The 2010 ITTA Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 12th June 2010 at Sport HQ, Park West, Dublin. Good attendances of 43 members heard reports of the 2009/10 season’s activities and were updated about current initiatives within the Association.
Key Highlights/Initiatives:
Finance: affiliations for 2011 to remain at same level as in 2010; good internal controls introduced in ITTA; draft of a set of controls circulated to Branches for input prior to implementation at Branch level; draft IT Strategy developed
Schools: All Ireland Primary and Secondary Schools Championships held during season. Senior Schools Internationals being hosted in Limerick at end of June; active National Schools Initiative in 15 schools
Sponsorships: Butterfly and Stiga with a number of small event associated sponsorships
Junior Challenger Series: this highly successful series to be extended in incoming season with possibility of a Senior Series being introduced; 10 Junior Challenger events targeted in 2010/11
Umpires: Umpires Association trained 8 new County Umpires from the Irish Wheelchair Association and 2 new National Umpires during the season.
Need for Volunteers: there is a need for additional volunteers in all areas of ITTA activity and offers of assistance welcomed, especially for setting up and taking down of venues before events; appointment of J. Robinson as Anti-Doping Officer
Marketing: increase in media and print coverage during season; increased profile for sport and activity on new website (54,063 visits); sponsorship potential and fundraising maximized during the year; introduction of new features, including YouTube on website; presence of ITTA Marketing Table at tournaments
Women in Sport: active increased programme in place involving 26 projects; new Coordinator appointed – Ms. Rhona Daly from 19 June 2010;
Performance: participation of 2 players in Eurokids 2010 Programme; future participation in FUTURE HOPES Programme; introduction of High Performance Committee to receive and consider nominations for appointment of HP positions, the Selectors and the HP Programme; Irish junior/cadet & senior teams competed in 9 Senior and 9 Junior Cadet events during the season; Irish Senior Men’s Team finished in 64th place out of 109 teams at the World Senior Team Championships in Russia; High Performance Strategy drafted for introduction
DCU Sports Academy: the operation of the Academy reviewed and certain operational changes made
Coach Education: courses at all levels to be organized in September; need for more tutors to be trained
Child Protection: all working with children in the sport must receive Garda clearance in R.O.I. and from Access NI in Ulster
Tommy Caffrey Trophy: this new award of “Player of the Tournament” at the Senior/Under 21/Veterans Interpros was awarded to Ashley Robinson for his performances at the 2010 event
Colum Slevin Award: a new award to be introduced for presentation to the “Player of the Tournament” at the 2011 Junior/Cadet/Under 12 Interpros; criteria to be circulated later in current year
Calendar of Events 2010/11: Version 3 of the ITTA Calendar to issue shortly
Review of Junior & Senior Ranking Schemes: review of both schemes being undertaken and final drafts to be issued to Branches shortly for comment; thank you to those who have inputted to the reviews
Elections:
The following were elected:
v Human Resources Director: Mr.T.Mitchell
v Vice Presidents: Mr. T. Phillips MBE, Mr. T. Martin, Mr. P. O’Brien
v Disciplinary Committee: Mrs.L. Cooke, Dr. W.S. Chan, Messrs. J. Campbell, P. Conneely & C. Higgins
v Jury of Appeal: Miss K. O’Hara, Messrs. N. Hitchcock, P. Talini & J. Wilson
ITTA Awards:
45 nominations were received and the following awards for 2009/10 presented:
v Anna Kelly Female Coach of the Year: LOUISE LONG
v Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year: MARCUS MCDONNELL
v Rhanbuoy Trophy Senior Male Player: PAUL MCCREERY
v Eleanor McKee Trophy Senior Female Player: ASHLEY GIVAN
v Billy Marshall Junior Award: PAUL MCCREERY
v Press Officer of the Year: NORMAN MCBRIDE
v Stiga Volunteer of the Year: JIMMY HAYES
v Joe Veselsky Merit Award: VIVIENNE BARRY
Further information is available from ITTA Secretary, Ken Strong at [email protected] or by telephoning 0044 28 8224 3121.
Kenneth Strong
Director & Secretary
Irish Table Tennis Association Ltd