Table tennis official John Mackey and Table Tennis England Chair Clare Briegal have been named in the King’s New Year Honours.
Lincolnshire umpire and referee John is awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to table tennis, while Clare receives an MBE for services to sport.
John says receiving the BEM far surpasses any of the memorable moments he has had in the sport. The honour recognises John’s wide range of contribution to the sport over an extensive period of time (45 years), and his contribution to the development of others within the sport.
As well as helping to train and mentor numerous officials, John also umpired the Women’s Team final at the London Olympic Games and several prominent matches at European and World Championships, plus the Commonwealth Games.
He said: “One of my happiest moments in umpiring was when I discovered that I had been selected to umpire the Women’s Team Final at the London Olympic Games, but this Honour of a British Empire Medal easily surpasses that moment.
“I never thought that my contribution to table tennis would be acknowledged in this way.”
John, who became a Vice-President of Table Tennis England in 2021, started playing table tennis in 1974 in the London Civil Service League, moving on to the Scunthorpe League in 1980. During the period 1981 to 2005 John served on the League Committee as Secretary (1981 – 1986), League President (1987 – 2005), and Press Officer (1987 – 2005).
John said: “My involvement in local table tennis administration started in 1981 when the Secretary of the Scunthorpe League was moving away from the area and a special meeting was called to find a replacement.
“There were about 50 people at the meeting but when a volunteer for the role was asked for, nobody would step forward, so despite knowing very few people in the league I tentatively raised my hand and offered to do it. I had no great desire to do the role but I thought ‘well someone has to do it so I’ll have a go’.
“Fifteen years later at a Lincolnshire County meeting Bill Moran (a man fondly remembered by many in the officiating fraternity) wanted to get new umpires in the county and asked for volunteers to run a small meeting in their town to introduce players to umpiring.
“Again, no-one offered, so I thought ‘I’ll do one. Why not, what’s the harm?’ At that small umpire meeting only two other people turned up, but I carried on and my involvement grew from there.
He has held a variety of administration roles beyond local league, including Lincolnshire TTA Vice Chairman, Treasurer of the British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities (now British Para Table Tennis) and Chairman of Blitz Table Tennis Club, Worksop.
John has served on a number of Table Tennis England (TTE) committees, including the Technical Officials’ Committee 2004-2020, the final three years as Secretary; Rules Committee 2009; and the Members’ Advisory Group (MAG) 2019 – 2022.
He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Tournament Approval Panel of TTE, taking on that role in 2020.
John has worked as a trainer and mentor of umpires, helping many umpires on their journey from first qualification through to achieving the elite Level 4 qualification.
In addition to administration roles John is a qualified International Umpire (Level 4), Tournament Organiser (Level 3), and Referee (Level 1).
John has represented England as a technical official at many international tournaments. His most notable achievements are:
- Olympic Games, London: umpire in the Final (Gold Medal match) of the Women’s Team event (China v Japan)
- Men’s World Cup, Liege: umpire in the Final
- Pro Tour Finals, London: umpire in the Men’s Final
- European Championships, Gdansk: umpire in the Men’s Team Final
- Commonwealth Games, Glasgow: umpire in the Women’s Doubles Final
- Commonwealth Games, Manchester: umpire in the Men’s Semi- final
- World Championships (Individual), Shanghai: umpire in the Men’s Singles Semi-Final
- World Championships (Individual), Shanghai: umpire in the Men’s Doubles Semi-Final
- World Championships (Team), Tokyo: umpire in the Women’s Semi-Final
John said: “Sometimes people ask me why I give so much time and effort into table tennis, but the answer is easy, it’s simply that I love the sport so much.
“I suppose I gain much pleasure from being able to help others in their officiating journey and development, and this was most strongly felt when I was able to train and mentor others.
“When umpires, even now, express their gratitude for my help, it makes it all feel worthwhile.”
Clare, who joined Table Tennis England earlier this year, receives her MBE for services to sport, with the citation mentioning her service as Chief Executive of World Netball and Chair of North West Rowing Council. She is also Deputy Chair of British Rowing and has chaired Liverpool Sport.
Clare said: “It’s so lovely to have received this New Year’s Honour on behalf of the amazing teams I have worked with in sport over the years – doing something that brings me so much joy.
“I’d like to thanks my family, friends and colleagues who have supported me over the years.
“I’m excited to work with my new table tennis family to bring the World Team Table Tennis Championships to London – it feels like 2026 is going to be an amazing year!”
