This month, it gives me great pleasure to share some exciting news.
Table Tennis England is thrilled to announce that we have been successful in our application to the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) Internship Programme. This opportunity allows us to welcome two new interns into our team—young Londoners from diverse educational and employment backgrounds, who bring fresh energy, perspectives, and passion to our sport.
We welcomed Hyacinth and Alfie to the team on April 1st and they will be given valuable hands-on experience in the world of sports development and the inner workings of a National Governing Body, but also offers a platform to contribute their voice to shaping the future of our sport. Some of their work will link into the Jack Petchey Table Tennis Programme, WTT events and legacy projects, Pride of Table Tennis
Through our partnership with the GLA VRU, we’re taking active steps to ensure that young people—particularly those from communities and identities that have traditionally been underrepresented in sport—have access to meaningful career opportunities.
I am genuinely excited to see how they will grow over the coming months and the contributions they’ll make as part of our team. Their presence strengthens our belief that the future of table tennis lies in opening more doors and creating more pathways for young people, especially those whose journeys may have looked different from the norm.
Please join me in giving a warm welcome to Hyacinth and Alfie —watch this space as we’ll be sharing more about them, their work, learnings, and the impact of this fantastic initiative in the weeks to come.
To learn more about the Violence Reduction Unit programme, click here.