Data laws are changing. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is new and represents a reshaping of the data protection landscape, giving consumers more rights and placing an increased onus on businesses to secure private data.

In simple terms the GDPR will help protect our players, members and clubs by ensuring better governance and transparency around management of data.  Organisations holding personal data (including clubs and leagues) will need to give more information to people about what they do with those people’s data, why, and for how long.

Table Tennis England is working with all relevant stakeholders, including the government, to determine the implications of GDPR for both Table Tennis England and its member clubs and leagues.  The detail of the legislation, particularly how it impacts sport, is currently being debated in parliament, so at this stage it is not possible to give detailed guidance.

We will be providing further guidance for how clubs and leagues can work towards GDPR compliance in due course, ahead of the regulation coming into force on 25 May, 2018.

In the meantime, there are a few things that clubs can start to look at now to help prepare them ahead of further guidance from the Table Tennis England. This includes:

• Looking at what you use members’ data for, e.g. do you do anything more than using it for running the club or league, such as sending out messages on behalf of sponsors?
• Looking at where you hold individuals’ data, e.g. in paper, on a server, or on someone’s desktop?
• Looking at whether you pass data on to anyone else, e.g. sponsors, other parts of the club if it is part of a multi-sport club etc or a league.

The attachment below offers further guidance from the Sport & Recreation Alliance.