Table Tennis England is backing the Activity Alliance’s Who Says? campaign, which aims to challenge misconceptions about disability sport and break down barriers to participation.

The charity launched the campaign this summer after its research into non-disabled people’s attitudes on inclusive activity found that a lack of understanding could be causing long-lasting barriers to disabled people, leading to inactivity.

Who Says? kicked off with a series of films which challenged six findings of the research. In the films, disabled and non-disabled people share their experiences and feelings on six statements:

• It’s not a real sport if you have to adapt it
• Disabled people aren’t competitive
• Watch what you say around disabled people
• Disabled people don’t want to join in
• Disabled people might get hurt
• Everyone can’t take part together

Click here to find out more about Who Says? or to watch the films

Table Tennis England has pledged to make it easier for inactive groups, including disabled people, to participate and compete in table tennis.

We have launched guidance documents and a grant scheme to make it easier for clubs to put on sessions for disabled players, as well as launching a Being Inclusive section on our website.

Earlier this year, we awarded grants to 12 organisations to help fund schemes to get more people from underrepresented groups into table tennis, eight of which involved a focus on disability.

The infographic on this page shows these and some of the other steps we have taken to become more inclusive as a sport.

Greg Yarnall, Head of Development and Volunteering at Table Tennis England, said: “There is no reason why table tennis cannot be a fully inclusive sport, though sometimes there are barriers, including financial barriers, to this.

“We are committed to removing as many of those barriers as we can and opening up more opportunities for people from all backgrounds.

“The Who Says? campaign sends a positive message which we wholeheartedly support.”