Table Tennis England Director Sally Hughes hopes her appointment to a key European committee on gender equality will pay dividends in this country and help get more women and girls playing the sport.

Sally was appointed to the European Table Tennis Union’s (ETTU) newly extended Gender Equality Committee, initially for a year, after Table Tennis England supported her application.

She is well qualified to join the 14-strong committee, which includes members from all over the continent, having played a key role in developing the women and girls’ competition landscape domestically.

Sally (pictured above) said: “Being appointed to join the Gender Equality Committee is a real honour and I’d like to Thank Table Tennis England for supporting me in this nomination. 

“Having been elected to join the Board of Directors back in June by our membership, I’m keen to continue my work to build and develop opportunities for women and girls to enjoy our sport up and down the country.

“It has been two years and we have seen over 80 names added to the ranking list as local players try their hand at competition. Sussex, Chelmsford, St Neots, Cippenham and Nottingham TTCs have all played a fantastic part in the programme and I can’t wait to see more clubs around the country join that list. 

“By listening to the players, I’ve been able to offer tailored events and now training events that are specifically designed for what they are looking for. 

“Now I’m looking to learn from our friends in Europe how they make table tennis accessible and inclusive for all genders. Europe is a table tennis powerhouse and their club structures are quite different to ours in the UK and I look forward to learning about how this impacts acquisition and retention of players. 

“I’ve learned a lot from my own experience as a player, volunteer and ambassador for gender equality and look forward to sharing this knowledge with the committee and ultimately driving engagement in table tennis.”