Dozens of table tennis league administrators joined a webinar outlining how to use the new TT Leagues platform – and initial reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
Developer Mark Constantine from our partners Rocca Creative led the webinar, answering questions raised by administrators either in advance (after they were sent a preview video, which can be seen below) or during the webinar. The questions and answers will be collated and sent out to league administrators in the next couple of days.
If you would like to watch one or both of the webinars, they are embedded at the bottom of this page. A document containing questions and answers arising from the webinars is also attached at the bottom of this page.
Those who joined one of the webinars were able to see the functionality of TT Leagues and how straightforward it is to carry out all the essential tasks that are required to manage a league, including fixture generation.
Many league administrators declared themselves impressed by the new platform and are eager to get started on using it. Here are some of their reactions:
Richard Cullis, Malven TTL and Worcestershire County Chairman
“I have heard talk in the table tennis community that there was no way you could have a system set up in time for the new season.
“I am so pleased to see that not only have you proved the doubters wrong, but you have set up a system which looks at least as good, if not better than TT365 and appears to provide some functions which TT365 can’t or for which they charge extra.
“I know there are a couple of issues which have arisen from the webinar (which justifies the use of this form of communication), such as the playing up function. We have very few clubs in our league and rely on players being able to play up for any other higher placed team regardless of club, but I’m sure from what Mark was saying at the webinar, these won’t take much effort to sort out and generally my initial thoughts are that the new website looks very good and quite simple to administer and maintain.
“It has all the functions that our league committee, players and members need and many more. I like the fact that anyone can enter results using an app. The old system didn’t provide this and we used to get frustrated with being timed out or the site being closed for maintenance at the wrong times.
“I look forward to ‘having a play’ next week when we get the chance to try things out, but I think the designers have done a great job in keeping things simple to set up and maintain, without leaving any functions out, and I’m sure our league members will like the new website.
Mark Bennetts, Mendip TTL
“After viewing the most recent preview video and watching a live demonstration of the new TT Leagues system I am feeling much more confident that this new system is not only going to be ready, available and actually usable by most leagues in the country for the new winter season, but also that it is in good hands with the development team at Rocca who have put together an impressive clean and coherent interface in such a short time.
“Understandably there will be some teething issues and it won’t cover absolutely every nuance of every league but, if development continues at the pace it has been going, this system has a bright future and I cant wait to get my paws on it in the coming weeks.”
Richard Maddrell, a Business Systems Developer, of Gloucester TTL and Stroud TTL
“Having taken part in the webinar, walking through the new TT Leagues system, I am very much encouraged and excited by what we are now seeing. The system looks to be thoughtfully designed, built from the ground up, making it much more straightforward than the existing system.
“All our weird and wonderful table tennis league systems for laying out the schedules, scoring, awarding points, arranging fixtures, and so on, are well considered and covered.
“Building from the ground up as the developers have done, gives the thing a robustness that I’d hoped for, but wasn’t sure they could deliver in such a short space of time. As ever, the devil will be in the detail but as I see it now, our many fears that always come with change, are unfounded.
“I am excitedly looking forward to getting my hands on it ready for the new season. It appears you have moved mountains! Congratulations to all involved.”
Neil Hurford, Oxford TTL
“It was great to see the progress made – TT Leagues already has the core functionality required to manage league competitions.”
What happens next?
All league administrators will be sent a link next week to join a test phase of TT Leagues. The new system will then go live from July 1, when administrators will be able to set up and edit leagues, generate fixtures and carry out the other administrative tasks they need to do.
Table Tennis England and Rocca Creative will issue video guides and written guides to help administrators get to know the new system, and there will also be a helpdesk where any issues can be logged and solved.
We will continue to listen to the needs of league admnistrators and to act responsively to make amendments to the platform.