South West Area

Hi, and welcome to the South West Area page!
By Amanda Leonard

I started as the Area Manager (South West) at the beginning of 2024. The South West is Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.  

I am excited to be working for Table Tennis England, the sport is powerful in its ability to engage people of all ages and backgrounds.  I am learning more and more each day about the sport, its structures and the volunteers who are its backbone.   I am committed to supporting volunteers and driven to increase participation, improve the quality of provision and develop projects which further support the player pathway.

I love all sports, the main ones being Paddle Boarding and Hockey, both of which I coach.   Like so many of you, I have worn many volunteer hats in Hockey, including setting up a junior section and developing new facilities.   Having twins at secondary school has given me a different perspective on sports pathways.

Professionally I have worked as a Community Regeneration Officer supporting voluntary groups to develop plans, projects and gain funding.   I’ve worked on sports and other community projects ranging from £5,000 to £2.6 million.  Before moving to Cornwall, I ran the sport at Nottingham Trent University and I headed up the Sports Development unit in Nottinghamshire, where I worked closely with National Governing Bodies including Table Tennis.

I am particularly interested in widening participation of underrepresented groups including Women & Girls.  I relish any opportunity to build partnerships aiming to develop and deliver innovative projects which may bring in additional resources as well as producing models of good practice which can be shared throughout the area.

What are your plans for Table Tennis in your area?

I would love to hear about them.

Please get in touch if you feel that I can support you.


South West Local Organising Group

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 South West Local Organising Group are:

NameClub/OrganisationRole on LOG
Chris PriceBristolChair
Nick DavidsonSGS CollegeTalent Development
Kelly PlumbWest Cornwall LeagueJunior Development
Kathryn JamesSportEDYoung People – Sport as a Tool
Clifford JordanNailsworth Phoenix Table Tennis ClubSchool Links
Amanda LeonardTable Tennis EnglandArea Manager
Richard RamsdenKennet Vale Table Tennis ClubJunior Development
South West Local Delivery Plan

Will appear here in due course.



South West Blog

South West Update – April 2024

Out and About Special thanks to Derek Connop at Portishead & Mick Hogan at Weymouth (Preston) Table Tennis Clubs for a very warm welcome. Portishead… Continue reading

May 1, 2024 | Amanda Leonard

South West – March 2024

Photo credit: Joola Plymouth TTC Congratulations to Bailey Page – Young Volunteer of the Year – Pride of Table Tennis Bailey was named winner of… Continue reading

April 10, 2024 | Amanda Leonard

‘The Performance Zone’

Sports Psychology Workshop (FREE) – Online Celebrating UK Coaching Week in the South West Aimed at all levels of coaches working with all levels of… Continue reading

March 28, 2024 | Amanda Leonard

More blogs from the area



Latest news from the South West Area
Counties and Leagues

Island celebrates successful Finals Night

There was a welcome spread of achievements in the results at the recent annual Isle of Wight tournament Finals, with both experienced and young players winning the various events – handicapped, open and age-related in both singles and doubles.

May 7, 2024 | Paul Stimpson
Counties and Leagues

Rorke is Island hardbat champion

The Isle of Wight Association organises an annual hardbat tournament, which can be quite difficult to adjust to but is always great fun.

April 23, 2024 | Paul Stimpson
Counties and Leagues

Island doubles pairs book place at finals

There was an increased and encouraging attendance at this year’s Isle of Wight Doubles tournament.

April 15, 2024 | Paul Stimpson

More news from the area