The Group phase of the Champions League Women commences next week with the matches in Serbia Czech Republic and in Spain. In Group A will play Czech host TT Moravsky Krumlov French ALCL TT Grand-Quevilly and Spain’s Girbau-Vic TT. In Group B are: Spanish host Leka Enea Irun GEWO Italy’s ASD Quattro Mori Cagliari and French Saint-Denis US 93 Tennis de Table. In Group C are Spanish host Tecnigen Linares Austria’s SCO Ossiachersee Bodensdorf Greek Panathinaikos A.C. and Hungarian SH-ITB Budaörsi Sport Club. In group D play host in Serbia Novi Sad Reus Ganxets MIRÓ from Spain and Austria’s TTC NanoTech Villach. In Group C Tecnigen Linares is ready for the challenge. They will have strong International line up led by Orawan PARANAG of Thailand Romania’s Roxana ISTRATE and Claudia CARAGEA and Spanish players Marta PAJARES Cristina PRIETO and Lucia AGUAYO. The club clinched the title in the Spanish league so they did not make any changes within the winning side. “We continue with the same team and with great enthusiasm ” said President Esteban PERALTO.”The national League starts at the end of the September so we are in the full swing with the trainings now.” In a meanwhile Orawan PARANANG was very busy at the Sea Games in Vietnam 2022. She won the gold medal in Singles Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles Events. For certain she will be tough adversary for all in Group . “The Hungarian team Budaorsi is the great favorite but we hope to create the big surprise. For us it would be a dream to go to the next round in Champions League and repeat the Spanish league title.” ROXANA ISTRATE: “In my opinion to play Champions league it’s very important because it’s a competition with the best players in Europe and you can learn a lot from them. You can improve a lot of things and help yourself to be a better player. I am looking forward to give my best in every match and make some good results.” Coach ALMUDENA ROLDAN: “The Champions League is the most important competition that a club could play and because of that for me and my club it is a great achievement and an honor to be able to participate in this league. The extra value is that we will play in our center and our players will be able to learn a lot from the top class matches. Last but not least I think it is also very favorable for our small city because it would be the first time that a club from the province plays the Champions League.”
For the attention of all 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals participants
The ITTF CTTA and the LOC have tried to compile and answer the most frequently asked questions about the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals. They will keep the document up to date as needed and as new questions come through and have it updated as they go. The link to the document will remain unchanged so everyone interested can be accessing the latest version available at any time. The link to the 2022 WTTTC Finals – FAQs v1. Furthermore the ITTF CTTA and the LOC will be delivering a joint FAQs Online Session as a platform for all participants to ask additional questions or clarifications that may be needed. Please see below the details for the FAQs Online Session: Platform: Zoom Registration Link. In the meantime please feel free to e-mail in advance any points/questions you would like to discuss so we can include them in a preliminary agenda. The ITTF CTTA and the LOC welcome everyone to this interactive session and ensure you once more that the ITTF CTTA and the LOC are working daily to ensure everyone attending the Event will be having a great experience. The ITTF CTTA and the LOC are working on developing a “Travel Guide” which will contain important information to assist with your travel preparations from/to your country of origin/residence to/from the travel hubs as well as contact details for assistance on the travel days.
The Champions League Men Group Stage will kick off the new season next week
The elite European club competition will kick off the new season next week. The Champions League Men Group Stage commences with the matches in Group C in Romania and in Group D in Spain on Wednesday. Groups A and B will start day latter and both will be played in Czech Republic. In Group A are: Portugal’s GDCS Juncal Italy’s Top Spin Messina EUCI host HB Ostrov z.s. and Spain’s ASISA Borges Vall. In Group B play: host SKST Tesla Batteries Havirov Germany’s Post SV Mühlhausen 1951 e.V Spain’s Arteal – SD Compostela and Austria’s Solex-Consult Wiener Neustadt. In Group C host CSS-SZAK ODORHEIU SECUIESC will welcome Italy’s USD Apuania Carrara Tennistavolo Germany’s TTC Neu-Ulm and TTC Club Ostrava 2016 from Czech Republic. In group D are: host Spain’s Leka Enea Irun TDM Leka Enea SF SKK El Nino Praha from Czech Republic and French AS Pontoise Cergy TT . Romania’s CSS-SZAK ODORHEIU SECUIESC also played in the Group Stage of the Champions League Men in 2021/22 and eventually concluded the season as the semi finalists of the Europe Trophy. “This season in Champions League we will play with the last season’s national bronze medal team experienced players such as Sebastian LOSO Szilard GYORGY an Lucian FILIMON and two – three new young players who worked hard in last few years to get a place in Champions League team. We are very proud that we play at such high level competition with 90% “home made” players ” said Manager István GYÖRGY.”We did not engage new players for this season.” The national championship does not start yet in Romania so the focus is only on the Champions League preparations. “The team is in good shape everyone is eager to show their talent in action.” How was your summer? “After the fully booked last season which ended at the end of June with the Europe Trophy semifinal we agreed on the deserved relax for the whole team and we put the accent on the recovering. In July we start the practice for the next season and play some matches.” What can you say about the competition in your group? “Of course it will be fantastic to play against these world top players in front of our spectators. The German team has top names the Italian team is the current Europe Cup winner and the Czech team will come with experienced and young players. We try to play without stress. I think they all will be under bigger pressure and we will try to take advantage of this. But for sure we can create some spectacular matches! What is your goal for this season? ” We are happy to organise a Champions League Group stage in Odorheiu Secuiesc offer the best possible conditions and of course to show a good play and hopefully win some matches. In the national Championship the Romanian system will change this year but that does not change our objective to win a medal in Superliga ” stated István GYÖRGY.” Sebastian LOSO was satisfied with the results in last season. “As a team we performed well in June and made it to the semifinal in The European Trophy finals/play off. So that was a good team effort for us! On an individual level there hasn’t been a lot of matches and therefore no real result to speak of unfortunatly.” Speaking of the the competitition in the group LOSO said: “The competition in the group is really tough this season. Of course it’s Champions League and it’s supposed to be the highest level you can play at in a European tournament on a club level but even compared to last season I would say this group is more tough. Neu-Ulm is really strong and a big contender for the title there’s also Carrara who made it to the Europe Cup finals last season and finally the Czech team are nothing to scoff at either. It will be a challenge but hopefully a fun and learning experience for us!” What is your goal in CL and in national League for this season? “The goal for CL is to get a positive result for us. What that is is at the moment a bit unclear. We will see when we get there! For the national league the goal is as always to be in the top 4 and fight for medals!”
World Team Championships Finals Kick Off in One Month
All eyes will be on the city of Chengdu from 30 September – in exactly one month – when the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals commence. The world’s strongest teams will face off until 9 October to win one of the sport’s most coveted titles. On this occasion the slogan “Celebrate Table Tennis with Chengdu” was revealed. It emphasises the city’s love for this sport and the willingness of the ITTF to engage with its host during this unprecedented event. ITTF President Petra Sorling commented:”The world’s best players will arrive in Chengdu in just a month. What a journey it has been! China will have hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games Beijing 2022 and the World Table Tennis Championships this year. This makes the ITTF and the entire table tennis family incredibly proud.These World Team Championships are even more significant than ever. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic it has been four years since they were last held. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the staff in Chengdu in the CTTA and in the ITTF for their dedication to overcoming challenges and hard work. I also would like to thank the players and our Member Associations for their support during this journey. Let us continue our efforts until the champions are crowned.” Also unveiled to celebrate the ‘one month to go’ milestone the design of the medals integrates the shape of a panda the city’s icon with the traditional jade pendant coupled with the silhouette of a table tennis racket. Altogether it is a collective symbol of prosperity and auspiciousness. The ITTF the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the City of Chengdu authorities will continue to collaborate to deliver an event where players compete in the best and safest conditions. A “closed-loop” management system inspired by the one successfully experimented during the Beijing Games will be implemented and will welcome more than 1 000 participants. Special flights have been chartered and participants will be able to enter and leave Chengdu with no quarantine.
World Team Championships Finals Kick Off in One Month
All eyes will be on the city of Chengdu from 30 September – in exactly one month – when the 2022 ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals commence. The world’s strongest teams will face off until 9 October to win one of the sport’s most coveted titles. On this occasion the slogan “Celebrate Table Tennis with Chengdu” was revealed. It emphasises the city’s love for this sport and the willingness of the ITTF to engage with its host during this unprecedented event. ITTF President Petra Sorling commented:”The world’s best players will arrive in Chengdu in just a month. What a journey it has been! China will have hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games Beijing 2022 and the World Table Tennis Championships this year. This makes the ITTF and the entire table tennis family incredibly proud.These World Team Championships are even more significant than ever. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic it has been four years since they were last held. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the staff in Chengdu in the CTTA and in the ITTF for their dedication to overcoming challenges and hard work. I also would like to thank the players and our Member Associations for their support during this journey. Let us continue our efforts until the champions are crowned.” Also unveiled to celebrate the ‘one month to go’ milestone the design of the medals integrates the shape of a panda the city’s icon with the traditional jade pendant coupled with the silhouette of a table tennis racket. Altogether it is a collective symbol of prosperity and auspiciousness. The ITTF the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and the City of Chengdu authorities will continue to collaborate to deliver an event where players compete in the best and safest conditions. A “closed-loop” management system inspired by the one successfully experimented during the Beijing Games will be implemented and will welcome more than 1 000 participants. Special flights have been chartered and participants will be able to enter and leave Chengdu with no quarantine.
Free-to-air TV coverage of European Championships Munich 2022 ‘an outstanding success’
Free-to-air TV coverage of the European Championships Munich 2022 has been rated an “outstanding success ” with more than 430 million hours of live coverage of the multi-sport event viewed in the eight key markets that have reported figures to date. The European Championships Munich 2022 ended after 11 days of exciting high-quality action involving nine different sports on Sunday 21 August. The eight key markets that reported viewing figures so far are: Germany (ARD & ZDF); Italy (RAI); Netherlands (NOS); Norway (NRK); Poland (TVP); Sweden (SVT); Switzerland (SRG-SSR); and UK (BBC). GermanyARD achieved its largest audience for Athletics on 18 August with an average audience of 4.8 million and a peak of 6 million for its coverage of events including Konstanze Klosterhalfen’s memorable 5 000 metres victory in front of her home crowd. An average of 4.48 million fans tuned into ARD’s Athletics coverage an audience share of 19.5%. ARD also scored strong viewing figures for other sports including 2.4 million Triathlon viewers and 2.1 million for Gymnastics. Overall ARD’s average viewing share for its European Championships coverage was 16.5%. ZDF’s top audience was 5.1 million peaking at 6.7 million for Athletics on the final day of action on 21 August when the women’s 4×100 metres relay and the men’s javelin (Julian Weber) resulted in gold medals and the overall European Championships Nations Trophy for Germany for topping the medals table across the nine sports. As with ARD ZDF also achieved high ratings for other sports including Beach Volleyball (2.85 million) and Track Cycling (2.3 million). ItalyRAI’s top live average audience was 1.6 million for its Athletics coverage on 16 August when Italy’s Lamont Jacobs won the men’s 100 metres final. Other strong ratings included 0.9 million viewers for Gymnastics on 14 August. NetherlandsNPO’s highest viewing share (33.1%) was for the men’s Gymnastics finals on 21 August including Dutch star Loran de Munck’s silver medal in the pommel horse final. This was followed by a 28% share for the women’s Cycling road race on the same day won by the Netherlands’ Lorena Wiebes. NPO’s highest peak audience was over 1 million for Athletics on 19 August which included a gold medal for the Netherlands’ Femke Bol in the women’s 400 metres hurdles. NorwayNRK achieved a remarkable viewing share of 63% on 19 August for the evening Athletics session in which Norway’s Karsten Warholm won a gold medal in the men’s 400 metres hurdles. This was followed by a 54% share for its coverage of Athletics and Rowing during the morning session on 18 August. PolandTVP’s top average live audience was 1.5 million for Athletics on 18 August when Poland won two medals including Wojciech Nowicki’s gold medal in the men’s hammer. TVP also achieved an impressive 0.6 million viewers for its coverage of the women’s Cycling road race on 21 August. SwedenSVT’s top live average audience was 1.1 million (60.1% audience share) for Athletics on 20 August including the men’s pole vault final won by Sweden’s Armand Duplantis. UKThe BBC produced more than 120 hours of coverage across the main BBC One and BBC Two network channels during Munich 2022. As a result European Championships broadcasts were regularly the most-watched in the UK over the 11 days of the competition culminating in a peak audience of 3.7 million for Athletics on 21 August when Great Britain won a gold medal in the men’s 4×100 metres relay and a silver in the men’s 800 metres (Jake Wightman). The BBC’s coverage of Gymnastics Rowing Track Cycling and Triathlon all hit peaks of over 1 million viewers on network television while live streaming of the action from Munich achieved more than half a million viewing requests each day. ‘The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts’ In the wake of the European Championships Ron Chakraborty Executive Editor BBC Sport said: “Munich has been a great host for the European Championships. There has been a wonderful contrast between the iconic venues hosting the traditional sports such as Athletics Gymnastics and Rowing and the creative approach to the newer sports such as BMX Sport Climbing and Beach Volleyball. “Once again the approach of the European Championships to ‘make the whole bigger than the sum of the parts’ has worked well with many sports reaching audiences significantly higher than when their events are held in isolation.” Axel Balkausky ARD’s sports coordinator said: “Munich 2022 was an outstanding success. The European Championships inspired everyone. That could be felt by the audience on site at the many different venues. We can also see it in the outstanding ratings and user numbers of our offers but also in the very positive and emotional reactions of the athletes.” Laurent Eric Le Lay Sports Director France Télévisions said: “Congratulations and thanks to the organisers and the city of Munich for offering us this very beautiful edition of the European Championships 2022. “Every day from 9 am to 11 pm the teams of France Télévisions broadcasted all the 12 disciplines which were proposed. We went from one discipline to another throughout the 11 days of competitions offering an uninterrupted succession of captivating and emotional events. A beautiful organisation a warm welcome an enthusiastic public and a sumptuous decor in the magic place of the Olympic Park and within the city of Munich!” The European Championships takes place every four years in partnership with Europe’s free-to-air broadcasters. European Championships Management (ECM) the organisation that founded the multi-sport European Championships manages and coordinates the event in cooperation with the participating Federations host cities and broadcast partners continuously developing the event concept. This year’s edition aggregated the existing continental championships of nine sports: Athletics; Cycling (road track mountain bike and BMX freestyle); Gymnastics (artistic); Rowing; Triathlon; Beach Volleyball; Sport Climbing; Canoe Sprint; and Table Tennis. EBU Members that broadcast the European Championships Munich 2022 included: ORF (Austria); RTBF & VRT (Belgium); BNT/BNR (Bulgaria); HRT (Croatia); CYBC (Cyprus); CT/CR (Czech Republic); DR (Denmark); ERR (Estonia); YLE (Finland); France Télévisions/SRF/RFI (France); ARD &
Free-to-air TV coverage of European Championships Munich 2022 ‘an outstanding success’
Free-to-air TV coverage of the European Championships Munich 2022 has been rated an “outstanding success ” with more than 430 million hours of live coverage of the multi-sport event viewed in the eight key markets that have reported figures to date. The European Championships Munich 2022 ended after 11 days of exciting high-quality action involving nine different sports on Sunday 21 August. The eight key markets that reported viewing figures so far are: Germany (ARD & ZDF); Italy (RAI); Netherlands (NOS); Norway (NRK); Poland (TVP); Sweden (SVT); Switzerland (SRG-SSR); and UK (BBC). GermanyARD achieved its largest audience for Athletics on 18 August with an average audience of 4.8 million and a peak of 6 million for its coverage of events including Konstanze Klosterhalfen’s memorable 5 000 metres victory in front of her home crowd. An average of 4.48 million fans tuned into ARD’s Athletics coverage an audience share of 19.5%. ARD also scored strong viewing figures for other sports including 2.4 million Triathlon viewers and 2.1 million for Gymnastics. Overall ARD’s average viewing share for its European Championships coverage was 16.5%. ZDF’s top audience was 5.1 million peaking at 6.7 million for Athletics on the final day of action on 21 August when the women’s 4×100 metres relay and the men’s javelin (Julian Weber) resulted in gold medals and the overall European Championships Nations Trophy for Germany for topping the medals table across the nine sports. As with ARD ZDF also achieved high ratings for other sports including Beach Volleyball (2.85 million) and Track Cycling (2.3 million). ItalyRAI’s top live average audience was 1.6 million for its Athletics coverage on 16 August when Italy’s Lamont Jacobs won the men’s 100 metres final. Other strong ratings included 0.9 million viewers for Gymnastics on 14 August. NetherlandsNPO’s highest viewing share (33.1%) was for the men’s Gymnastics finals on 21 August including Dutch star Loran de Munck’s silver medal in the pommel horse final. This was followed by a 28% share for the women’s Cycling road race on the same day won by the Netherlands’ Lorena Wiebes. NPO’s highest peak audience was over 1 million for Athletics on 19 August which included a gold medal for the Netherlands’ Femke Bol in the women’s 400 metres hurdles. NorwayNRK achieved a remarkable viewing share of 63% on 19 August for the evening Athletics session in which Norway’s Karsten Warholm won a gold medal in the men’s 400 metres hurdles. This was followed by a 54% share for its coverage of Athletics and Rowing during the morning session on 18 August. PolandTVP’s top average live audience was 1.5 million for Athletics on 18 August when Poland won two medals including Wojciech Nowicki’s gold medal in the men’s hammer. TVP also achieved an impressive 0.6 million viewers for its coverage of the women’s Cycling road race on 21 August. SwedenSVT’s top live average audience was 1.1 million (60.1% audience share) for Athletics on 20 August including the men’s pole vault final won by Sweden’s Armand Duplantis. UKThe BBC produced more than 120 hours of coverage across the main BBC One and BBC Two network channels during Munich 2022. As a result European Championships broadcasts were regularly the most-watched in the UK over the 11 days of the competition culminating in a peak audience of 3.7 million for Athletics on 21 August when Great Britain won a gold medal in the men’s 4×100 metres relay and a silver in the men’s 800 metres (Jake Wightman). The BBC’s coverage of Gymnastics Rowing Track Cycling and Triathlon all hit peaks of over 1 million viewers on network television while live streaming of the action from Munich achieved more than half a million viewing requests each day. ‘The whole is bigger than the sum of the parts’ In the wake of the European Championships Ron Chakraborty Executive Editor BBC Sport said: “Munich has been a great host for the European Championships. There has been a wonderful contrast between the iconic venues hosting the traditional sports such as Athletics Gymnastics and Rowing and the creative approach to the newer sports such as BMX Sport Climbing and Beach Volleyball. “Once again the approach of the European Championships to ‘make the whole bigger than the sum of the parts’ has worked well with many sports reaching audiences significantly higher than when their events are held in isolation.” Axel Balkausky ARD’s sports coordinator said: “Munich 2022 was an outstanding success. The European Championships inspired everyone. That could be felt by the audience on site at the many different venues. We can also see it in the outstanding ratings and user numbers of our offers but also in the very positive and emotional reactions of the athletes.” Laurent Eric Le Lay Sports Director France Télévisions said: “Congratulations and thanks to the organisers and the city of Munich for offering us this very beautiful edition of the European Championships 2022. “Every day from 9 am to 11 pm the teams of France Télévisions broadcasted all the 12 disciplines which were proposed. We went from one discipline to another throughout the 11 days of competitions offering an uninterrupted succession of captivating and emotional events. A beautiful organisation a warm welcome an enthusiastic public and a sumptuous decor in the magic place of the Olympic Park and within the city of Munich!” The European Championships takes place every four years in partnership with Europe’s free-to-air broadcasters. European Championships Management (ECM) the organisation that founded the multi-sport European Championships manages and coordinates the event in cooperation with the participating Federations host cities and broadcast partners continuously developing the event concept. This year’s edition aggregated the existing continental championships of nine sports: Athletics; Cycling (road track mountain bike and BMX freestyle); Gymnastics (artistic); Rowing; Triathlon; Beach Volleyball; Sport Climbing; Canoe Sprint; and Table Tennis. EBU Members that broadcast the European Championships Munich 2022 included: ORF (Austria); RTBF & VRT (Belgium); BNT/BNR (Bulgaria); HRT (Croatia); CYBC (Cyprus); CT/CR (Czech Republic); DR (Denmark); ERR (Estonia); YLE (Finland); France Télévisions/SRF/RFI (France); ARD &
World Table Tennis Announces Liu Guoliang as New Board Member
WTT has announced the appointment of Liu Guoliang as a new Board member. LIU Guoliang takes the position of WTT Board Member for better participating in the ITTF Group tasks.He commented “As Chair of the WTT Council I worked to ensure the entire table tennis family work in unison to make WTT a global success. Now being a member of the Board too it will be my honour to continue helping WTT strive for the benefit of our sport. It has long been my dream to make table tennis as big globally as it is in my country. I believe in the potential of our sport and in WTT being the right vehicle to reach that goal.” This decision follows his election as ITTF Executive Vice President during the ITTF Annual General Meeting held in Houston USA on 24 November 2021. as LIU Guoliang was entrusted with the “Commercial (WTT)” portfolio during the Executive Committee meeting held on 29 January 2022 WTT decided to appoint him to the Board. ITTF President Petra SORLING who will be regularly invited to the WTT Board meetings stated: “Mr Liu Guoliang is a legend of our sport who has demonstrated great leadership as President of one of our most successful Member Associations. He has the ITTF Executive Committee’s full trust as we know he will be instrumental for World Table Tennis.” LIU Guoliang replaces Managing Director of WTT Matt POUND who will be able to focus on day-to-day business operations and activities. The other board members of WTT – ITTF Executive Vice President Khalil Al MOHANNADI and WTT Director and ITTF Group CEO Steve DAINTON remain in their position.
World Table Tennis Announces Liu Guoliang as New Board Member
WTT has announced the appointment of Liu Guoliang as a new Board member. LIU Guoliang takes the position of WTT Board Member for better participating in the ITTF Group tasks.He commented “As Chair of the WTT Council I worked to ensure the entire table tennis family work in unison to make WTT a global success. Now being a member of the Board too it will be my honour to continue helping WTT strive for the benefit of our sport. It has long been my dream to make table tennis as big globally as it is in my country. I believe in the potential of our sport and in WTT being the right vehicle to reach that goal.” This decision follows his election as ITTF Executive Vice President during the ITTF Annual General Meeting held in Houston USA on 24 November 2021. as LIU Guoliang was entrusted with the “Commercial (WTT)” portfolio during the Executive Committee meeting held on 29 January 2022 WTT decided to appoint him to the Board. ITTF President Petra SORLING who will be regularly invited to the WTT Board meetings stated: “Mr Liu Guoliang is a legend of our sport who has demonstrated great leadership as President of one of our most successful Member Associations. He has the ITTF Executive Committee’s full trust as we know he will be instrumental for World Table Tennis.” LIU Guoliang replaces Managing Director of WTT Matt POUND who will be able to focus on day-to-day business operations and activities. The other board members of WTT – ITTF Executive Vice President Khalil Al MOHANNADI and WTT Director and ITTF Group CEO Steve DAINTON remain in their position.
Young leaders gathered to share ideas in Munich
The Young leaders forum was held last week from 19th to 21st August during the European Championships in Munich. Table tennis has six representatives nominated by ETTU and selected after the National Associations sent applications. In Munich were: Josipa JAZEC of Croatia Clara IZQUIERDO of Spain Suncica ROGIC of Montenegro Mathieu JASINSKI of Belgium Miguel MOURA of Portugal and Mischa KALETTKA of Germany. They were joined by ETTU Project Manager Galia DVORAK. There were more than 60 young leaders from all over Europe representers from canoeing athletics table tennis gymnastics volleyball cycling rowing sport climbing triathlon. The participants discuss topics such as event organising of the future sustainability in sport and building the leaders of the future. The participants were energised and took with them their experiences back to their home countries and hopefully they will implement some of the ideas and knowledge they have acquired in a practical and real life context.
