As the summer unfolds, it’s a moment to reflect on what’s been an exciting and inspiring few weeks for English table tennis – across our domestic scene, our international ambitions, and the growth of our community. 

Young Leopards Roar on the European Stage 

We’re incredibly proud of the young athletes who continue to shine on the international stage. Well done to all the young players who represented England at the European Youth Championships. There were some fantastic performances across the board, including the Junior Boys securing promotion to the top tier of competition – a proud moment for everyone involved. Team England secured 4 last 8 finishes with several other last 16 finishes across the 10 days. Our next step is learning how to convert the medal matches into medals! 

Huge congratulations to our GB pathway rising star, Anna Hursey of Wales, who added another international gold, in the Under-19 Girls’ Singles, to her impressive recent record. 

We were thrilled to see Sienna Jetha and Abraham Sellado both earn Team GB call-ups for the European Youth Olympic Festival. 

Congratulations to Amber Lemmon, Assil Sarri, Dimitar Dimitrov and Sinan Surensoy, who have been selected to represent England at the European Under-13 Championships in Sweden this September – a fantastic milestone for our future stars.  

Road to London 2026 Gains Momentum 

Preparations for the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2026 continue at pace. The first teams have now qualified for London 2026 – the beginning of a journey that will bring the world’s best to England from 28 April – 1 May for the Group Stages at the iconic Copper Box Arena in the Olympic Park, and the main draw at prestigious OVO Arena Wembley from 2-10 May.

Make sure you save the dates in advance of tickets going on sale. You can follow the Road to the Worlds series on our YouTube channel, including features with the event director and England legends such as Ann Jones. 

Priority access to the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships 

With the countdown to the WTT Star Contender London and the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals 2026 well under way, Table Tennis England members will receive priority access to tickets to both events. These events provide an incredible opportunity to witness the world’s top athletes and teams compete on English soil. Becoming a member not only supports the sport – it guarantees your chance to be there to enjoy the action. Click here to register for ticket updates.

ITTF Hopes Week 

We were also delighted to welcome ITTF delegates to Sheffield for a site visit ahead of World Hopes Week & Challenge, further strengthening our role as a hub for global table tennis. We look forward to welcoming the best U12 players in the world to Sheffield  

New Season, New Momentum, New Members 

We’ve now launched online membership renewals for the 2025/26 season, early uptake has been very positive and we’re encouraging all members to take a look at the updated benefits and pricing. As above, being a TTE member this season provides priority access to Worlds and Star Contender tickets, so ensure you join in plenty of time for the ticket release.

As always, our thanks go to the clubs, leagues and volunteers who continue to be the backbone of our community – and we hope this year’s membership offering provides even more value and support to those delivering the sport. We particularly look forward to welcoming everyone to the Star Contender and World Championships. 

Partnerships 

One of the central aims of our Table Tennis United strategy is to get more young people into our sport. I’m therefore very pleased that we’ve confirmed two partnerships in recent weeks which will help us to do just that.  

We’ve teamed up with Sported for a partnership which will enable PremierClubs to access Sported’s regional team, gaining access to expert knowledge, funding and income-generation opportunities and to programmes which reach out to young people, breaking down barriers to participation and helping the sport become more inclusive. In addition, Table Tennis England’s Area Managers will work with the Sported network who want to grow table tennis in their communities, upskilling them and bringing them into the table tennis family. 

We have also agreed a new partnership with GOALS, one of the UK’s largest operators of dedicated, small-sided football, with 43 sites across the UK to deliver the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) funded holiday activity programme. GOALS will introduce table tennis to more than 1,000 children and young people across England this summer 

Governance

AGM and Annual Report  

It was good to see over 60 members join us on-line for the AGM. We also published our Annual Report for 2024/25, summarising the progress we’ve made over the past year, against our strategy Table Tennis United, challenges we’ve faced, and our vision moving forward.  

Regulations Update 

We continue to review and update our Regulations, policies, and procedures in consultation with relevant committees and stakeholders to ensure they remain current and effective for our membership. 

Amongst the ongoing work, in readiness for the start of 2025-26 membership year, all Competition-related Regulations have been updated 

Safeguarding  

There has been one new case reported which is being dealt with alongside the statutory agencies and the appeal hearing for another case that went before the Safeguarding Disciplinary panel earlier this year has been dismissed. The team have worked with two other clubs to help them manage low level cases within the clubs. 

The annual CPSU review has taken place and TTE has met the required standards for safeguarding for another year and will be prioritising a couple of areas to refresh and update. 

The latest Welfare Officer webinar was held at the end of June and again well attended with lots of questions and advice given along with the sharing of good practice with the clubs present.   

With the new season approaching the team will be delivering more training sessions for coaches and also running sessions for young people and their parents involved within the performance programme.    

People 

Table Tennis England has had a busy few months in recruitment, and we are proud to have appointed various positions across the organisation both internally as well as welcoming seven new people since March.

In April the Development Team took on two interns and Operations expanded their team to include a Governance Manager. The Performance team has seen exciting growth, with new roles appointed internally in Learning & Development and Operations, as well as taking on an additional two team members in Coaching (National Pathway) and Coach Development.

We have also seen a revamp to the Engagement team, with an appointment internally for the Director of Engagement, a new position of Marketing & Campaigns Manager and the development of a role internally to Digital Engagement Executive. The Finance & IT team will also shortly appoint a new Finance Administrator. 

New Appointments as of April 2025 

• Charlotte Carey – National Pathway Coach 
• Steve Brunskill – Coach Developer 
• Hyacinth Farid-Heslop – Intern (Table Tennis Development Team) 
• Alfie Baker- Intern (Table Tennis Development Team) 
• Fiona Ochai-Wery – Governance Manager 

New roles for existing employees 

• Evie Collier – Learning & Development Manager 
• Jack Ramful – Director of Engagement 
• Connor Whitehead – Digital Engagement Executive (1 Aug) 
• Emma Young – Operations Coordinator (11 Aug) 

Coming soon

• Marketing & Campaigns Manager 
• Finance Administrator 
• Director of Table Tennis Development 

Transgender Policy 

We would like to thank everyone who took part in our Transgender Policy Survey, we have now received more than 2,000 responses, including expressions of interest in the next phase of consultation where we will work to gather additional feedback and recommendations from stakeholders and relevant organisations via one-to-one interviews.

We are confident the next phase of consultation will enable us to further understand potential implications of the policy on transgender and non-binary people in table tennis and ensure diverse perspectives are heard and reflected. Our aim is to create a policy that is informed, respectful, and equitable. If you have any questions or feedback relating to our Transgender Policy and consultation phase, please contact [email protected]. 

Culture, Values & Behaviours 

The Culture & Values Working Group formed at the all-staff day has now met, and smaller sub-groups formed. The smaller groups have been assigned a set of values developed by all staff and Board at our initial meeting in June and will now work on further developing the value, our behaviours and how we can refine them to TTE and our sport. The working group will reconvene in September with the aim of bringing all staff back together to discuss before the end of the year. 

Finally, I’d like to extend my congratulations to the two new Honorary Life Members, Susie Venner and Tom Purcell, recognised at this year’s Annual General Meeting, as well as all those acknowledged in our annual Honours list. Their contributions to the game have been extraordinary, and we are grateful for the impact they’ve had in making table tennis a better and more welcoming sport. 

As always, a huge thank you for your continued support of Table Tennis England. I continue to get out and about meeting members, clubs and volunteers. I was especially pleased to join everyone for the Yorkshire County Awards night, paid a visit to Halifax TTC, Leamington League AGM/Awards night, spent an enjoyable afternoon with the team at Draycott TTC, and got on the table with Colin Wilson and the players at Smash Kettering. Thank you all for welcoming me.  

Whether you’re a player, coach, volunteer, official, parent, or fan – your support and dedication makes a real difference, and changes the lives of so many through our wonderful sport of table tennis.  

Best wishes
Sally Lockyer
Table Tennis England CEO