During the Easter holiday’s nine players from three regions of England attended a training camp in Belgium from the 2nd-5th April. The training camp took place at Nodo table tennis club which is situated in Antwerp and is one of the most prestigious clubs in Belgium. Current National champion Paul Drinkhall is a former player for the club in the Super League Division.
Players from South East, Eastern and South West regions enjoyed an intense training camp along with the Nodo club players. The players will have surely benefited from the six hours training per day under the guidance of ETTA regional coaches Paul Whiting, Craig Bryant and Stephen Gertsen. Craig currently represents Nodo and has formed a great partnership with the club. The three coaches are currently studying for UKCC Level 4 and the trip was good for their professional development and portfolio.
All players had a fantastic time and it will be an experience they will never forget, for many of these players it was the first time they have played table tennis outside of England. The players were selected due to their attitude, commitment and dedication to the regional set up throughout the season. On the last day of competition a tournament took place with England coming out on top as Jack Bennett took first place, Lois Peake in second and future Belgium star Laurens DeVos third out of the 16 players competing.
Huge thank you to club president Bob Zwaenepoel who invited the regions out to his club and made everyone feel extremely welcome throughout the four days. The Nodo players have been invited to England for training in the future and it has been suggested that this could be an annual visit for the regions of England also.
South East: Jack Bennett, Finny Wilson, Lois Peake
Eastern: Kleber Silva, Ryan Williams, Lucy Zhu
South West: Ollie Buddell, Kevin Vandabona, Naomi Jackson
