If you were not already aware, Table Tennis England staff are participating in the #MyMiles month-long challenge in support of SportsAid.

41 staff ambitiously set their sights on covering an equivalent distance that would reach Tokyo, the host city of the 2020 Olympics.

As we head into the final week of our quest to reach the grand total of 5,921 miles, staff have completed a monumental total of 4,494 miles. That works out as 110 miles per member of staff so far.

To put this in perspective, in three weeks, 43 staff have covered an equivalent distance that would see us travel to the Chinese province of Tibet.

There are 1,427 miles left for the staff to cover, and be sure that we are all determined to reach the grand total come the 30^th September.

Why are we doing this?

It is all part of SportsAid Week 2019, which runs from September 23 to 29 and aims to raise money for the charity, which supports the country’s most talented young sports stars as they strive to represent Team GB and ParalympicsGB at future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More than 1,000 athletes across more than 60 sports receive grants each year. The majority are aged 12 to 18 and receive an average award of £1,000. Among the young table tennis players to have received funding in recent years are Charlotte Bardsley, who was named SportsAid athlete of the month last November, plus Denise Payet, Helshan Weerasinghe, Amirul Hussain, Ruby Chan, Josh Weatherby and Jasmin Wong, plus para player Felicity Pickard.

Paul Drinkhall, who competed at London 2012 and Rio 2016 and will be aiming to qualify for Tokyo 2020, is also a SportsAid alumnus, as is para world champion and Paralympic medallist Ross Wilson.

All the money raised assists athletes with training and competition costs, including equipment, accommodation, and transport, during the critical early stages of their careers. The initiative also acts as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on SportsAid and the work the charity does to provide athletes and their parents with support at the beginning of the talent pathway.

For further information regarding SportAid and the #MyMiles challenge, click here to visit the website.