Local league and tournament formats, foul serving, rankings and more were among the subjects of discussion at our latest Question Time online event.

A number of members joined Table Tennis England Chief Executive Sally Lockyer, Director Jos Kelly and members of the Senior Leadership Team on the Zoom call.

Questions were asked, and answers given live, and replies were also read out to questions received in advance of the meeting.

Once such question came from a player who was finding it increasingly difficult to play league matches due to late finishes, and also concerned at the number of weekend tournament opportunities for Seniors.

Andrew Wilesmith, Head of Table Tennis Development, replied that this is a common subject raised by players around the country and that our Area Managers have been working with leagues to offer more flexible format options. As to the number of Senior Tournaments, there have been more than 40 1* and 35 2* competitions in this financial year. We recognise that there are geographical variances and the Area Managers have been working to support and upskill local clubs and individuals to deliver competitions. We are also training more Tournament Organisers and Umpires (more than 100 this season) and have undertaken a review of regulations. All this is intended to make it easier and more sustainable for local organisations to deliver events.

Responding to a further question specifically raising concerns about local and zonal competitions in the north west, Andy added that we are working with clubs, leagues and counties to address this, as well as training more umpires and TOs, as above. This will remain a key focus for 2025/26.

Another player asked about the stopping of Grand Prix competitions and progress on Senior 4* competitions intended to operate in that space.

Andrew replied that demand at Grands Prix varied widely and that they operated at a net loss to Table Tennis England, with none breaking even in 2023/24. Junior 4* events are very popular and delivered to a high standard by highly experienced local organisations, mainly clubs. As announced in the Competition Review, the model for Senior 4* events is designed to be the same – along with more ranking points being available than was the case at Grands Prix. Two Senior 4* events are in the calendar for later this season and we have more planned for the 2025/26 season. We are supporting these events with a financial backstop and are making regulation changes to make it easier and more cost-effective for clubs to deliver these.

A submitted question referred to foul serving across all levels of the sport and what action is planned to eradicate this.

Head of Performance Development Gavin Evans said this is a whole-sport issue felt around the world and that there are three areas which he believes will help – supporting and developing umpires to spot and have more conviction in their decisions; coach development to support best practice when developing players at club level; and working with the ITTF to enable easier understanding of the rule to enable more objective decision-making. Andy added that this issue is being addressed in ongoing umpire and coach training courses in this country and that we have worked with leagues which have raised concerns to host umpiring courses. There was a suggestion to make it compulsory for all teams to provide a non-playing umpire for fixtures.

Another question concerned the possibility of a fully electronic, real-time rankings system updated at events. Head of Engagement, Keely Armitt, said that we are developing the technology to enable this as part of our Digital Transformation work, with implementation as part of a change-management process over a number of years. We recognise the importance to our members of this area, but it is complex and takes time to develop and test.

A discussion followed about different ranking systems and funding the Digital Transformation. Sally said bringing in more partners and investment, and spending efficiently, is clearly important.

Sally was asked to reflect on her first 100 days in post and replied that it had been a steep learning curve to understand the nuances of the sport. She has enjoyed visiting tournaments and clubs and that people have been very generous with their time and candid in their opinions and it is now about listening and working with partners and stakeholders to move the sport forwards.