The ITTA is entering into Season 12/13 with lots to be optimistic about as the organisation celebrates its 75th Anniversary. In this update, the Association looks forward to some exciting events ahead and back over some important events that took place during the Summer break:
ITTA AGM
The 2012 ITTA Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 9th June 2012 at Sport HQ, Dublin. The good attendances of some 30 members heard reports of the 2011/12 season’s activities and were updated about current initiatives within the Association.
The performance of the Irish Women’s Team in winning Gold Medals at the 6 Nations Senior Championships was highlighted as were the Irish Primary Schools teams in winning Golds in the team events at the 6 Nations Primary Schools Championships.
The meeting sent its best wishes for a speedy recovery to long-time member Mrs Kitty Thackaberry who is recovering at home and making good progress following a recent illness.
Particular thanks were expressed tothe Irish Sports Council for their continuing support of the ITTA across all of our Programmes.
The following Directors were elected:
Chair: Mrs Pat Hunter – It was noted that Mrs.Hunter was the first female Chair of the ITTA Board.
Finance Director: No nominations and left to incoming Board to appoint.
High Performance Director: No nominations, left to incoming Board to appoint.
Mr. Richard Butler has since taken up the position of Acting High Performance Manager.
Coaching Director: Mr Arthur Brett
Marketing Director: Mr Jamie McConkey
Human Resources Director: No nominations and left to incoming Board to appoint.
ITTA Website
The ITTA website has undergone some changes over the course of the Summer, including significantly improved social media integration and some changes to the design of provincial pages – check out www.ttulster.co.uk. We continue to work on the site with some other changes coming on stream to the multimedia section of the site over the next month. The site had 70,000 visits over the past 12 months and continues to be a key communication tool of the Association
ITTA Senior Ranking Scheme 2012/3
Following an online survey and comments received during last season, the Senior Ranking Scheme has been revised and is now published.
ITTA Junior Ranking System 2012/3
The Junior System has also been reviewed and following one amendment has recently been published.
ITTA Calendar
ITTA Calendar for 2012/13 has been published at http://www.irishtabletennis.com/itta/events/calendar with a continued focus on providing increased participation opportunities. The Calendar will be updated further in September when the Association announces full details of the Junior Challenger Series and its pilot Senior Challenger Series event which is aimed at social players over the age of 18.
ITTA Awards:
The ITTA Awards for 2011/12 were presented by the ITTA President, Mr. J. Hickey as follows:
● Rhanbuoy Trophy for Senior Male Player: Paul McCreery
● McKee Trophy for Senior Female Player of the Year: Amanda Mogey
● Billy Marshall Junior Award: Edel O’Reilly
● Ken Strong Male Coach of the Year: Richard Butler
● Press Officer of the Year: Jamie McConkey
● Stiga Volunteer of the Year: Arnold Morgan
● Joe Veselsky Merit Award: Liam O’Ceallaigh
Season 12/13
We are eagerly anticipating the season ahead, with the Senior Classification just completed and the Junior Classification about to take place. The Association is delighted to be hosting the Primary Schools International as reigning champions in both the Boys and Girls Team events as well as in the Girls Individual event – this event takes place in Dublin in April 2013. Already Irish players have been on the mark in international events, with Paul McCreery claiming a sensational victory in both the Open and Under 21 Men’s Singles events at the Tees Sport Liverpool Grand Prix and Ashley Givan finishing Runner-up in the Women’s Singles at the same tournament.
75th Anniversary
The Association will shortly be announcing a special evening occasion on Saturday 3rd November 2012 to celebrate its 75th Anniversary. This promises to be an event not to be missed by the Irish table tennis fraternity.
Children’s Issues:
The ITTA Children’s Officer is seeking to ensure that all club Children’s Officers are Garda and PSNI cleared for working with children as well as having undertaken appropriate courses in dealing with children. Information is awaited from the Branches on the names of their clubs and officers. All coaches working within the ITTA coaching scheme have been cleared.
Umpires & Referees Association:
At the U & R Association’s AGM, Mrs Vivienne Barry was appointed Chairman and Mr Ian Erskine as Secretary. The Association plans to host a Tournament Referees’ and Organisers’ Course in Sports HQ., Dublin on 10/11 November 2012. Retraining and upskilling of umpires is also being pursued. Tony Martin and Tony Phillips have been appointed as Irish National Referees in recognition of their long experience and expertise in running tournaments. It is proposed to amalagamate the U & R Associaiation’s website with the ITTA website.
Veterans Society:
Brian Finn, as Chairman, and Kariem Sabir, as Treasurer, will again lead the Veterans Society during the season. Currently the Irish Veterans teams are looking forward to the 6 Nations Veterans Championships in Wales in September and hope to repeat their successes they recorded in the 2011 Championships. The 6 Nations Championships will be staged in Ireland in 2014.
Events Committee:
Our Events Committee, led by Con O’Ceadaigh and Tony Martin, has organised and managed 7 ranking tournaments during last season. The Committee has emphasised the need for additional personnel to run the top table at ranking events.
Schools Events:
A Committee, chaired by Mr Tony Phillips, and consisting of representatives of all Branches has reviewed the current system of organising schools event. A report has been prepared with recommendations for the future and is currently being considered by the ITTA Board and others.
Para Table Tennis: Transfer of Governance:
The International Paralympic Committee has recently transferred its governance responsibility to the International Table Tennis Federation. The ITTA has been in discussion with the Irish Wheelchair Association and others as to the way forward in Ireland.
ITTA Board September 2012