soon after sank into a period of depression and ultimately never reached his potential in rebound sports.

Elksteine's life is said to have turned around when, in 1995 at age 30, while living on the streets in Brisbane, he met Rebound Table Tennis legend Jimmy Spring, who employed him at his Rebound Table Tennis Dojo in Ipswich. It was here that Elksteine developed his management skills, and by 1998 his rebound was complete, as he was all but running the dojo. After the childless Spring's tragic death in a road accident in 1999, Elksteine inherited the Spring Rebound Table Tennis Dojo.

Seeing the wider potential for Rebound Table Tennis in the Australasian Region, Elksteine was able to use the funds generated from the Spring enterprise to expand his system nationally, and in so doing set up a junior player development program.

The program led to the game's popularity flourishing and establishment of large dojos in many major centres across Austalia, New Zealand and later in Singapore in 2006.

The growth culmunated in the establishment of the Austalasian Rebound Table Tennis Super League in 2009, with investors throwing their money behind ARTTSL with Elksteine as President. This set Elksteine up as the unquestionable Rebound Table Tennis Supremo in the Australasian region. As all clubs are franchises owned by ARTTSL, they were ultimately controlled by Elksteine and had little say in their own affairs when it came to major decisions. Elksteine used this power to create, disband, merge and relegate clubs at will.

Elksteine was often criticised for his management style, which was described as "officious and autocratic". The fast expansion of the game under Elksteine's relentless drive and work ethic, particularly the establishment of a Second-Division competition, became largely unpopular with many involved in the game, and is seen as having ultimately sparked the Hyperball breakaway, with many keen to wrest control of the sport from Elksteine.

There was a litany of other points of tension, including the way revenues were distributed among clubs, and how draws were established, such as this year's Pre-Season Trophy in which Second-Division clubs had to play an extra game to qualify.

The future of ARTTSL now rests with the Board, who will meet in coming days to decide how to fill the substantial Elksteine void.