This article was updated on Wednesday, April 7 (cut-off dates).

Table Tennis England has announced a framework for confirming national events and leagues, plus a refund policy, as we continue to plan for the 2020/21 season.

Until further notice, national competitions will be confirmed or cancelled either six or eight weeks before their scheduled dates, depending on the competition, and refunds will be applied as per the policy outlined below. Please also refer to cancellations and changes to National Championships and events announced here.

The policy covers events including British League, County Championships and Grand Prix events.

Organisers of sanctioned competitions, such as 1*, 2*, 3* and 4* events, are responsible for refund/cancellation deadlines for those events, and Table Tennis England is happy to offer advice and support to Tournament Organisers. Table Tennis England reached Stage 4 of the ready to return pathway on September 1. 1* sanctioned events only can take place at Stage 4, within restrictions and requirements that TTE Board have agreed as a de facto extension to regulations for this purpose. The guidelines can be seen here.

At the current time, sanctioned events above 1* sit at Stage 5 of the return to play pathway and are not able to take place until Stage 5 is reached. There is no timetable for when Stage 5 will be reached and this continues to depend on Government advice and restrictions.

Doubles play has currently been suspended and will be removed from the regulations requiring national and sanctioned competitions (including but not limited to Grand Prix, British League, County Championships and National Championships) to have a doubles category or categories. This would apply for tournaments until further notice but for league events would remain in place for the entire 20-21 season because the competition format once started should remain the same for the duration of the season.  Tournaments may be able to revert to ‘normal’ formats including doubles as the lockdown eases further.

Neil Rogers, Head of Competitions and Events at Table Tennis England, said: “Whilst planning for a full 2020/21 season, we recognise that the situation is constantly evolving and it is likely we will need to adapt our plans.

“We trust that outlining these policies at this stage will be helpful and give members or clubs the confidence to make arrangements.

“We will continue to communicate with clubs, leagues and individual members as the current restrictions are eased and a way forward for the sport becomes clearer.”

You can see the detailed Table Tennis England return to play information here

Refund Policy

A date will be established and published for each competition, which will represent a ‘stop/go’ decision on whether the tournament, or league round, will take place.

Tournaments: if a national tournament is cancelled, refunds for entry fees will be offered in full

Leagues: if a particular round, or several rounds, are unable to take place as scheduled/ intended, then the respective league committee will consider how best to deliver league activity, and whether any change to format is required. It is anticipated that activity will be restricted to the remaining published league dates only. A proportional refund of entry fees and player registration costs will be offered, relative to the proportion of activity able to take place (eg number of games).

As an illustration: if 60% of fixtures are able take place, then clubs will be offered a refund of 40% of entry fees and player registration costs; if 1 weekend event of 2 is able to place, then clubs will be offered a refund of 50% of entry fees and player registration costs.

Please note that, due to the ongoing uncertainty, British League will be seeking only 50% entry up-front, with any balance (re)calculated and payable once the season has more clarity.

If no Compete Plus-level competition is able to take place for the entirety of the 20/21 season due to ongoing implications of COVID-19, Table Tennis England will refund Complete Plus membership holders the difference between Compete Plus and Compete memberships. The difference that will be refunded is £22 for Seniors and £11 for Cadets and Juniors.

Confirmation/cancellation dates

The following tables show national event dates and associated confirmation or cancellation dates, for National Championships and for other events until the end of March (leagues) and July (tournaments).

Decisions on whether or not to proceed with events will be made firstly on the basis of Government advice and secondly on the basis of necessary confidence in essential practical requirements such as venue availability, staff, officials, volunteers and key suppliers.

An eight-week notice period will be used for tournaments (ie 4 weeks prior to entry deadlines).

A six-week notice period for each round of other Leagues reflects the format, and additionally that these events do not typically require commercial venues, commercial equipment suppliers or large numbers of officials.