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The International Table Tennis Federation

 

Handbook

2003-2004

 

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OPEN INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

1

FACILITIES

1.1

Hotels should be of at least 3-star standard and with easy access to the playing hall, which ideally should be within walking distance; there should be rooms for 1 or 2 persons, with bath or shower.

1.2

Where necessary, a frequent transport service should be provided between hotel and playing hall; its schedule should be flexible enough to cope with unplanned requirements, such as taking players back to the hotel after a late finish.

1.3

There should be a choice of meals, taking account of any special dietary requirements, and meal times should be flexible and co-ordinated with the times of playing sessions; refreshments, especially soft drinks, should be available in or near to the playing hall.

1.4

The playing hall should be large enough to accommodate at least 8 tables, in separate playing areas of at least 14m X 7m; there should be a practice hall, or a separate practice area in the main hall, with not fewer than half as many tables as in the main hall and with similar playing conditions.

1.5

Changing rooms should be of a good standard with enough showers and toilets for the numbers of players taking part, preferably with individual lockers for players’ clothing; there should also be rest rooms for players and match officials.

1.6

The medical service in the playing hall should be capable of dealing with all likely minor illnesses and injuries and there should be provision for taking anyone needing more extensive treatment to a suitable medical centre or hospital.

 

 

2

EVENTS, DRAW AND SCHEDULE

2.1

The events should include men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles and women’s doubles; any associated team events should be completed before individual events begin.

2.2

There should be a knock-out of not more than 64 places in singles and not more than 32 places in doubles, with 25% of the places for seeds, 25% for other direct entries, 25% for byes and 25% for qualifiers; singles qualifying competitions should be run on the basis of round-robin groups of at least 4 players.

2.3

Direct entry should be based on ranking except that, where necessary, the organising Association may allocate up to 2 wild card entries in singles and 1 in doubles to ensure that 2 of its players in singles, and 1 of its pairs in doubles, are given direct entry.

2.4

In the knockout stage, matches should not be scheduled to start before 1000 or to end after 2200 and no player should be required to play more than 4 matches in a day.

 

 

3

MATCH OFFICIALS

3.1

The referee and deputy referees should be International Referees or International Umpires; at least one of these officials should be from a foreign Association.

3.2

At least 30% of the umpires should be IUs from foreign Associations; all visiting umpires and referees should receive free hospitality and a daily allowance equivalent to US$15.

3.3

There should be a qualified umpire and assistant umpire for each match and for any match the umpires should be from Associations other than those of the players taking part.

3.4

Before the tournament the referee should conduct a briefing meeting for umpires and provide them with a schedule of duties, which should not require them to officiate at more than 2 sessions of about 4 hours’ duration in a day.

 

 

4

PRESENTATION

4.1

The playing hall should be kept tidy and only necessary players and officials allowed in the playing area; around the playing area there should be no refreshment bars or vendors’ stands, nor any obtrusive advertisements or bright lights which might disturb players.

4.2

Interesting matches should be scheduled at times and on tables that are convenient for spectators and the media; finals and semi-finals should be properly staged, on not more than 2 tables at once.

4.3

Media personnel should be provided with all necessary services, including access to telephone and fax facilities, and should be supplied promptly with all results and news items; there should be public displays of results, regularly updated.

4.4

Press photographers and TV camera operators should have good access to the playing area, taking account of the interests of spectators and players; there should be one or more rooms in which players can be interviewed by press and TV reporters.