Table Tennis England and Sheffield Hallam University have signed a partnership agreement which will see athletes at the Elite Training Centre receive world-class sports science support.

The agreement includes strength and conditioning support for athletes at all stages of the performance pathway, research and development support in areas such as injury prevention, and student placements and opportunities.

The partnership follows the performance pathway’s return to Sheffield earlier this year and is a continuation of a partnership which begun more than 10 years ago when the sport was previously based at the English Institute of Sport (EIS).

The goal of the partnership is to lift British table tennis to new levels through world-class scientific approaches, supporting the elite and talented athlete programmes with the additional intention to inspire the next generation in regional academies.

Dave Hembrough, a senior research fellow with the Sheffield Hallam’s School of Sport and Physical Activity, is leading the new partnership having previously supported Table Tennis England, including helping the England team to achieve five medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He said: “This is a great rekindling of a successful relationship between the university and Table Tennis England that will lift performance levels to new heights, support the sport to develop their performance standards and capabilities and provide opportunities for students studying at Sheffield Hallam.”

Gavin Evans, Table Tennis England Head of Performance Development, himself worked with Hembrough in Sheffield when he was competing at the top of the world Junior game.

He said: “This is a really exciting partnership which is ultimately supporting our system to become world class.

“It was only in April of this year that we moved into our Elite Training Centre back in the EIS in Sheffield and we needed to get some really world-class support services. Dave did an amazing job 10 or 12 years ago when we were previously based in Sheffield, and we’ve reignited that relationship.

“The main thing for me is how do we get our athletes fitter, faster, stronger? What we’re doing together will be based around strength, speed and power, as well as endurance and injury prevention – everything that’s needed in world-class table tennis.”

The programme of work starts immediately and Hembrough led an introductory session with younger members of the performance pathway earlier this week.

Staff and students from the university are already building positive relationships with the players, understanding and profiling the sport’s physical characteristics and working towards helping the best table tennis players in the country to perform and improve.

Tim Vernon, Head of Sport and Human Performance at Sheffield Hallam, added: “It’s great to be welcoming Table Tennis England back to Sheffield and to be working with them again to help their athletes achieve sporting success.

“We’re looking forward to the opportunities this partnership will provide to our students and to developing impactful research outputs that evidence the characteristics of the sport and how to create world class table tennis athletes.”

Look out for video content about this on our YouTube channel in the coming weeks.