The Board of Table Tennis England is proposing to the Annual General Meeting that our playing membership fees will rise for the 2017/18 season.

The proposal is for fees for adults to rise by £2 and for cadets and juniors by £1. The proposed membership costs are outlined below.

This is the second year of a five-year strategy which includes seeking commercial opportunities alongside small membership fee increases, as discussed at last year’s AGM.

Last year’s rise was completely reinvested into providing additional benefits for members, adding personal accident insurance on top of the existing public liability cover we provide, and securing provision of, and enhancing, the free League Manager function on the Table Tennis 365 website.

This year, we are investing in a club and table finder tool for the Table Tennis England website, allowing clubs and leagues to advertise themselves to potential new members.

In addition, the Benefits Club, introduced last year, allows our Members to save potentially hundreds of pounds a year on goods and services provided by a host of companies, including leading brands such as Apple, Merlin Entertainments, Virgin Experience Days and Vision Express, plus cinema tickets. Additional offers are hoped to to be added to the Benefits Club in time for the new season.

At present, only 7% of Table Tennis England’s income comes from membership fees and most of the rest from Sport England funding. Opening up commercial revenue streams, such as the sponsorship deal signed with PG Mutual for the National Championships, alongside membership fee increases, will help us to be less dependent on public funding.

We are committed to making our membership packages excellent value for money and will continue to keep our members informed of additional benefits going forward.

Proposed Affiliation Fees

Player Membership: £14 for adults; £7 for cadets & juniors.

Player Licence: £36 for adults; £18 for cadets & juniors

Associate Membership: free of charge.

Player Membership is required for those who play regularly in local leagues or wish to compete in a 1* national competition; a Player Licence is required for all players who wish to compete in the British League or national tournaments which are 2* or above.

Membership for 2017-18 season will open online from July 10, and membership telephone lines will open from August 1.