East Area

Chris Cockburn, East Area Manager

Welcome to the East Area

In May 2026 I took on the role of Area Manager (East) for Table Tennis England having previously been the Development Team Support Officer since December 2023.

I have been involved in table tennis since 2007, when I joined Wensum Table Tennis Club in Norwich at the age of 11, and remain based at this club today. I represented Wensum competitively through the age groups playing what was previously National Cadet League and National Junior League and then onto Junior British League and Senior British League. I am still competing for the club in the SBL and for Norfolk in the County Championships.

I have also been actively involved in volunteering within the sport. At the age of 17, I joined the Norwich Table Tennis League Committee and have since taken on a number of administrative roles. I currently serve as Secretary for the Norwich Table Tennis League, Norfolk County Table Tennis Association, Wensum Table Tennis Club, and the English League Cup Competitions. I am also a qualified Level 2 Coach and have delivered coaching sessions in local clubs and schools. In addition, I am a qualified Level 2 Tournament Organiser and Level 1 Umpire, having organised and supported numerous local competitions and events.

Within my previous role, I have also supported the Table Tennis England national programmes within the Development team, with a particular focus on Ping in the Community, Schools and Jack Petchey competitions. A key part of the Area Manager role is to understand the landscape of clubs, leagues and counties in the East area and having been involved in table tennis as a player, coach, volunteer, organiser and administrator, I hope my own experiences will enable me to have a positive impact. Whether that involves increasing participation, growing membership, recruiting and retaining volunteers, accessing funding opportunities, developing coaches, or creating new opportunities for people to get involved in the sport.

The East covers Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Hertfordshire and Nottinghamshire..
This includes the cities and towns of: Chelmsford, Colchester, Luton, Leicester, Bedford, Watford, Ipswich, Norwich, Nottingham and Northampton.

Local Organising Groups (LOGs) are formed of volunteers from the table tennis community and external partners and organisations who work with us to bring table tennis alive locally. They are there to provide support and guidance to the Area Manager and take an action-led approach to helping deliver the Local Delivery Plan. Click here for more information on Local Organising Groups.

The members of the East Local Organising Group are:

Name Club/Organisation Role on LOG
Chris Turner Nottingham TTC Chair
Sandra Deaton Former Chair, Table Tennis England Vice Chair
Jordan Tweed Chair, Loughborough TTL TBC
Liam Squirrell Head Coach, Matchpoint TTC Competitions
David Maddison Education Consultancy Schools Lead

Community Table Tennis Partnerships (CTTPs) are local geographic areas based around a town, city or small cluster of towns where the data and insight from across the sport and using demographic data and local partner knowledge tells us there are opportunities to develop the sport in those areas. These will then receive dedicated, focussed support from the Area Manager and Area Chair and the Local Organising Group and will work closely with local partners to establish, develop and sustain activity that achieves the priorities and goals laid out in Table Tennis United. Counties, clubs, leagues and other table tennis activity that exists in that CTTP space will be engaged to support the work that happens.

CTTPs will continue to evolve with the goal that activity set up is sustained by local clubs, leagues and organisations. This enables more CTTPs to be established across different parts of the Area Network that demonstrates potential impact can be made through the data, insight and information from the sport, societal data and local partners. CTTP work will make up a large proportion of the activity within Local Delivery Plans.

The following are the Community Table Tennis Partnerships for the East:

  • Norwich
  • Two more areas to be confirmed*


Latest news from the East
Counties and Leagues

Clacton & Dist: Derek defies the years

It was the first week in the new table tennis season of the Clacton League, sponsored this year by the Chigwell Window Centre PLC, and Derek Willis continued to defy the years, producing an unbeaten performance in Division One for Walton A in their win over Brotherhood G.

October 5, 2026 | Paul Stimpson
Counties and Leagues

Braintree League: Rayne slip up in first match

Rayne A’s tilt at this season’s Braintree Table Tennis League title didn’t quite get off to the start that was expected.

October 5, 2026 | Paul Stimpson
Schools

Jack Petchey Foundation Table Tennis Programme open for 2026-27

The Jack Petchey Foundation Table Tennis Programme is starting its 16th year, with new initiatives designed to further embed table tennis into everyday school life.

September 30, 2026 | Paul Stimpson

Read more ...


Insight and Impact