ETTU Eurotalents program invites 3 girls and 3 boys per Association born in 2007 or later to the camp in Kiskunfélegyháza. The ETTU encourages its Associations to send their best players to the camp which will be held from 13th to 20th August. The ETTU also invites coach (coaches) from Associations. ETTU encourages all Associations to send female coaches as well. Entries shall be sent not later than 19th July 2019 to: Renata Skumat (skumatrenata@index.hu) with cc to Zita Pidl ETTU Project Consultant (zpidl.ettu@gmail.com). Contact: Kiskunfélegyháza Table Tennis Club 6100 Kiskunfélegyháza Kossuth u. 35 Hungary Phone: +36 70 323 9344 Renata Skumat (skumatrenata@index.hu) Ferenc Karsai (karsai.ferenc@tibhar.hu) Head Coach (Organiser) is Ferenc KARSAI (HUN) he will be assisted by Attila HALMAI (HUN) Neven CEGNAR (ETTU) Development Manager. It is important that invited players attend the camp with their national team and/or personal coaches as this is the best opportunity to discuss future programmes for the players and establish regular communication among coaches and adequate ETTU bodies. The ETTU is also keen to increase the number of female coaches in Europe and therefore encourages the participation of female coaches. This is a great training opportunity for both male and female coaches to learn and grow together with the young players.
Born a century ago the man who set the standard
In Prague at the 1936 World Championships at the quarter-final stage of the men’s singles event he beat England’s Adrian Haydon; he prevailed in three straight games (21-9 21-11 26-24). At the time he was 16 years and 341 days old. It is that achievement at the forthcoming Liebherr 2019 World Championships Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto seeks to beat. Today Wednesday 10th April we mark 100 years since the birth of one of our greatest ever champions Richard Bergmann. If on Wednesday 25th April a significant day the day of the Swaythling Club Annual General Meeting who present a sportsmanship award in honour of Richard Bergmann; if in the Hungarian capital city Tomokazu Harimoto is present in the men’s singles quarter-finals and he wins he will be 15 years and 302 days old. It is his last chance to beat the record set by Richard Bergmann and become the youngest ever to win a World Championships men’s singles medal. An immediate goal for Tomokazu Harimoto but if he or any player of the modern era is to match Richard Bergmann then they have some distance to go; if anyone succeeds they will become immortal not only in table tennis but in the world of sport. After reaching the semi-final in 1936 Richard Bergmann won in Baden the following year; he prevailed again in Cairo in 1939 before once more succeeding in 1948 in London and 1950 in Budapest. Overall taking into account the full gambit of World Championship events he won seven gold six silver and nine bronze medals. Comparing eras is always fraught with inconsistencies; nowadays the World Championships and the World Team Championships alternate on an annual basis; in the era of Richard Bergmann they were combined and organised each year. However balance that fact with following Cairo in 1939 until Paris in 1947 owing to World War Two no World Championships were staged. Born in Vienna his mother Italian his father Polish he started to play table tennis in 1931; five years later in Prague he made his debut and experienced the strangest ever men’s team final. Facing Romania the Austrians recorded a 5-4 win; the contest took 12 hours and lasted three days! Scores level at 2-2 it was 2.00 am in the morning the police stormed into the hall and stopped the contest; they continued the next evening eventually concluding proceeding after the singles events had finished! Equally in that tournament his men’s singles semi-final defeat at the hands of Poland’s Aloizy Ehrlich was unusual (16-21 21-16 21-18 21-10). They started at 7.00 pm; after playing for almost one hour Aloizy Ehrich led 2-1 in games but dinner in the Lucerna Hall closed at 8.00 pm. They agreed to stop playing; they went for dinner and then returned to complete the match! It was the tournament that ignited a remarkable career relating titles won and the stories of Richard Bergmann would fill many megabytes of a modern day blog; it was life totally different to that of Tomokazu Harimoto who seeks to break his record of the youngest ever. Smartly dressed well presented great attention to detail; they are common factors with the Japanese teenager but that is where the likeness ends. Richard Bergmann didn’t smoke but always carried a smart cigarette case should a female smoker acquaint his company; he spoke seven languages fluently and made his own rackets always covered with just a layer of pimpled rubber for Richard Bergmann the sponge innovation was the number one enemy. He lived in time of political upheaval in 1939 as a result of Hitler’s annexation of Austria Richard Bergmann moved to England; when he won that year in Cairo theoretically he was stateless. He was totally single minded restless a maverick; in 1951 he played exhibition matches in South Africa contrary to the request of the English Table Tennis Association. He was suspended the sadness being that he was denied the chance to play in the World Championships staged that year in his home city of Vienna. A controversial figure he challenged the authorities but by doing so he played in front of what is surely the biggest crowd ever to watch a table tennis match. Competing against Japan’s Norikazu Fujii in Sofia as the crowd awaited the Harlem Globetrotters to behold the mesmeric basketball skills of the clown prince Meadowlark Lemon; to the strains of Sweet Georgia Brown the duo played in front of a crowd of some 45 000 spectators in an open air stadium. Exhibition matches became his forte; it was to be where his career finished. In late 1969 he was taken ill when playing at the Pontin’s Holiday Camp in Southport on the west coast of England. In hospital in nearby Liverpool he was diagnosed to have a brain tumor. He died in London on Sunday 5th April 1970. Four days later his body was cremated in New York where his sister lived a human irony; the man who had thousands of friends all over the world was a world champion he had no home of his own.
Unexpected final of Bundesliga
Saarbrucken and Ochsenhausen will decide the champion of Germany on May 25th in Frankfurt Reigning Bundesliga champion Borussia Dusseldorf will not defend its title in the final to be held on May 25th at the Fraport Arena Frankfurt as it lost to Saarbrucken 3:1 in the semi-final leg 2 (1st leg 3:2). Champion will be decided in the clash between Saarbrucken and Ochsenhausen who prevailed against TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt (twice 3:1). Slovenia’s Darko JORGIC paved the way to the victory of his side as he upset seven-time European champion Timo BOLL after full five games of the third match. But biggest credit goes to Patrick FRANZISKA who contributed with four points in both semi-final legs. “We really believed in ourselves and we managed to reach the final” stated Patrick FRANZISKA. Timo BOLL stressed that Saarbrucken fully deserved to play in the final. Actual Men’s Doubles champion of the 2019 European Under 21 Championships Darko JORGIC explained after the semi-final against Borussia: “Each of us played very well we fought like the crazy ones. Now we are looking forward to the final and of course we want to win the title”. 2018/19 Bundesliga semi-finals leg 2 Saarbücken TT – Borussia Düsseldorf 3:1 (leg 1 3:2) Patrick FRANZISKA – Anton KALLBERG 3:0 (13:11 11:7 11:7) Tomas POLANSKY – Kristian KARLSSON 0:3 (8:11 7:11 8:11) Darko JORGIC – Timo BOLL 3:2 (7:11 11:8 10:12 12:10 11:9) Patrick FRANZISKA – Kristian KARLSSON 3:0 (11:5 14:12 11:6) TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt – TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen 1:3 (leg 1 1:3) Benedikt DUDA – Simon GAUZY 0:3 (7:11 12:14 11:13) Paul DRINKHALL – Hugo CELDERANO 3:0 (11:6 11:7 11:6) Alvaro ROBLES – Stefan FEGERL 0:3 (7:11 8:11 12:14) Benedikt DUDA – Hugo CALDERANO 0:3 (7:11 5:11 8:11)
ITTF TATA Trickshot Challenge shortlisted for Sports Business Awards 2019
The International Table Tennis (ITTF) has been recognised for its ground-breaking innovation in brand activation and digital marketing as the 2018 ITTF TATA Trickshot Challenge sits among the finalists for Best Brand Activation Involving Sport at the Sports Business Awards 2019. In the lead up to the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad Sweden the ITTF launched the 2018 TATA Trickshot Challenge as a sponsorship activation for one of the major sponsors at the World Championships: TATA Wooden Door a Chinese wooden door brand based in China. The goal of the campaign was to create brand awareness for TATA and its products as well as promote the World Championships through fan engagement posts across the ITTF’s social media channels: Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube and Weibo. The main challenge faced by the team was how to tell a compelling story about TATA’s products using table tennis which also integrated with the World Championships event the players as well as TATA’s factory whilst also delivering unmistakably engaging content. To successfully encapsulate all of these elements the idea of the trickshot was born. To its advantage trickshots and other stunning table tennis shots were already performing well on the ITTF’s social media channels. To this day the exceptional skill on show from professional table tennis players continues to catch the eye of ITTF followers and social media users across the world. Therefore the 2018 TATA Trickshot Challenge was introduced to create potentially viral trickshot videos using miniature TATA doors with the end goal of engaging fans and raising awareness simultaneously for the TATA brand and the World Championships. Part 1 of the campaign saw two world-renowned table tennis stars – Olympic Champion Liu Guoliang and Singapore’s top player Feng Tianwei – film a series of challenging trickshots at the TATA Wooden Door’s factory in China with videos released in the lead up to the World Championships. Part 2 took place at the World Championships in Halmstad where top table tennis teams were challenged to complete trickshots using the TATA miniature doors on each day of the event. The video series was a big success for both the ITTF and TATA generating a real buzz among TATA customers on the ITTF’s social media channels and on TATA’s digital platforms in China. Additionally the campaign resulted in plenty of user-generated content with fans sending in their attempts of the trickshot challenges on social media using the hashtag #TATATrickshot. Given its success the ITTF will be launching a new TATA Trickshot series around the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships held between 21-28 April in Budapest Hungary. Always innovating the latest campaign involves a different format and protagonists compared to the previous series. Stay tuned on the ITTF’s social media channels so you don’t miss a trick! ITTF & Sports Business Awards 2019 The International Table Tennis Federation has been nominated among the finalists for a number of category prizes at the Sports Business Awards 2019: Best Brand Activation Involving Sport – 2018 ITTF TATA Trickshot Challenge Best Sports Governing Body Initiative – ITTF Foundation Best Sports Event of the Year – World Table Tennis Day Best Club CSR or Community Scheme – Buenos Aires – Tokyo; bridging the Olympic Games / Dream Building with Refugees The Sports Business Awards were conceived in 2017 to celebrate the hard work and successes of individuals and teams who make all sporting success possible; the organisers the suppliers the designers the administrators the advisors the technologists the marketers and the companies who ensure that the business of sport in all its various and myriad forms happens successfully. Quick Links: 2018 ITTF TATA Trickshot Challenge Sports Business Awards 2019 2019 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships ITTF Social Media: Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube Weibo
ETTU Development camp underway in Luxembourg
ETTU Hopes Selection Camp is underway in Luxembourg. Tradicionaly good conditions attracted a lot of participants. This time the rekord is broke with 41 players (20 girls and 21 boys) born on 2007/2008 and 2009/2010. There are players from 15 countries working under guidence of 19 coaches. Also there are six players from China helping with sparing. Martin OSTERMANN and XIA Cheng from Luxembourg TTA are in charge with organisation alsongside four coaches from China: CHEN Bin LIU Jia Yi WANG Yan and ZHENG Chaoying. Six best rated players three boys and three girls will be nominated for the ITTF Hopes Week and Challenge and for Final Eurotalents Selection Camp in Slovenia’s Otocec in October.
ETTU – ITTF Women Coaches Seminar 2019
The European Table Tennis Union in cooperation with the Slovak Table Tennis Association invites all European female coaches to the ETTU Women Coaches Seminar which will be held in Bratislava Slovak Republic from 6th to 8th June 2019. ETTU Women Coaches Seminar is part of the ITTF/ ETTU Development Program and it is primarily intended for all European female coaches but female coaches from other continents are welcome too. Topics/Program „Coaching of young table tennis players“ / „Major Technical Mistakes (Early Detection and Correction Methods)“ – Jaroslaw KOLODZIEJCZYK (AUT) – Thursday 6th June 16:00 – 19:30 – Friday 7th June 09:00 – 12:30 „Footwork learning methods with young table tennis players“ – Lara BROICH (GER) – Friday 7th June 15:30 – 19:00 – Saturday 8th June 09:00 – 12:30 Lecturers: Jaroslaw KOLODZIEJCZYK (AUT) – Austrian National Coach U-18 Lara BROICH (GER) – German National Coach Cadet Girls Entry to be sent to: Eva ODOROVA – SVK TTA Sports Director (sstz1@sstz.sk) with copy to: Zita PIDL – ETTU Project Consultant (zpidl.ettu@gmail.com) Possible questions please address to: visa and organization – SVK TTA Branislav KALUZNY (marketing@sstz.sk) and Eva ODOROVA (sstz1@sstz.sk) technical issues – Neven CEGNAR ETTU (ncegnar@gmail.com) administration – Zita PIDL ETTU (zpidl.ettu@gmail.com)
World Table Tennis Day 2019 celebrations a resounding success
A record-breaking 862 registered events in 104 countries World Table Tennis Day 2019 truly lived up to its billing as a global celebration of sport in society. In its fifth edition the annual event held on 6 April centres around bringing people together from all corners of the world to promote social inclusion through table tennis in accordance with the vision of the award-winning programme TT4ALL. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the ITTF Foundation together with Slum Ping Pong staged this year’s flagship event in Kampala Uganda using the sport to break barriers and develop positive messages on children’s girls’ and women’s rights. Slum Ping Pong which was also chosen among the projects to receive support from the ITTF Foundation via the TT Dream Building Fund runs a table tennis club with over 100 children attending regularly. From the capital to the countryside celebrations extended across to the Uganda’s Western rural district of Hoima in tandem with the Hoima Network of Child Rights Clubs (HONECRIC) whose project is aimed at developing technical and life skills for children and youth. Reaching out to approximately 8 000 kids in 70 schools across the region the project is aimed at reducing early school dropout rates and encouraging the inclusion of children with and without disabilities through table tennis. “The children love table tennis. They play it while saying out loud what they want to be when they grow up. This helps to foster discipline and determination ” said Lloyd Birungi HONECRIC Project Officer Following the motto “Nothing is impossible for those who believe” Ibrahim Hamadtou the Para Table Tennis champion and renowned Egyptian athlete who plays without hands played an integral role in the site visits across Uganda rallying with young people at the table tennis tables and encouraging them to pursue their dreams!
Ruthless Dr. CASL reaches final in Croatia
National Championships Reigning ECLW champion Dr. CASL once again will play in the final of National Championships of Croatia (HEP Superliga) as they beat TIS 4:0 in the return leg of the semi-finals. Zagreb’s side enters ultimate stage after two 4:0 wins and 24:0 set-ratio in both legs. Each of four encounters in the second semi-final clash has been decided in straight games: FU Yu vs. ARAPOVIC NI Xia Lian vs. CAKOL DURAK vs. JAZBEC and FU/NI – CAKOL/JAZBEC. Actual both ECLW and Croatian champion is going to play against Varazdin in the 2018/19 HEP Superliga final. Dr. CASL will defend ECLW crown next month May 3-11 against actual runner-up KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg.
Tarnobrzeg once again in the national final
Women’s National Championships of Poland Actual ECLW runner-up and 2018/19 ECLW finalist (May 3-11) KTS Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg booked its place in the final of the National Championships of Poland as it beat twice GLKS Scania Nadarzyn. Tarnobrzeg won second semi-final clash in straight games in spite of playing without two strong defenders HAN Ying and LI Qian. All three encounters took three sets each: Viktoria PAVLOVICH vs – Paulina KRZYSEK Elizabeta SAMARA vs. Klaudia KUSINSKA and Kinga STEFANSKA vs. – Katarzyna SLIFIRZCYK. Tonight April 6th Tarnobrzeg will find out the name of its opponent in the 2018/19 final. Polish champion two-time ECLW runner-up are going to play for ECLW crown next month against reigning champion Dr. CASL from Croatia.
Silver pair from Doha on opposite sides in Bundesliga
The 2018/19 Bundesliga semi-finals Borussia Dusseldorf faces another hard task after 2018/19 TTCLM semi-finals where they were eliminated by Russian club UMMC. The 30-time champion of Germany will play against Saarbrucken in the second leg of the 2018/19 Bundesliga semis scheduled for tomorrow Friday April 5th. Saarbrucken beat reigning champion 3:2 in the first game held in Dusseldorf thanks to Patrick FRANZISKA who beat both Timo BOLL and Sharath Kamal ACHANTA. “For us it’s like a final in April. Saarbrücken made a big step towards the finals. Patrick FRANZISKA is currently in top shape and hard to beat. They also have a top doubles” explained manager Andreas PREUSS how strong is Saarbrucken. Timo BOLL (Borussia) and Patrick FRANZISKA (Saarbrucken) won Men’s Doubles silver at the recent 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open but tomorrow they will play one against another. Manager of Borussia Dusseldorf Andreas PREUSS stressed that all players of his side are well prepared for the upcoming clash and the only question is who will play as no. 3 Anton KALLBERG or Omar ASSAR. Coach Danny HEISTER promised that his players are going to fight like lions to provide third semi-final clash on April 14th in Dusseldorf. Other two semi-finalists are TTF Liebher Ochsenhausen and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. Hugo CALDERANO was man of the match in the first leg contributing with two points in 3:1 win of Ochsenhausen.
