From helping clubs and building links with partners to training officials and creating initiatives to get more people playing, the work of our Table Tennis Development department is both essential and wide-ranging.

We talked to Director of Table Tennis Development Chris Brown about this work, which is a key part of our responsibility as National Governing Body to administer and develop the sport, and which is partly funded via membership fees.

In our last membership survey, our members asked us to say more about the work we do across the sport. Check out the videos below as Chris talks about what we do in the development space.

We will be releasing more videos soon about some of our other responsibilities, including governance, performance and engagement. You can also read more about what we do in our Annual Report.

Clubs

The Associate Club scheme ensures really high levels of safeguarding and governance, and our Premier Club programme includes development opportunities for clubs to improve the coaching they offer, the competitions they offer and also the general wider programme for that club.

Clubs that join our network access expert support, robust insurance, and powerful tools designed to help them thrive. Affiliating with Table Tennis England gives you:

• Peace of mind: £10 million public liability insurance
• Greater visibility: Entry in the TT Clubs directory, helping players discover them easily
• Powerful management tools: From online booking systems to session planning and member communications
• Essential resources: Access to templates, guides, workshops and exclusive discounts
• Direct support: Premier Clubs enjoy priority assistance from Area Managers; newsletters help keep all clubs informed

Programmes

Programmes like the TT Kidz programme and Jack Petchey allow us to take table tennis out to more young people, and our competition pathway allows us to bring junior players through a schools programme into our regulated Table Tennis England competitions.

Through Ping Hubs, Ping for Health and our Ping in the Community programme, we take table tables to community spaces and everyday places that allow people to play in a free, accessible and friendly environment.

Find our ping pong tables in unexpected places on the streets of towns and cities all over England; anyone can play and it’s absolutely FREE! We also fill empty retail space to create pop-up Ping Pong Parlours, and support community groups with our Ping in the Community packages.

Our partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation is now in its 16th year – we’ve recently launched our 2026/27 season programme, including the Table Donation Scheme for schools and youth clubs in London and Essex.

Coming soon: Keep an eye out for our TT Kidz relaunch!

Workforce

Through our newly launched Technical Officials Academy, we aim to drive up the number, quality and diversity of umpires, referees and officials. We also aim to support and recognise our volunteers through our Pride of Table Tennis Awards.

We recently launched our Technical Officials Academy, designed to help develop and guide officials throughout their journey. Seven regional Technical Officials Academies across England will help lead newly qualified officials from qualification to officiating at events.

The Cloudathlete Pride of Table Tennis Awards celebrate and honour the immense contribution volunteers make to our sport by recognising and rewarding their efforts each year, with categories from clubs and leagues to coaching and schools and more – including the ‘blue riband’ Volunteer of the Year.

Partners

Our role is to work with a range of national and local partners who can help us deliver our table tennis programmes and get our sport out to more people.  

We work with a huge range of organisations, from Sport England to local authorities, housing associations and charities, all of which can help us take table tennis out to places in their local communities.

One of our key recent partnerships is with Parkinson’s UK and Parkinson’s England Table Tennis (PETT).

PETT is a brand new organisation which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of table tennis for people living with Parkinson’s. The organisation provides information about where to play, shares good practice both with people who want to set up new groups, and with mainstream table tennis clubs who are trying to become more inclusive and Parkinson’s-friendly.

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Your chance to win

Are you a Table Tennis England member? Do you know people who aren’t? You could be in with a chance of winning a Butterfly table with a bespoke London 2026-inspired design by referring them to membership.

Each successful referral gains you an entry into the prize draw, with each person you refer needing to enter your TTID when they sign up.

Ts&Cs apply, find out more by clicking below.