Table Tennis England is to embark on some research with Women in Sport to better understand how table tennis can encourage women to be active through midlife and menopause – and we are looking for people who want to help.

Through surveys and direct contact with our female members and women involved in the sport, we have a clear understanding that, for many people, table tennis looks and feels like a space designed and often dominated by and for men.

That said, we know that women and girls have fantastic experiences in the sport and a lot of clubs, leagues, coaches and volunteers are doing some great work to create inclusive spaces. However we also acknowledge that there are women having particularly challenging experiences in our sport, putting off playing and participating.

Women make up 51% of the population in England (Census data) but only 12% of our members, 17% of coaches and just 3% of club or league chairs are female. Therefore, we will unapologetically focus on increasing women and girls’ involvement in our sport and making table tennis a space where females feel welcomed, valued and visible and have the opportunity to progress.

Our insight shows that women and girls would like to engage more in our sport and, when provided with the right opportunities, they do! So gender parity is not only important for our inclusivity agenda, but for the growth, development and future of our sport too

Continuing research into this areas, Table Tennis England is to embark on some research with Women in Sport to better understand how table tennis can encourage women to be active through midlife and menopause.

Women in Sport has developed substantial understanding of the barriers and enablers to support women and girls to get active, and are committed to enriching our knowledge on how women in midlife and menopause can stay active.

Table Tennis England believes table tennis as a sport can enrich the life of women in midlife and the menopause and want to inspire and showcase the opportunities they have for women in this age bracket. This research aims to provide information to aid Table Tennis England to reach their goal of communicating to women the multitude of benefits participating in the sport can have.

We aim to speak to women who are current members of Table Tennis England, as well as coaches/session leaders (male and female) and women who may be interested in participating in table tennis in the future. Through virtual sessions/webinars we will aim to get an understanding of how table tennis plays a role in the lives of current members in this age bracket as well as any barriers that women may face.

If you feel you can add insight and feedback to the research, we want to hear from you. We’re interested in hearing from existing players and coaches (at any level) keen to help shape to future of table tennis for women and girls.

If interested, please contact [email protected], stating name, age, and where you play table tennis.