A top level table tennis tournament is set to take place in Timaru this weekend.
Table Tennis South Canterbury have been allocated the South Island Qualifiers Tournament by the sport’s national body.
Players from all over the South Island will be attending the tournament, which will take place this Saturday and Sunday, so they can be ranked for eligibility to represent New Zealand teams.
Table Tennis South Canterbury president David Butler said it was great for the club to be hosting a major tournament again.
‘‘It is marvellous, this is our first big tournament since the early Covid period when we ran a very successful South Island individuals tournament.’’
It was shaping up to be quite a competitive tournament, he said.
‘‘We should have around 100 entries for this, which is good for just the South Island.
‘‘It is a little earlier than it would be normally but that’s still a bit of an advantage because it’s a ratings tournament.
‘‘Since it will be the first of the season the players should be fresh.’’
He said hosting the tournament was a great way to reignite interest in the game in South Canterbury.
‘‘It’s the key to making the whole thing tick, there are no two ways about it.
‘‘It creates more interest for the juniors and it creates the satisfaction and interest for the administration.
‘‘If you get more juniors interested in the game and on the circuit then you’ve got a chance of getting more parent’s in as volunteers as well.
‘‘It’s all linked together. Without the young ones coming up and having tournaments to encourage them here and give them a focus, you might as well just give up.’’
With the state of the current sporting landscape, Mr Butler said it was getting harder for minor sports to stay afloat.
‘‘We’re trying to do this coaching group, taking kids in younger, to get them before they get too involved and out of the sports and not so interested.
‘‘We’re getting funding at the moment for coaching, so we have an ex-New Zealand coach coming down from Christchurch every Wednesday but how long we keep that funding I don’t know.’’
Mr Butler was very thankful for the support the club had received to make the tournament happen.
‘‘We are very grateful to Trust Aoraki, who we received a grant from to upgrade the equipment for the tournament.
‘‘We are also very appreciative to John Cordue, the NZ Table Tennis Southern Development officer who will be managing the computer tournament planner program for the weekend.
‘‘Our treasurer Sue Fitzgerald has also been a very important part of making this all happen.’’
The tournament is open for spectators to attend.
The club are also running a battery collection drive to help with future running costs, as well as selling pea straw.
Mr Butler can be contacted on 027 200-6430 for everyone wishing to donate old batteries or buy straw.
