Jimmy Spring "Alive", Arrested in Melbourne

Police claim to have arrested Rebound Table Tennis legend Jimmy Spring at Melbourne International Airport, after landing on a flight from Morocco.

Seen as the Godfather of Rebound Table Tennis, and mentor to late Rebound Table Tennis supremo Bernard Elksteine, Spring was believed to have died in a road crash in 1999.

"Jimmy Spring" moments before his arrest in Melbourne

A Police spokesman told the media this morning the arrest was made after a number of coincidental tip-offs indicated that Spring was alive, and would attempt to enter the country on an early flight this morning. A suspect was first identified at the checkout gates, but was followed and only arrested after he arrived at a suburban house in Melbourne's east.

Several reporters had received the same tip-off and were able to photograph the alleged Spring just moments before his arrest. He was take to Melbourne Central Police Station for questioning and remanded in custody.

Born in 1937 in Denver, Colorado, Spring immigrated to Australia with his parents at age 6. He grew up in Maroochydore and became a top Table Tennis player, competing for Australia in the 1960 and 1964 Olympics. Retiring in 1966, he was the first to formalise Rebound Table Tennis as a competitive form of table tennis in the early 1970's, having previously only been seen as a means of practicing the game for regular, full-table play. Spring believed the Rebound form of the game offered the potential for faster and more exciting competition.

Spring expanded Rebound Table Tennis as an amateur sport across the country, opening a string of Rebound Table Tennis Dojo's, where he trained players and oversaw amateur competition. The sport, however, never reached professional status in Australia under Spring.

Spring came under pressure in the mid-90's as his dojo's were linked to organised crime and drug trafficking, and he was reportedly under constant investigation.

Jimmy Spring in 1975

A key turning point for the sport came in 1995 when Spring met a down-and-out Bernard Elksteine on the streets of Brisbane. He immediately saw Elksteine's leadership skills, business acumen and knowledge and skills for the game as a successful former player, and put Elksteine in charge of his Ipswich Dojo.

After the reported death of Spring in 1999, Elksteine inherited Spring's entire Rebound Table Tennis empire. 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. He also cleaned up the sport's image, removing anyone who had apparent links to former allegations against Spring.

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. This led on the the establishment of the Australasian Rebound Table Tennis Super League in 2009.

The reported arrest adds fuel to speculation that Elksteine is also alive and well in Morocco, (having included several reported sightings) biding his time before re-claiming his place as Rebound Table Tennis Supremo in Australasia. It is now widely speculated that this has been part of a larger plan which commenced with Spring faking his death in 1999.

The mysterious, failed National HyperBall League initiative is still rumoured to have had links to Elksteine, and now possibly to Jimmy Spring as well, as the pair allegedly try to wrest back control of the sport "from the grave".

Police indicated today that they wished to speak to Spring about his disappearance and his possible former links to drugs and organised crime. No charges have been laid against the alleged Jimmy Spring at this stage. A medical assessment will be undertaken on the 73-year-old late this afternoon.

.

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.

Newcastle Win Grand Final, Gold Coast-Tweed in Tatters

Newcastle are the 2010 ARTTSL Premiers, defeating Gold Coast-Tweed in the Grand Final in Newcastle.

The win caps off a metioric rise for Newcastle, having won Second Division in their first season last year, progressing to First Division and again winning on their first attempt.

By contrast, the Gold Coast-Tweed syndicate is in tatters, with the Tweed Heads Rebound Table Tennis Federation sensationally withdrawing from the joint venture with Gold Coast United hours after the match. No further meaning has been given to the withdrawal but there is strong speculation Tweed Heads may be considering entering its own team in Hyperball this year, a move that would likely result in legal action from ARTTSL as the club was contractually bound to only play in ARTTSL this year.

No formal announcement has been made, however a popular theory among analysts is that the fall-out in the joint venture began as early as the Quarter Final loss to Newcastle, with Tweed Heads management dissatisfied with tactics and team selections, after a number of their former junior players were left out of the squad.

It has been suggested that Hyperball have remained quiet in recent week, awaiting the completion of the ARTTSL season, after which they will announce their championship roster which would include a team based in Tweed Heads, and possibly covering a significant portion of the NSW North Coast. This may gain them more support in NSW where many people refused to follow a team which, despite playing half their games in Tweed Heads, were formally a Queensland team based on the Gold Coast.

Some have further suggested Tweed Heads were having an each-way bet, waiting to see if the joint venture team won the Grand Final before deciding whether to remain with the ARTTSL venture or defect to Hyperball. However these sensational claims have not been substantiated and all of the above is speculation at this stage.

Back to the match itself, it was a freezing winter night in Newcastle which many Newcastle fans believed would prove difficult for the northern visitors. However it was Newcastle who started unsteadily with some weak serving and at time bizarre serving options, however the scoreline remained close to half time, with Gold Coast-Tweed leading 6-4 at the break.

In the second half Gold Coast-Tweed turned up the power, seemingly deciding the match was there to be taken, and at first this seemed to be putting pressure on Newcastle, however Newcastle steadied and managed to lead 8-7 as they took their last service set.

A crucial turning point occurred when resident dog Ralph got hold of the ball. It was retrieved but was covered in slobber, and, as per garage table tennis rules, which fully apply in ARTTSL, dog slobber is part of the game. The resultant change in trajectory may have been the final undoing of Gold Coast-Tweed, who finally slipped to an 11-8 loss, handing the 2010 Premiership to Newcastle.

So ends the 2010 ARTTSL Season. The Second Division season is scheduled to be played later this year, if there are sufficient Second-Division teams for it to take place. All eyes now turn to the sleeping giant of Hyperball and if and when any teams will defect.

One thing is for certain, the war for control of Rebound Table Tennis in the Australasian region has only just begun.

Asked for his thoughts on the looming war, ARTTSL President Bernard Elksteine replied, "Hey, we're in Newcastle. Don't hey have a Sizzler here?.... Great let's go!"

Confident words indeed from the President, but many think he will be choking on his $20 rump when Hyperball announce their full intentions for 2010.

GRAND FINAL RESULT:
Newcastle 11 d Gold Coast-Tweed 8 (at Newcastle)