by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Under the direction of Aleksey Yefremov of Belarus, a total of 17 coaches, of whom seven were female, representing all six regions in the country, attended.

Throughout both practical and theory sessions were staged in the Arena Sports Complex,

Both theory and practical sessions on the agenda, each day two sessions were held; the first from 10.00am to 1.00pm, the second from 2.30pm to 5.30pm.

Overall, five table tennis tables plus 300 balls in addition to water and snacks were provided by Table Tennis Federation of the Republic of Georgia.

A busy time for Aleksey Yefremov in the Arena Sports Complex; in addition meetings were held with key personalities. Notably Aleksey Yefremov met Guram Gogoladze, elected President of Table Tennis Federation of the Republic of Georgia in December 2014, alongside Nino Ninoshvili, the National Head Coach and Nino Khvichia, the General Secretary.

“I have already attended two courses with Aleksey, one was in 2012, an ITTF Level One and training camp in Georgia, another was ITTF Level Two in Bulgaria in 2014, now it’s my third time to listen his lectures and attend practical sessions, every time I find some new and interesting things, which can be useful for my work. All participants are very happy because beside his knowledge and passion for table tennis, he demonstrated a sense of humor; that was greatly appreciated by all.” Nino Ninoshvili

Significant officials met (left to right) Nino Ninoshvili, Guram Gogoladze, Aleksey Yefremov, Tariel Khechikashvili and Nino Khvichia (Photo: Aleksey Yefremov) 

Most significantly Aleksey Yefremov was able exchange ideas with Tariel Khechikashvili, the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs.

“Important subjects, such as organizing International tournaments and training camps, arrangements for table tennis players to attend sports schools as well as establishing good relations with European Table Tennis Union and the International Table Tennis Federation were discussed.” Aleksey Yefremov

The idea of having a permanent hall for table tennis was high on the agenda; a topic that was well received by the Minister was showed a great interest for table tennis.