Young England and GB squad players have been learning about the importance of nutrition in the latest round of learning in the BetterME initiative.

Online and in-person sessions have been held for the National Training Squad and Futures Squad, plus the GB Start and GB Potential groups.

As ever, their parents have also been involved as the sessions have focused on educating players and their support network on how dietary strategies can enhance sports performance, recovery and health.

The sessions have been led by Evie Collier and Lauren Evans from Table Tennis England, and by Clare Logan from the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS).

They have focused on two broad areas – nutrition to support training and tournament play and anti-doping.

The nutrition workshops discussed topics such as:

• Food groups and dietary requirements in each of them
• How to structure a day’s nutrition during a competition
• Suitable snacks during competition
• How to keep up energy on long training camps
• Appropriate hydration levels

The anti-doping workshop discussed a food-first approach and the risk of taking supplements – covering the principle of strict liability, under which athletes are entirely responsible for everything they put into their bodies. The importance of checking all supplements before taking them was highlighted, while trying to get what is needed from natural ingredients in food.

The workshop also looked at assessing the need for supplements and the risks of taking them (if there are banned substances present) – and the consequences, including sanctions and bans, which can result.

Head of Pathway Development Emma Vickers said: “Nutrition is an incredibly important topic for our players as it is key that they understand how to appropriately fuel and hydrate their bodies as performance-level players.

“We also delivered a series of anti-doping sessions to explore food-first options, something we are duty-bound to deliver, in line with our anti-doping education strategy.”

Nutrition Month is the third themed month of learning in the BetterME initiative launched earlier in the autumn – previous months have focused on the topics of psychology and lifestyle.

December sees the final month of the initial programme, on the topic of physical wellbeing.