The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) together with Peace & Sport brought table tennis to the Za’atari Refugee Camp at the Jordan border with Syria in celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) and World Table Tennis Day today 6 April 2018.   World Table Tennis Day which is in its fourth edition in 2018 is the celebration of the joy to play Table Tennis. On 6 April table tennis fans from all around the world will show that Table Tennis is a sport for everyone everywhere.   This year the ITTF held its main celebration event at the Za’atari Refugee Camp using table tennis as a tool for promoting peace.   ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT who is at the Za’atari Refugee Camp with ITTF Foundation Director Leandro OLVECH and Olympic Champion RYU Seungmin shared “6 April 2018 marks a significant stepping stone in the history of the ITTF and we are glad to share this date with Peace & Sport one of our strongest partners of our Development Program since 2008.”   He added “Today we celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and the World Table Tennis Day but also this marks the launch of the ITTF-Nittaku Dreambuilding with Refugees Project as well as the soft inauguration of the ITTF Foundation which aims to promote solidarity through table tennis. All these initiatives use sport for positive social outcomes. As an international organization it is our task to lead by example and also to motivate others to include acts of integration into their daily lives.”   President and Founder of Peace and Sport Joel BOUZOU stated “We are very happy to team up with ITTF in the celebration of the April 6th the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan. On this day Peace & Sport will bring together high level athletes international sport federations and local NGO’s committed to stand for refugees. Today more than ever sport can be used as a vehicle to heal bring a sense of normalcy and support social inclusion programs for refugees in host communities and camps.”   Other than the main World Table Tennis Day event at the Za’atari Refugee Camp table tennis enthusiasts from all over the world are taking their rackets to enjoy the sport.   Together with National Associations and table tennis fans 443 events are being held in 93 countries across the globe including large mass participation table tennis fun parks and playing a game of table tennis on a boat sailing out to the black sea in Turkey!   Social media today was also flooded with well wishes from top table tennis stars around the world such as Quadri ARUNA Bernadette SZOCS and Paralymic Champion Anna-Carin AHLQUIST wishing table tennis fans Happy World Table Tennis Day.   Find more information on the World Table Tennis Day and events happening around the globe on TT4All.com!

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) together with Peace & Sport brought table tennis to the Za’atari Refugee Camp at the Jordan border with Syria in celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) and World Table Tennis Day today 6 April 2018.   World Table Tennis Day which is in its fourth edition in 2018 is the celebration of the joy to play Table Tennis. On 6 April table tennis fans from all around the world will show that Table Tennis is a sport for everyone everywhere.   This year the ITTF held its main celebration event at the Za’atari Refugee Camp using table tennis as a tool for promoting peace.   ITTF President Thomas WEIKERT who is at the Za’atari Refugee Camp with ITTF Foundation Director Leandro OLVECH and Olympic Champion RYU Seungmin shared “6 April 2018 marks a significant stepping stone in the history of the ITTF and we are glad to share this date with Peace & Sport one of our strongest partners of our Development Program since 2008.”   He added “Today we celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and the World Table Tennis Day but also this marks the launch of the ITTF-Nittaku Dreambuilding with Refugees Project as well as the soft inauguration of the ITTF Foundation which aims to promote solidarity through table tennis. All these initiatives use sport for positive social outcomes. As an international organization it is our task to lead by example and also to motivate others to include acts of integration into their daily lives.”   President and Founder of Peace and Sport Joel BOUZOU stated “We are very happy to team up with ITTF in the celebration of the April 6th the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace in the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan. On this day Peace & Sport will bring together high level athletes international sport federations and local NGO’s committed to stand for refugees. Today more than ever sport can be used as a vehicle to heal bring a sense of normalcy and support social inclusion programs for refugees in host communities and camps.”   Other than the main World Table Tennis Day event at the Za’atari Refugee Camp table tennis enthusiasts from all over the world are taking their rackets to enjoy the sport.   Together with National Associations and table tennis fans 443 events are being held in 93 countries across the globe including large mass participation table tennis fun parks and playing a game of table tennis on a boat sailing out to the black sea in Turkey!   Social media today was also flooded with well wishes from top table tennis stars around the world such as Quadri ARUNA Bernadette SZOCS and Paralymic Champion Anna-Carin AHLQUIST wishing table tennis fans Happy World Table Tennis Day.   Find more information on the World Table Tennis Day and events happening around the globe on TT4All.com!

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has confirmed the 12 host cities for the 2019 ITTF World Tour.   The ITTF World Tour is the highest level professional tour for table tennis athletes around the world and is split into two tiers six ITTF World Tour Platinum events (top tier) and six ITTF World Tour events.   The six ITTF World Tour Platinum events will have higher prize money and be of a higher level of presentation which will ensure the attendance of the world’s best players and more TV distribution.   On the announcement ITTF Head of World Tour Vicky ELEFTHERIADE stated “The ITTF World Tour has grown from strength to strength over the past few years especially after the rebranding in 2017 and with the support from our title sponsor Seamaster. We are pleased to see more interest in the World Tour from hosts and other partners each year and we will continue to push the tour forward to ensure growth in terms of popularity and commercially.”   The 12 host cities were chosen out of 16 bidding cities with Japan upgrading from a regular event in 2018 to a Platinum event in 2019 in Sapporo in the lead up to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.   The six cities that have won the hosting rights for the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum events are: Doha (QAT) : 26 – 31 Mar 2019 Shenzhen (CHN) : 28 May – 2 Jun 2019 Sapporo (JPN) : 12 – 16 Jun 2019 Geelong (AUS) : 09 – 14 Jul 2019 Bremen (GER) : 08 – 13 Oct 2019 Linz (AUT) : 12 – 17 Nov 2019 The six host cities for the ITTF World Tour events are: Budapest (HUN) :  22 – 27 Jan 2019 Hong Kong (HKG) : 04 – 09 Jun 2019 TBC (KOR) : 02 – 07 Jul 2019 Panagyurishte (BUL) : 13 – 18 Aug 2019 Olomouc (CZE) : 20 – 25 Aug 2019 Stockholm (SWE) : 01 – 06 Oct 2019   The 12 2019 ITTF World Tour events will all offer World Tour Ranking points that will be used to determine the top 16 players in Singles & top 8 doubles pairs who will qualify for the year-ending World Tour Grand Finals from 12 – 15 December 2019 in a city to be determined.   The bids for the ITTF Challenge Series the ITTF’s development tour for up and rising stars of the sport to challenge themselves and earn international recognition and experience will be coming out soon.   The Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour is now in full swing with three events – Hungarian Open Qatar Open (Platinum) and German Open (Platinum) organized in the first quarter of 2018. The ITTF World Tour continues action in Hong Kong from 24 – 27 May after the biggest table tennis event on Earth the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018.

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has confirmed the 12 host cities for the 2019 ITTF World Tour.   The ITTF World Tour is the highest level professional tour for table tennis athletes around the world and is split into two tiers six ITTF World Tour Platinum events (top tier) and six ITTF World Tour events.   The six ITTF World Tour Platinum events will have higher prize money and be of a higher level of presentation which will ensure the attendance of the world’s best players and more TV distribution.   On the announcement ITTF Head of World Tour Vicky ELEFTHERIADE stated “The ITTF World Tour has grown from strength to strength over the past few years especially after the rebranding in 2017 and with the support from our title sponsor Seamaster. We are pleased to see more interest in the World Tour from hosts and other partners each year and we will continue to push the tour forward to ensure growth in terms of popularity and commercially.”   The 12 host cities were chosen out of 16 bidding cities with Japan upgrading from a regular event in 2018 to a Platinum event in 2019 in Sapporo in the lead up to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.   The six cities that have won the hosting rights for the 2019 ITTF World Tour Platinum events are: Doha (QAT) : 26 – 31 Mar 2019 Shenzhen (CHN) : 28 May – 2 Jun 2019 Sapporo (JPN) : 12 – 16 Jun 2019 Geelong (AUS) : 09 – 14 Jul 2019 Bremen (GER) : 08 – 13 Oct 2019 Linz (AUT) : 12 – 17 Nov 2019 The six host cities for the ITTF World Tour events are: Budapest (HUN) :  22 – 27 Jan 2019 Hong Kong (HKG) : 04 – 09 Jun 2019 TBC (KOR) : 02 – 07 Jul 2019 Panagyurishte (BUL) : 13 – 18 Aug 2019 Olomouc (CZE) : 20 – 25 Aug 2019 Stockholm (SWE) : 01 – 06 Oct 2019   The 12 2019 ITTF World Tour events will all offer World Tour Ranking points that will be used to determine the top 16 players in Singles & top 8 doubles pairs who will qualify for the year-ending World Tour Grand Finals from 12 – 15 December 2019 in a city to be determined.   The bids for the ITTF Challenge Series the ITTF’s development tour for up and rising stars of the sport to challenge themselves and earn international recognition and experience will be coming out soon.   The Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour is now in full swing with three events – Hungarian Open Qatar Open (Platinum) and German Open (Platinum) organized in the first quarter of 2018. The ITTF World Tour continues action in Hong Kong from 24 – 27 May after the biggest table tennis event on Earth the Liebherr 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Halmstad Sweden from 29 April to 6 May 2018.