The deadline for entries to the PG Mutual National Championships Qualifying Tournament has been extended until January 2.

The tournament, at the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre in Preston on January 19-20, was introduced in response to feedback from our members.

It features men’s and women’s singles and the top 10 men and top 10 women will go forward to the PG Mutual National Championships at the University of Nottingham from March 1-3.

So far, almost 60 men have entered, while the number of entries for the women’s singles stands at just below 20.

Click here to download a prospectus and entry form

Table Tennis England Chief Executive Sara Sutcliffe said: “We’re encouraged by the number of entries for the first season of this event, despite the fact that there are some unavoidable clashes with other events on that weekend.

“Because it is a new event and is quite close to Christmas, we have decided to extend the deadline to give people the maximum opportunity to enter, and we are already planning for next season’s qualifying tournament on a weekend when there should be no significant clashes.”

The Nationals Qualifying Tournament is already in the calendar for the 2019-20 season and will be held on the weekend of January 11-12. It is intended to hold the event at a more central venue.