by Richard McAfee, Course Conductor
It was for me a return. I gave my first ITTF courses in India back in 2012 and have taken many more since that time.
Ajmer is in the Indian state of Rajasthan and surrounded by the Aravalli Mountains. It is well known as the base for visiting Pushkar, an ancient Hindu pilgrimage city. It is also the home of the PSPB Table Tennis Academy where many of India’s top juniors live and practise.
The initiative followed on the heels of a very successful ITTF/PTT Level One Course from Saturday 6th to Wednesday 10th April conducted by Vismay Vyas; originally 14 coaches signed to attend the course but a last minute change of plans reduced that number to only seven. Many of the table tennis coaches in India are government employees and they were called to assist with the national elections.
It was determined that the course should continue; the seven coaches breathed a sigh of relief, six days of hard study and training began.
Having a small number for the course does have advantages for the participants with everyone receiving more personal attention from the course conductor and more practical time on the tables. The result of the coaches’ hard work could be seen in the course examinations as all seven were able to pass and many had high scores.
No rest, I will be conducting another ITTF Level Two Course, this time in Indore, India, from Saturday 20th to Thursday 25th April.
The ITTF Coaches Education Programme in India is the result of a unique collaboration between the Table Tennis Federation of India, the International Table Tennis Federation and Tenvic. Formed by Anil Kumble and Vasanth Bharadwaj, Tenvic promotes the well-being of people and ecosystems across personal and professional spheres, fostering lasting cultural, social and economic benefits for individuals, societies in India. It aims at positively impacting the lives of people through sports in schools and clubs.
In 2019 Tenvic will organize five ITTF courses in addition to a high performance training camp.
