by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

The aim was to raise the level of officiating by basing the meeting of the major principles established by the Umpires and Referees Committee of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF URC).

Items on the agenda included: racket control, illegal services, field of play, the calculation of a round-robin results and discussions on difficult problems which may arise in addition to a rules examination.

Principle speakers were Ma Young-Sam, the Chair of the ITTF URC, Park In-Sook and Jake Choi.

Ma Young-Sam addressed the role of the ITTF Umpires and Referees Committee, Park In-Sook spoke on the topic of field of play presentation; for Jake Choi, the subject was illegal services and rules examination.

“Through this kind of education, the education was conducted in a direction that met international URC standards. It was very beneficial with lots of people attending and intensive training. Since it is important to absorb new knowledge and update in the future, I will continue to provide this opportunity. Ma Young-Sam

“I think it has helped umpires a lot to understand and improve their skills. I look forward to the next one.” Park In-Sook

“I was very pleased to prepare and present “how can we catch illegal services?” I hope our umpires can show the consistent application of the same standards distinguishing good or illegal services. It is also important to continue one’s education and development to learn and get the latest information and updates on the changes of rules and regulations continuously.“ Jake Choi