Female members of the table tennis family and others who are passionate about engaging women and girls in sport are being asked to help plan a future strategy.

Table Tennis England are developing a Women and Girls Action Plan to support and engage more females in the sport, from playing to coaching to officiating, and make the sport more attractive to them.

We are planning consultation sessions at which women and girls who are involved in the sport can have their say and contribute to the plan.

Of our current membership, only 11% are female, a figure which has been largely static for a number of years.

As a Governing Body we are keen to close the gap between male and female participation, coaching and officiating and ensure a welcoming and engaging environment for females across all areas of the sport.

The central aims of the Action Plan include:

• Promoting women in our sport who are inspirational role models for girls growing up in the sport.
• Providing clubs and leagues all the information and tools they need to ensure that the environment is welcoming and appealing for female players.
• Supporting female coaches who are already delivering table tennis and ensure barriers are removed for those wanting to take the first steps into becoming a coach.
• Establishing national partnerships to drive the publicity of the sport for women and girls and engage with new audiences.
• Developing programmes to support women at different stages of their lives, understanding that they will have different levels of motivation and availability depending on their life stage.

There are two consultation sessions currently in place, with one more to be added (most likely in the London area) and we are inviting members of the table tennis family to come and hear more about the Action Plan and share their own experiences and thoughts with us.

The sessions are as follows:

South: Thursday October 25 at SGS College, WISE campus, New Road, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS34 8LP.

North: Saturday October 20 at Ackworth School, Pontefract, Yorkshire, from 1.30-4.30pm.

To book your place or to register an interest in a London session, please fill in the form below:

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