The Tournaments Committee and Calendar Working Party have combined into one new group.

It has been apparent for some time that the work of the two bodies overlap, and they rely on each other to such a degree that it was time to formally amalgamate, and therefore the new body will be known as the Tournament Approval Panel (TAP).

In the future TAP will aim to provide a “one stop” service to Tournament Organisers and as part of this we have just started trialling an automated Tournament Application (OT1) process, and will issue details of this as the trial progresses.

The panel in its first year will be co-chaired by Steve Welch and Harvey Webb. Di Jermyn will be the panel’s secretary, and the others members are Mike Atkinson, Margaret Welch and Gary Whyman, plus Margot Fraser as the representative from Technical Officials Committee and Carol Miles, the new Table Tennis England Competitions & Events Manager.