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New
Zealand Hosts World Event  TTNZ
Board member John Stapleton was the key figure behind New Zealand’s
successful bid for this country’s first ever World event. The World Junior
Championships were introduced in 2003, with a series of six World Junior Circuit
qualifying tournaments leading up to the main championships. Each circuit tournament was
open to under 18 players throughout the world. The NZ event, hosted by Table Tennis
Wellington, was preceded by an international training camp and coaches course and
overlapped with the New Zealand Open Championships in which the top world juniors
participated. Chinese players dominated the Circuit tournament, with players from Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan and India also highly competitive. 23 New Zealanders and players from Australia, Fiji and New Caledonia also took part.  While
the management of the event was under the ultimate control of ITTF and Oceania officials,
the hands-on work was the responsibility of a large team of local volunteers led by
organising committee chairman Paul Escott. All umpires were New
Zealanders. The organisers received a letter of congratulations from ITTF President, Adam
Sharara.
Teams events are separated from individual events at the World
Championships. SPARC Classifies All Sports Sparc has classified all sports into categories: performance and developmental. Table
Tennis is placed in the latter category, reducing opportunities for special privilege
“carding” of athletes. Former Champion, Coach and Chairman Dies
He served New Zealand table tennis as a player at the World Championships (1950) and as NZTTA Chairman (1965-1970). He also directed National Junior coaching schools and managed New Zealand teams at overseas events. He was appointed to multiple NZTTA subcommittees, including Convenor of the Selection Committee, and served a term as New Zealand President. New Zealand Competes at Inaugural World Junior Championships
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New Zealander Manages Wheelchair Umpires Averil Roberts was appointed Table Tennis Umpires Manager for the World Wheelchair Games in Christchurch (October/November). 800 competitors from 30 countries competed in a multitude of sports. Annual Meetings Location Australian Youth Olympic Festival A NZ junior team participated in the Table Tennis section of the Australia Youth
Olympic Festival (Sydney, 8-11 January), along with teams from China, Hong Kong, Singapore
and Australia. Aaron Li Denied Record New Zealander Aaron Li was denied a record-breaking seventh consecutive Men’s Singles title at the NZ Championships by Kim Bol Chul of Korea, raising the issue of whether the NZ Championships should be open to overseas competitors. Elite Coaching Course A Level Two Coaching Course was held in Wellington on 19-21 September. Staff Changes at National Office Kevin Thomas resigned from the Administration Officer’s position on 8 August due to illness (which sadly turned out to be terminal). Averil Roberts replaced him. Sabine Westenra was appointed Assistant Administration Officer. Blue Badge Won
International Umpire Averil Roberts earned a “Blue Badge”, qualifying her to umpire medal matches at Olympic Games and World Championships. Thus she was specifically requested to officate at the World Championships this year.
Helen Codlin Wins Scholarship A Prime Minister’s Scholarship of $10,000 was awarded to Helen Codlin enabling her to:
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| 2003 | page updated: 03/09/13 |
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John Stewart passed away on 15 August.