The Commonwealth Games host city of Birmingham has been chosen as the location for the ITTF’s International Referees’ Conference 2020.

Leading officials from around the world will gather at The Edgbaston Park Hotel for the three-day conference, which starts on November 27.

As well as the chance to network and share knowledge and experience, delegates will discuss the new selection process for referees in World Tour, World Tour Platinum Events and World Cups. Another topic will be Performance Assessment at these events and the new evaluation system, with Evaluators invited to attend the Conference.

Leading English officials Stuart Sherlock (the Rio 2016 Olympic referee) and Karen Tonge MBE will also attend as part of the planning process for the Commonwealth Games table tennis competition and the legacy of future events beyond that.

Table Tennis England made a bid to the ITTF to host the conference and it is one of our commitments to ensure a lasting legacy from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. It will run alongside moves to modernise the officiating workforce, including training more female and under-25-year-old umpires.

Places are still available on two umpire training courses – in Nottingham in February and Birmingham in March – click here for more information and to book a place.

The conference is one of two staged by the ITTF this year – the other is in Beijing in October.