Major Events Strategy

Thank you to the many members who took the time to respond to the survey recently shared regarding our interest in staging the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships 2026.

We were overwhelmed by the response and this insight is now being analysed as we progress our aspirations to bring major events to this country.

Alongside our expression of interest in this event, we are currently exploring England being a key part of the Word Table Tennis tour and I am in discussions with several cities across the country as we look to build potential event partnerships.

National Events

On the subject of competition, I would like to say a huge thank you to the players, coaches, organisers, officials, partners and staff who were part of the recent schedule of Cadet, U17, Junior, U21 and Senior national championships, and Cadet National Cup.

I had the privilege to witness the talent of everyone involved and the extraordinary energy invested in making these competitions such a great success. You should all be extremely proud. I wish the very best of luck to competitors at upcoming events, including the Mark Bates Ltd U11 & U13 National Championships, the Junior National Cup, the inaugural Senior British League Cup, and Grands Prix in Redbridge, Gloucester and Aldersley.

Table Tennis United

I was delighted to receive recent Board approval for the Year 1 Implementation Plan of our new strategy, Table Tennis United.

We have spent a number of months developing our strategy and considering what matters most, and now the fun part starts; growing table tennis in England.

I will use this communication to keep you updated of our progress.

‘Question Time’

Thank you to those members who joined us for the latest ‘Question Time’ session on 17 May. It was great to hear the views expressed and the questions asked, and the responses given, can be read in the Appendix at the foot of this page.

We look forward to the next session, scheduled for Wednesday, 16 August as we continue to welcome the greater engagement with you.

Membership Review

I am delighted to have agreed with the Board that Membership fees for the 2023/24 season will be frozen at the current rate. This decision recognises the challenges currently faced by our members as a consequence of the cost-of-living crisis.

It is clear that our own operating costs continue to rise, however our budgeting process has sought to absorb these for this year so as to support the playing community.

Over the next 12 months we will continue to review internally and consult externally on proposals to review the existing Membership Scheme as we seek to develop a product that provides greater value to the table tennis community.

National Competition Review

The first meeting of the new Competition Advisory Committee has taken place – the main order of business was the Competition Review, which has been on hold since December in order for additional proposals from National Council to be considered.

The Committee advised, and Board has subsequently agreed, to move forward with the Competition Review as currently written. This confirms Boards decision from December to sign-off Phase 2 of the Review.

Phase 3 of the Review will now include adding detail to each of the proposed competition formats, working-up the resource/ regulatory/ budget implications, and establishing clear implementation timeframes for Board to consider further in September.

National Rankings

Work is now progressing with IT developers to establish a test platform to test variables and parameters for a future ranking system.

Alongside this, a series of enhancements to the user interface of the existing ranking system is currently being developed for launch prior to the new season.

Area Network

Our Area Manager team have been working hard speaking to clubs, leagues and partners as they develop an understanding of their Areas.

I know many of you have had communication and visits from the team and this work will continue. They are currently creating profiles for their Areas which will be used to inform their priorities for the coming year and will help to inform the Local Delivery Plans which our new Local Organising Groups will drive forward with the Area Manager team.

Work is also starting to develop the TT Kidz programme for 2023/24. So if your club wishes to deliver the programme or you are looking to build links with local schools and want to use the TT Kidz programme to help solidify the link, please get in touch with your Area Manager.

Governance

Board Recruitment

The process to recruit a new Chair has taken place in recent weeks and it is hoped we can make an announcement by the end of May.

We currently have a vacancy for an Appointed Director that is due to the successful appointment of Emma Vickers to Head of Pathway Development.

We have also started the election process underway for an Elected Director to replace Susie Venner who finishes her tenure at the end June.

The details of both opportunities can be found here and here.

Sport England – Code for Sports Governance

As part of our funding requirements, we are required to confirm our ongoing compliance to the original code, which the Board approved at their March Meeting, and we also had to submit our progress against the seven new areas and where we require further work to comply to these new requirements by the end December 2023. These were all submitted before the deadline at the end of April. We will have a follow up meeting with Sport England in July to agree our Governance Action Plan.

UK Anti- Doping (UKAD)

Along with the Code for Sports Governance we are required annually to comply with the UKAD framework, and this was completed during this period, to ensure our ongoing compliance. Following on from our submission we have now had confirmation that our submission has been approved.

National Councillors

Messaging has gone out to all counties to appoint or re-appoint their National Councillor for the new season, which are effective following the AGM on the 8 July 2023. Appointment forms should be submitted before the 20 June, the form can be located here National Councillor Appointment Form.

Regional/Local Welfare Officers

Sport England has committed to invest in additional safeguarding and wellbeing support across the country, with this support based within the Active Partnerships. Table Tennis England is part of the project group scoping the roles, responsibilities, skills and knowledge requirements of the positions and we hope the roles will be in place for the Autumn.

Local Organising Groups

Work continues to recruit the Chairs of the seven Local Organising Groups that are being established to help drive the Area Network going forward. Many thanks to everyone for their applications. We had a good number of applications with some excellent individuals coming forward to support this work. Announcements on appointments will be made in the next couple of months.

Staffing

We are nearing completion of our recruitment plan to fulfil our goal to support the delivery of Table Tennis United.

We are delighted to welcome Jack Ramful, Digital Engagement Manager to the team who started on 9 May.

Best wishes
Adrian

Appendix