North East Women and Girls 1* Competitions
Preparations are well underway for the Durham Women and Girls 1* Competition that is being organised by Clare Flynn (Fellow LOG member) and myself. Both Clare and I understand the importance of providing a competition on the doorstep for women and girls in the North East. It was equally important to us to reduce travel time and the expenses for women and girls to have a great entry level competitive experience.
We also hope this will be a catalyst for women and girls to enter more events and give them the confidence to play elsewhere in the future. Our primary focus is to provide a competition designed and delivered by women to benefit the women in the surrounding area. With the potential for similar future events, we would welcome any feedback from those who take part, as well as those who choose not to attend – it is paramount to us that we understand how best we can help to make table tennis more accessible in the North East.
There is also a Women and Girls 1* being held at The English Institute of Sport on the 6th April, you can enter HERE.
Interested in providing new opportunities for women and girls? Send me an email – [email protected]
In addition to the women and girls 1*, there are also a few mixed gender competitions coming up in the next couple of months:
I had a chat with Graeme Barella, the North East Area Chair, who has been running the NETT 1* Series. I asked what his top tips and key learning points were for anyone who wanted to run their own 1* competitions:
- The demand is huge. Graeme has had to turn a lot of people away from every competition.
- Its vital for kids to be getting this type of competitive exposure. It’s a different type of pressure and atmosphere from the local league.
- It’s easy to run – especially when you have delivered your first competition and got the admin processes sorted.
- There is the opportunity to make some money which can be used to support your club.
Inspire Inclusion
International Women’s Day is on Friday 8th March 2024 with the theme #inspireinclusion. We will be hosting an event in Manchester which will include a fun activation session and playing Table Tennis, at the first ever Ping Hub based at the Great Northern Warehouse. We will then move to the library for lunch and an opportunity to network with the rest of the group. Finally, we will hold a roundtable session where we will be asking for feedback to help us better understand W&G experiences in the sport. We would love for you to be part of it!
If you would like more information about this then please send me an email ([email protected]). If you are celebrating IWD at your club, please let me know, I would love to share how you are celebrating women in our sport.
Course interest
Finally, in the near future I am looking to organise a Level 1 and Level 2 coaching course in the North East. Before organising these, I would like those interested to register their interest as soon as possible please.
To register your interest for a Level 1 or Level 2 coaching course, click HERE
