OOAK Table Tennis Forum

The capital and the largest city in Austria, Vienna was the home for an Advanced Referees Seminar from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th October 2012.

A total of nine experienced Referees in addition to several ITTF Competition Managers attended with the aim to produce common policies and working practices for the forthcoming year.

Over the years the number of tournaments organised under the auspices of the International Table Tennis Federation has grown. In 1995 the responsibility fundamentally lay just with the organisation of the biennial World Championships. Times have changed and changed rapidly to a the current situation of the World Tour, Continental Tours and the extensive ITTF Junior Circuit and ITTF Global Junior Programmes.

Never a Dull Moment
Nowadays, never a week passes without and event somewhere in the world and rarely does a week pass with only one; two or three tournament on the calendar is increasingly the norm.

Too many I hear the cry? Not at all, the extensive programme reflects a healthy sports and there would be moans and groans from the bottom of the stomach if it was the reverse situation.

Workshop
In Vienna experts in their field from throughout the world discussed the tasks of a referee and the procedures for table tennis events.

“A whole day was assigned for a workshop with Competition Managers to strengthen the co-operation between competition managers and referees”, explained Werner Thury, one of the Referees present. “Best practise models for conducting a draw, presentation for the field of play, communication and results management were all topics discussed.”

The goal is a unified approach.

Team Ethic
“Competition Managers and Referees are working as a team”, concluded Werner Thury. “The results of the workshop will prove that the cooperation is important and we are on the right track.”

On the right track and with the right boarding pass; a busy year in 2013 awaits.