by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Manager

Staged throughout at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre under the direction of Malaysia’s Christina Chee, a total of 12 students, 11 men and one woman, attended. Notably the majority of the coaches possessed national qualifications.

Furthermore, there were several prominent names present. Rowan Fajerman, ITTF-Oceania Participation Officer, responsible for the implementation of the “Smash Down Barriers” Programme attended. Likewise, Patrick Wuertz, ITTF-Oceania High Performance Officer, Wade Townsend, ITTF-Oceania Communications Officer and member of the national team were on duty, as was Alize Belrose, a leading name in Tahiti, alongside George Logothetis, former Greek National Champion.

Meanwhile, worthy club coaches such as Claire Montgomery from Ballarat in addition to Chuan Chew from Croydon and Districts Table Tennis Association attended.

“All aspects of the course were valuable for future use, both able and Para table tennis activities were interesting, An excellent course, we could really see Glenn Tepper’s stamp on the whole course”, Claire Montgomery

“The course did meet my expectations with good use of examples and practical instruction. I have also learned from the other coaches’ practical presentation lessons. I’m very pleased with the amount and type of information that I could use in my coaching groups after the course”, Chuan Chew.

“I hope all coaches will promote and will be more confident to coach Para athletes via the “Smash Down Barriers” programme funded by the Australian Government and implemented by ITTF-Oceania, in conjunction with Table Tennis Australia, to use table tennis as a tool to improve the lives of people with disabilities”, Rowan Fajerman

Positive discussions emerged, a fact that delighted Christina Chee, a team spirit atmosphere prevailed.

Now the coaches must complete 30 hours of practical coaching, a minimum five hours involving coaches with disabilities, in order to gain the ITTF PTT Level One Coach award.