Corby Town TTC is preparing to host its first ever regulated Cadet & Junior 1* tournament – and it will be a girls’ event. The competition is being held on Saturday 14 September, with a closing date of Monday 9 September.  

The tournament organiser is Henry Arthur, who as well as working for Table Tennis England as the British Clubs Leagues Executive Officer, is also the Chair and volunteer head coach at the host club. Here, Henry explains how the club got to the point of hosting this historic tournament;

“Corby Town TTC are a long-established club, with a history stretching back to 1948. Under our previous Chair Chris Haynes, the club made enormous strides forward in terms of player recruitment, coach development, sponsorship deals, improvements to the playing facilities which included new lighting, new flooring, improved acoustics, and a major investment in equipment.  

“Prior to covid, the club was really thriving, with numerous teams in the local Kettering & District League, National Cadet League and National Junior League, with future plans in place to enter SBL, JBL and WBL.  

“Retuning to play after the pandemic has meant rebuilding again, with several players choosing not to return, and those that we had developed with the plan to enter JBL either away at university or too old.  

“Due to work relocation, Chris had to step down as Chair at the end of last season and I volunteered to step into the role. I recognised that there were no tournaments in Northants for our young players to play in, so investigated the possibility of running a 1* or development event, given the improvement in our facilities and equipment.  

“With the push to provide more opportunities for women and girls to play, it soon became obvious that the first event we should host should be aimed at this category. As a County, we have struggled to attract girls to play over the last decade, but we do currently have a core group, so hosting a girls’ event in Northants could also be very beneficial for these players who are all still relatively inexperienced when it comes to the competition circuit. 

“After getting the agreement of the club committee to go-ahead with this, I contacted our Area Manager Chris Bryden about the plans, as well as Table Tennis England Director Sally Hughes to inform them of my plans, and managed to obtain a small bit of funding from TTE to help support this initial event. 

“The club is really excited to host our first 1* tournament, and really proud that it is an event that is for girls only. We do have history in supporting the girls’ game and in 2023, Mia Solomon, who was one of our young players at the time, was the 2023 Pride of Table Tennis winner in the Young Female Volunteer category.   

“Mia is still very much involved with the club and competes weekly in the local league. She is also a qualified coach. She does not get much time to coach these days as she is also mother to a beautiful one-year-old baby girl. 

“The club see the drive to gender parity as absolutely critical to the sport, and providing places for girls-only events is important if we wish to reach this target.  

“Following this tournament, we will meet and review the learnings from it, with the hope that this can become a permanent fixture on the tournament calendar, and with the possibility of running a senior women’s tournament later on in the season too.” 

If your club would like advice on hosting tournaments for women and girls, or any other age groups and formats, please contact your Area Manager.