Colebridge Table Tennis Club organised a girls-only training session on Thursday February 15 in Stratford upon Avon. The session was subsidised by the Inclusive Communities Fund, which was Legacy Funding from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

The session, which took place at Meon Vale Leisure Centre, attracted 28 girls aged between eight and 18 years from across the county of Warwickshire, as well as girls from surrounding areas within the West.

The session was led by Kate Hughes from Colebridge Table Tennis Club in Shirley, Solihull, but supported by eight other coaches, including a total of four female coaches.

The training enabled players to come together from multiple clubs across the area, raising the profile of girls’ table tennis.

The structure of the session enabled the girls to consolidate their basic strokes, as well as use these in regular and irregular exercises. They progressed to focusing upon service and receive, leading to matchplay focusing on doubles.

Every girl got the opportunity to do multiball with one of the coaches, focusing on an individual target for themselves.

Kate said: “I was overwhelmed with the interest from girls to attend this training session. Having so many girls come together was fantastic, and seeing them work hard with each other was very rewarding.

“I would like to say a big thank you to all the coaches who assisted with this session, as well as those who brought the girls along. Finally, a big thank you to the Inclusive Communities Fund for their financial support. I am looking forward to organising the next one in the summer.”