The County Championships are now underway in the 2024/25 season. The first matches were played in Cadet Divisions 1A and 1B during the last weekend of September. The results have been published on the County Championships website

The results from these matches were included in the September ranking run of the Table Tennis England ranking system.

The first set of matches will take place in the junior competition at the end of October and those in the senior competition will take place at the beginning of November. Over-60s and veterans matches will take place later in November and mid-December.

The first Premier Weekend session is the Senior Premier Weekend. This takes place at Milton Keynes Table Tennis club over the weekend of 9-10 November. Those in the other competitions take place in November, December and February.

Overview of the 2024/25 Competitions

There are 238 teams participating in the five competitions this season. This compares with 227 in 2023/24.

It is particularly good to see the number of teams in the cadet competition increase by four. This after a few years of declining numbers. The number of teams in the Over-60s competition has increased by six. In previous years, an increase in the number of Over-60s teams has resulted in a decrease in the number of veterans teams. But this year the number of veterans teams is unchanged at 72. The number of senior teams has declined by one, whilst the number of junior teams has increased by two.

We welcome our colleagues from Gwent into the County Championships this season. They have entered three teams – one junior and two veterans. They join North Wales who have been playing in the competition for the last two seasons. It is great that players from the Home Nations are competing in the County Championships.

There are over 1500 players registered to play in the County Championships in 2024/25. This underscores the enduring popularity of the five competitions that make up the County Championships.

Fixture Lists

Fixture lists have been created for all Divisions of all competitions in TT Leagues and can be viewed in the Fixtures and Results section of the County Championships website.

In order to view the fixture lists for the competition(s) you are interested in, simply click on “Fixtures and Results” on the main menu of the Home page and then select the competition you are interested in. Then click on the “Fixtures” icon for the relevant Division.

In some Divisions, confirmation of dates and venues are still awaited. In those cases, fixture lists have been generated on the basis that matches will take place on the standard dates allocated for such matches in the Table Tennis England calendar. The fixture lists for these Divisions will be updated once details of the fixture are provided.

Publication of Results of Matches

We aim to process results as quickly as possible within the TT Leagues software. Prompt publication of results is the best way to maintain interest in the County Championships. But it is also enables the results of matches can be included in the ranking run of the month in which they take place. But for matches that take place towards the end of the month, this will always be a challenge.

In addition, if there are queries about player eligibility or ranked order or if there are inconsistencies on the scoresheet we may need to seek clarification from the counties concerned. This may delay the publication of the results and their inclusion in that month’s ranking run.

So team captains should make sure that the scoresheet is filled in correctly. After the match it should be emailed to the relevant Administrator by the Team Secretary or Session Organiser as soon as possible.

Important Clarification of Eligibility Requirements

The core eligibility criteria for representing a county in the County Championships are set out in Reg 11.1 of the County Championships regulations. They are as follows:

• County of birth
• County of residence
• County represented on at least 6 occasions

In exceptional circumstances, a player who lives in an adjoining county may play for a county – but additional criteria apply, which are given in Reg 11.2. In particular, they must not be playing in a local league of their county of residence.

At the 2024 Annual Conference, counties unanimously agreed to amend the regulation relating to “adjoining county” eligibility. In particular, any registration based on “adjoining county” eligibility requires the prior approval of the County Championships Administrator. This is to ensure that eligibility based on “adjoining county” is applied on a level playing field basis across the counties.

If a county is intending to seek register a player based on “adjoining county” eligibility they must now seek the prior approval of the County Championships Administrator. They should explain what are the exceptional circumstances that make it appropriate for a player to represent an adjoining county rather than the one they would otherwise qualify by county of residence.

New Competitions

At the 2024 Annual Conference we also discussed expanding the County Championships to include new competitions, particularly for the younger age-groups. This would be in line with the “Table Tennis United” strategy which encourages the development of competitions for those in the U-11 and U-13 age-range.

In the first instance, the County Championships Committee will consult with counties on their views about introducing these new competitions. And if there is support for such a move what they think appropriate match formats might be. Should it simply follow the format that is currently used for the Cadet and Junior competitions, or should we develop new match formats appropriate to these younger age-groups?

We hope to start the consultation process in the next few weeks with a view to summarising the responses early in the new year.

Acknowledgements and Thanks

Ahead of what will not doubt be a busy but rewarding season I would like to thank all my colleagues on the County Championships Committee for the amazing work they do:

Competition Administrators: Tony Dixon (Lancashire) and Reinhard Lindner (Dorset)

Premier Weekend Organisers: Tony Dias (Middlesex) and Barry Snowden (Yorkshire)

Referee/Deputy Referee: Brian Jackson (Lancashire) and Margot Fraser (Surrey)

I would also like to thank both Mark Pinder and Sophie Storey at Table Tennis England for the enormous amount of work they do behind the scenes that is so critical to the success of the County Championships.

Whether you are an official or a player, I would like to wish you and your county a successful season in the county championships in 2024/25.

Neil Hurford, Chair – County Championships