Table Tennis

Chief Executive’s Update: January 2023

January 24, 2023

LIVE table tennis

We are very much looking forward to welcoming our members and wider fan base to the return of live table tennis over the coming weeks.

We start with the two back-to-back matches taking place at the K2 Centre, Crawley, West Sussex, as part of the qualification for the European Team Championships 2023:

England vs. Serbia, Thursday 26 January 2023

England vs. France, Friday 27 January 2023

Tickets for the France game have now sold out, however we are working with the venue to see if we can add more capacity. If you would like to be the first to hear about more tickets being added, please let us know by filling in the form here. Full details and ticket information for Serbia can be found here but if you would like tickets, make sure you act quickly as we expect to sell out for this game too!

We are also very much looking forward to the Mark Bates Ltd Senior National Championships taking place at the David Ross Sports Village, University of Nottingham, from 24 – 26 March 2023.

Ticket information can be found here and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Bates Ltd for their continued support of our premier national event – and to congratulate the players that have received an invitation or qualified via the recent Mark Bates Ltd Qualifying event.

Live sport events come to life because of the fans and we very much looking forward to you joining us across the five days of fantastic table tennis.

Ranking System

One area where I am contacted mostly by our members, is our national ranking system and I wanted to update you on the considerations currently taking place.

As you are probably aware, a significant amount of work has been done in recent years to review and establish future options for a ranking system for

The consultation exercise that started in 2019 across our membership, and subsequent detailed modelling, concluded that a ‘relative’ system, as opposed to an ‘absolute’ system was preferable, and that is the system we already have in place today. The consultation at the time preferred a relative system as it was considered best-suited to both singles and team events, reflects the quality of opponent, and is suited to both regular and ‘occasional’ players’.

The downside of the ‘relative’ system, is the significant complexity when compared to the simpler ‘absolute’ system, and we are aware of some challenges in the current system that add to the complexity. On the basis of the consultation and modelling, we have set budget aside to initiate a new and improved relative system for a smoother user experience – please note the fixes do not change the overall complexity.

However, before proceeding down that path, I brought together a small group of volunteers, including two members of our Board, who are familiar with our ranking system, to ensure we are all clear on the action that is needed.

I am determined that we create the best user experience we can and that our ranking is seen as a motivational force (as opposed to demotivating which I am concerned it is for some currently).

Please be assured that while we will never have a ranking system that works for everyone, I am hearing the feedback being expressed and we will respond to it.

Safeguarding

Over the past week, we saw UK Sport and Sport England jointly publish a series of commitments designed to strengthen participant and athlete wellbeing across sport as a result of reviewing the Whyte Report’s implications for the wider sector.

Table Tennis England is fully supportive of the response, and I was one of a small number of NGB CEOs who were part of the consideration process to get to this stage.

The sector is determined to come together to provide greater consistency, capability and capability in the crucial area of work, and this response provides such a positive step towards that.

We will never be complacent and will continue to adopt a zero tolerance to those who seek to harm children, young people and vulnerable adults – the safety of those in table tennis is fundamental.

Please find all details and a link to the policy response here.

Redesigning our Governance structures

As part of the reset of Table Tennis England over recent months, and the publication of Table Tennis United, many of you will be aware that we are seeking to ensure our advisory committee structure is aligned to our blueprint and has the capacity and capability to support our growth and future success.

We will be introducing two new Advisory Committee’s – Competition and Development – in the coming weeks and have just concluded an active recruitment campaign to welcome new volunteers.

As soon as this process is complete, I will share the new Committee members with you.

Competition Review

A new structure of domestic competitions, proposed after Phase II of the national Competition Review, has been approved by the Table Tennis England Board.

The new national structure is designed to enable all competition formats to develop and thrive and will be delivered against a structured calendar, avoiding competition clashes and providing an appropriate mix of club-based and large-scale national events.

For an overview of the key changes, FAQs and a detailed presentation, please see here

Welcome

I’m sure you will all join me in welcoming Andy Wilesmith to

Andy started with us on 9 January in the role of Head of Development and will lead the work of the Development and Competition teams.

A key part of Andy’s early time with us will be the introduction of the new Area network which comes into effect from 1 February and supporting the final stages of the Competition Review process ahead of the final proposal being presented to Board in March.