Out and about
I attended the Youth Sport Trust School Games Organiser (SGO) conference in Bristol which gave an insight into not only School Games but in the challenges of working with schools. School Games organisers are spread throughout he Country, each county has 6 or more organisers who may have other roles. They have a bigger remit than their title implies, promoting sport in schools, as well as running festivals for those who will most benefit.
Table Tennis England are working with the Youth Sport Trust to develop a framework that works for the SGO’s to embed in their programmes. I am aware that some clubs already work with SGO’s locally and I’ll be looking at how to best engage with the SGO’s across the South West and link them to the work of Table Tennis Clubs.
I met with Cara Bache-Jeffreys a Sports Welfare Officer at Active Cornwall. Again these are centrally funded roles and each county has one (WESPORT has 2). The Sports Welfare Officer’s role is to promote safeguarding in sport, with a focus on supporting clubs and coaches to develop best practice. Cara has a budget for training and we are devising a programme which supports clubs, with topics such as use of software such as SPOND, 1st Aid and Mental Health awareness.
At one of the St Austell Table Tennis for Good events I met with Laura Brooks of Sport in Mind to look at the potential for running Table Tennis specific sessions and linking to the club. There are already regular sessions in Penzance and Plymouth using Table Tennis to support men’s mental health.
Craig Mehew of St Austell TTC and I met with Chris Ballett of MENCAP to create a plan for Table Tennis provision for people with a learning disability. The plan builds on the work and learning to date and draws in funding from MENCAP to create a Mega League and upskill and equip support workers. The findings of the project will be published in January.
Building links with partners helps to unlock resources, capacity and opportunity to grow Table Tennis.
Pride of Table Tennis – ‘The South West sweeps the board’
Come on let’s get nominating!
Across the South West there are so many amazing, dedicated coaches, officials, tournament organisers, league administrators, table fixers, cleaners caterers and so the list goes on.
Follow the link for more details of the categories and how you can nominate. Please get in touch if you would like support for a potential nomination.
Cheltenham’s Para Table Tennis programme culminates with a visit to the English Institute of sport
Cheltenham Table Tennis Club has been running Para Table Tennis sessions, with the exciting finale being a visit to the EIS in Sheffield. A fantastic opportunity for players to gain experience at one of the country’s top sports facilities—such an inspiring step forward for those involved.
The First South West U19 Camp is a Success
Big thank you to Nick Davidson and Graham Slack for running the 1st South West Training Camp. It was a great start with a lot to build on.
Exmouth Stroke Survivors – Ping in the Community Case Study
Upcoming Events: What’s Next?
Umpiring Level 1 Course
There is a course being planned in Taunton in the spring. Further details will be available as soon as the dates are confirmed.
Coach Conferences
After consulting many coaches and attending a Gloucestershire Coach meeting, it was clear that informal networking and continuous development are key for everyone involved. With this in mind, we’re working on organizing more Coach Network and training events:
- Gloucestershire will host a training event in the new year
- Cornwall has confirmed their Coach Conference for 10th May
- Yeovil
Further details of the content and how to sign up will be available in the new year. If you have any ideas for content do please get in touch.
Wrapping Up
if there are any topics you’d like to see covered or suggestions for Table Tennis development across the South West, feel free to drop me a message
Amanda Leonard Area Manager – South West