Does Table Tennis Fit ?

by Richard Pettit

I was recently at an old school friend's wedding. It was great to catch up with people I hadn't seen for some while and reminisce. As we did, it struck me that virtually all of my old school friends present had at some point played table tennis in our local league, Cirencester. Like many other leagues up and down the country, Cirencester was a league that was primarily based in village halls and venues that were too dark and cold in the winter and too hot and bright in the summer. The average age of a league player was well, let's just say old; and there was a serious resistance to change - sound familiar?

So how on earth did we all get involved? Well one man's vision changed everything. This man was Bob Davis, definitely one of the most influential people I have ever met. Bob's first move was to build a strong relationship with the local senior school, and in doing so, he unearthed a key ally and keen table tennis player 'Mr Green' (my maths teacher and tutor). Together their determination, superb negotiation skills and shared passion to reignite table tennis within Cirencester and particularly the younger generation led to a new facility, and subsequently a boom in table tennis in the local community. Without this enthusiasm and drive to create a welcoming yet competitive league within a central venue, and build that crucial club/league school link, I know my friends and I would never have competitively participated in the sport.

So if you find yourself in the situation described in my first paragraph perhaps it's time for a rethink? Collectively we need to move the game forward and create a new environment with better engagement with the younger generation, making sure that venues have the right balance between competition, social interaction and coaching. Leagues that play in different venues on different nights of the week, where a match can last the best part of four hours and finish after 10:30 pm, surely don't fit in today's fast-paced world, and are certainly not youth compatible.

So as we step into a new Sport England funding cycle with the Olympics providing the focal point to develop a world-leading community sport system, we all need to evaluate our position to ensure that we can capitalise on the opportunities. The ETTA has begun this process by evaluating its competition structure and commissioning an independent governance review to ensure we are providing our best possible service to support you, the Bob Davis' and Mr Greens of this world. Together we can make a difference and ensure our sport can grow, sustain and excel.

What do you think are the key priorities to develop table tennis in England?

Is the traditional three player league system sustainable or are two player teams the way to go?

Should we concentrate on knock-out competitions rather than league systems?

How can we make the league systems more youth compatible?

Please post your thoughts below.