Covid-19 has caused a very difficult time for all of us since early last year. As an indoor sport, table tennis activity was not permitted for long periods in Ireland. Permission to return to play recently has been very welcome.
The TTI Board has recently approved a reduction in affiliation costs to assist our members, clubs and volunteers as follows:
– The affiliation year to begin on 1st August each year and run until 31st July in the following year
– Members who paid an affiliation fee between 1st January 2020 and 31st July 2021 are regarded as affiliated until 31st July 2022
– All others begin their affiliation period from 1st August 2021
The TTI office is currently working to update the renewal dates of our members on Go Membership.
Should you have any queries on this matter, please contact our administrator, Joan on [email protected]
Junior Boys prepare for individual events as the team event in Croatia comes to an end.
The Irish Junior Boys team of Dillon Byrne, Owen Cathcart, Tom Colvin and James Skelton finished up in the team event at the European Championships following a final day win and loss in the playoffs.
Despite qualifying to the playoff round to go to the Last 16, where they lost out 0-3 to the hosts Croatia, the Irish team continued to struggle for consistency, letting a number of chances slip away as they went on to lose out 2-3 to Finland, Cathcart earning the wins for the team.
In the teams strongest collective performance, Luxembourg were beaten 3-1, with Cathcart and Skelton combining to deliver the points, however the team dipped a little again against Greece, going down 0-3 despite two 5-setters that should have been put away for a 2-1 lead. Overall the team finished in a creditable 27th place, seven places down on 2019, but with three of the team available for two more Championships, there is much to build on for 2022.
Singles and doubles competitions begin on 21st July.
Ireland top their group in Varazdin, earning a playoff against Croatia to progress to the Last 16.
The 2021 European Youth Championships are taking place in Varazdin, Croatia, from 16 July-1 August, with an Irish team travelling outside the island for the first time in 17 months.
The Ireland Junior Boys Team of Dillon Byrne, Owen Cathcart, Tom Colvin and James Skelton are representing Ireland at the event.
Lithuania were first up on Day 1, and the lack of play and match practice over the last year showed for the Irish team, as they went down 2-3 to an efficient Lithuanian side with some awkward styles. Owen Cathcart took the two rubbers for Ireland, which would prove crucial later on.
The evening match was against Latvia, who had earlier beaten Lithuania 3-1, which meant a win against Latvia would not be enough for Ireland to progress, it would have to be a 3-1 win or better.
A second tough team match in only a few hours could have gone either way, but with Cathcart anchoring the team again with a win in the first rubber, Tom Colvin chipped in with another win, leaving Cathcart to close out the match for a 3-1 victory, Ireland topping the group on countback.
The morning of Day 2 will see Ireland face a tough match against 5th Seed Croatia, with both teams then progressing to the evening matches, the winner entering the Top 16 Knockout, while the loser of the morning match enters playoffs for positions 17-30.
As part of various ‘Return to Play’ initiatives, there will be a TTI Day/Residential Summer Camp taking place in Dublin from 2-6 August, led by the coach and playing team from Dublin TT. This is a great opportunity for junior players to put some extra work into their game and get back ready for the upcoming National Championships and the full resumption of play.
The Summer Camp, taking place in Blackrock College, offers a ‘day’ option, which includes training, coaching and lunch each day, and a ‘residential’ option, which includes the training activity as well as all meals and accommodation, in addition to access to evening activity, a recreation room, or additional evening training.
Coaches and sparring partners at the Camp include qualified coaches, National Champions and Irish Internationals such as Conor Gallagher, Sasha Gillen, Gavin Maguire, Conor Mullally and Joey Nelson.
Cost for the day-training option is 180euro for the Week, while the residential option is 370euro for the week.
There is a special discount of 30euro for the first 20 TTI affiliates/members to book and pay in full for the Camp, which will reduce the cost to 150euro/340euro.
Book in confidence – in the event of any cancellation or disruption caused by COVID, monies will be refunded.
Table Tennis Ireland wishes to advise you that an Umpires and Referees Seminar will be taking place on Monday the 5th July 2021 at 7.30pm via Zoom.
TTI Umpires and Referees Association is hosting this seminar in order to update current match officials, tournament organisers, Provincial Chairs and anyone interested in this area of the sport on a number of matters.
There will also be an opportunity to discuss the recent review and related matters as well as the roles of umpire and referees. Training and development for match officials is one area for discussion. Plans are at an advanced stage in relation to training, but this always depends on enough volunteers stepping forward.
To register for this seminar please email [email protected] by Sunday the 4th of July at 5pm. You will receive the log in details by 1pm Monday the 5th of July.
The Annual General Meeting of the Irish Table Tennis Association CLG took place by Zoom on last Saturday 12th June 2021 at 10.30am. A good attendance of members attended online, in Irish Sport HQ, Dublin and by proxy.
Mr. Joe Hickey, Board Chairman, chaired the meeting and welcomed the other directors, the Management Committee Chair, representatives of the four provinces, officers and members. Apologies were received from Life President, Joe Veselsky, Miss Anna Kelly, Mr. Tony Philips and Mr. Brian Finn.
Before the meeting began the names of 6 members, who had died since the 2020 AGM were read by Director Kenneth Strong as follows: Ian Brown, Adam Buckley, Jim Sheehan, Patsy James, Wesley Pappin and Tommy Rowsome. A minute’s silence was observed in their memory.
The Finance Director, Mrs. Pat Hunter, presented her Finance Director’s Report, Financial Statements & Auditor’s Report for the year ended 31st of December 2020. She advised in her report that administration costs in the sport had decreased due to the lack of table tennis activity. The Association’s Reserves had increased with the additional monies planned for a participation and development programme in schools, clubs and leagues. Mrs. Hunter stated that the Association was well placed financially to grow the sport.
Ms. Jennifer Monaghan, Company Secretary, referred to the increased focus in recent years on governance and compliance in accordance with the Governance Code for Sport. The Association is aiming to be totally compliant before the end of 2021. The adoption of the code is a requirement to receive Sport Ireland funding from 2022 onwards.
The Annual Report of the Board’s activities outlined the success in achieving increased funding from Sport Ireland through Dormant Account Funding (DAF), an Aspire Graduate and the recent re-instatement of Women in Sport funding. The outcome of two further DAF applications is awaited.
Members were also advised that the affiliation year will in future be from 1st August until 31st July of the following year.
Mr. Richard Butler, Chair of the Management Committee, presented an overview of the reports of each of the Managers within the Management Committee. This report covered the areas of Coaching, Communication, Paralympic, Participation and Performance. He also gave a brief update on the possible return of Events in the coming months.
Election of Officers: The following officers were elected or re-elected:
Chairman:
Mr. Joe Hickey
Finance Director:
Mrs. Pat Hunter
Directors:
Mr. Rob Cowan
Mr. Kenneth Strong
Mrs. Ciara Joseph
Company Secretary:
Ms. Jennifer Monaghan
APPOINTMENTS:
President: Mr. Tony Martin re-elected for a further 2- year term.
Vice Presidents: Miss Anna Kelly, Mr. Pat O’Brien, Mr. Tony Phillips MBE, Mr. Ivan Shorten, Mr. Alan Strong MBE, Mr. Thomas Keenan.
Disciplinary Committee: Miss Anna Kelly, Mr. Ken Nixon, Mr. Arnold Morgan & Ms. Louise O’Loughlin
Jury of Appeal: Mr. Keith McGarry, Mr. Chris Cowan & Ms. Triona Leahy
It was reported that further volunteers were needed for the Disciplinary Committee and Jury of Appeal. Members were asked to email the General Manager with their nominations.
NATIONAL AWARDS:
Joe Veselsky Award: This award for 2021 was presented to Mrs. Pat Hunter, a well-known and respected administrator and volunteer at many levels over the past 50 years. Pat is a former Chair of the Association and the current Finance Director. She is also a former Chair of the Ulster Branch and is currently Branch President.
Pat Hunter with her Joe Veselsky Award 2021
The Joe Veselsky award for 2020 was not presented last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was awarded to Mr. Brian Finn, Chair of the Irish Veterans Table Tennis Society and responsible for organising a very successful 6 Nations Veterans Championship in Ireland in 2013. Brian is a qualified umpire and an important volunteer in the sport generally.
No playing awards were made due to no events having taken place during the last season with the exception of the National Championships because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Report on the 2021 ITTA CLG Extraordinary General Meeting (held after the AGM)
An Extraordinary General Meeting took place following the AGM.
Mr. Kenneth Strong occupied the Chair for this meeting.
Ms. Jennifer Monaghan, Company Secretary advised that a review had been undertaken with a view of clarifying any areas of uncertainty in the ITTA CLG Constitution and Regulations. The revised documents, as circulated previously, were adopted unanimously.
As a new initiative this season, Irish Senior Mens Squad Camps will, where space allows, allocate a number of spaces to boys at Mini Cadet, Cadet, or Junior level, who will be invited to attend and take part in the sessions with the Mens Squad.
These places will not be allocated solely on ranking or ability, and and instead may be earned through performances and effort at tournaments, or at regional or national training camps, where the player(s) concerned have shown a positive attitude and good conduct, as well as a high work rate or superlative performance, and are capable of the effort expected in taking part in any National Squad session.
Players will normally be observed by selectors at competitive or training events, but can also be proposed by club coaches for consideration or observation.
Senior Mens NPC Richard Butler commented ‘this is a great way to expose different players, who may not all be used to what is involved, to the work rate and commitment expected at a Senior Mens session, the wildcards will have a chance to learn from, and get some training with, the best male players in Ireland’.
The first wildcards will be selected for the forthcoming Senior Mens Camp in mid June
Following on from the notices issued by the Board on Thursday 20th of May, members are required to register to attend both the AGM and EGM online. Each member wishing to attend must register by emailing their name to [email protected]. The deadline for registration is Friday 11th of June @ 10.30am. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting via Zoom.
Please note the following:
Only paid affiliated members who are registered seven days before the date of the AGM or EGM are entitled to attend
Associate members are not entitled to attend the AGM or EGM
In accordance with the relaxation, by the Government of Ireland, of COVID restrictions, additional clubs and players will, from 7 June 2021, be permitted to return to play in a club/training environment. Clubs/players based in Northern Ireland have already been availing of the relaxation of restrictions in their jurisdiction, while our National Senior Squads have been back in their halls for some weeks.
Sport Ireland has confirmed that individual training can take place and has accepted that a minimum of two people is required for there to be any meaningful participation. With that in mind, Sport Ireland has advised that individual, physically distanced and non-contact activity can take place within a pre-defined area, within a controlled environment and without equipment sharing (e.g. balls and bats). This should be applied in conjunction with the additional protocols laid out in the TTI document.
In alignment with the return to play, and on foot of discussions with Sport Ireland, Version 5 of the TTI ‘Return to Table Tennis – Club/Training Environment’ is now being issued.
There are a number of changes to the Protocols, including;
Revision of ‘requirements for participants’ to include vaccinated and recovered persons;
The spacing distance between tables has increased to 2.5 metres;
The inclusion of the requirement for cleaning and ventilation to be in accordance with the Government of Ireland ‘Work Safely Protocol’.
Clarification that players should not overlap between different groups of individuals using a hall at different times of the day – in practical terms, this means groups of individuals should start at the same time and finish & leave at the same time, rather than some players spending the entire day and/or multiple sessions or training slots in a hall, thereby overlapping with many other individuals. Specifically, players should not be able to book into a hall for a full day or for an extended period across back to back or multiple sessions. The purpose of this requirement is to limit exposure of an entire Club, or large numbers within a Club, due to one or more person(s) overlapping with multiple groups of individuals over a whole day or part of a day.
We would like to remind everyone to be mindful of an overly accelerated return to play, and the risk to injury caused by extended layoff; but otherwise, to relish the opportunity to play again!
Please note that, while there is some general permission to return to play, the restrictions involved may still prevent the return of some clubs/groups/individuals, while individual clubs or facilities may themselves decide to apply additional restrictions or guidelines to who can train and what facilities may be used. Personal circumstances may also dictate what conditions are acceptable to individuals, who should make the decision around returning to play which best suits their own circumstances.
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