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Informações sobre as questões que serão abordadas na Assembléia Geral 2005 da ITTF
ITTF Annual General Meeting
To be held in
1. Welcome and opening address
2. Appointment of Chairman of Meeting
3. Roll call and verification of proxies
4. Appointment of scrutineers
5. Minutes of previous General Meeting (Doha, March 2004)
6. Presentations
6.1. Merit Awards
6.2. Other presentations
7. Report of Nomination Committee (document A20)
8. Membership applications
9. Executive Committee Reports
9.1. President - A. Sharara (document A1)
9.2. Deputy President - P. Albertini (document A2)
9.3. Executive Vice President - G. Segun (document A3)
9.4. Executive Vice President - N. Bergström (document A4)
9.5. Executive Vice President - Yang Shuan (document A5)
9.6. Executive Vice-President - J. Faragó (document A6)
9.7. Executive Vice President (Finance) - Han Sang Kook (document A7)
10. Continental Vice Presidents' Reports
10.1. Africa (document A8)
10.2. Asia (document A9)
10.3. Europe (document A10)
10.4. North America (document A11)
10.5. Latin America (document A12)
10.6. Oceania (document A13)
11. Executive Director's Report (document A14)
12. Reports from Committees and Commissions
12.1. Equipment (document A15)
12.2. Media (document A16)
12.3. Ranking (document A17)
12.4. Rules (document A18)
12.5. Sports science (document A19)
12.6. Technical (document A21)
12.7. Umpires & Referees (document A22)
12.8. Athletes' Commission (document A23)
12.9. Junior Commission (document A24)
12.10. Olympic Commission (document A25)
13. Financial Statements
13.1. Audited Financial Statements
13.2. Appoint Auditors for 2005
13.3. Budget
14. Proposition and Resolutions (document A28)
15. Future World Championships
15.1. Update 2006 Bremen
15.2. Update 2007 Zagreb
15.3. 2008 China
15.4. Bids for 2009 and 2010
16. Election of Board of Directors
17. Election of Committees
18. Election of Executive Committee
18.1. President
18.2. Deputy President
18.3. Executive Vice President (Finance)
18.4. Executive Vice Presidents (4)
19. Election of Continental Vice Presidents
20. Next AGM - Bremen, May 2006
21. Any other business
ITTF Board of Directors Meeting (1st Session)
1. Welcome and President's opening address
2. Roll call
3. Minutes of previous Meeting (Doha, 5 March 2004)
4. Membership applications to recommend to AGM
5. Update Reports
5.1 Calendar working group (document A26)
5.2 Merit Awards
5.3 Research and development
5.4 Veterans Working Group
5.5 Women's Working Group (document A27)
5.6 Proxy system Working Group
5.7 ITTF/Continental Development Plans
6. New Structure for Committees and Commissions
6.1 Update
6.2 International Paralympic TT Committee & Veterans WG
6.3 Educational and Training
7. World Junior Championships
7.1 Austria 2005
7.2 Egypt 2006
7.3 2007 and 2008
8. Global Junior Programme (Junior Circuit, JC Finals and Cadet Challenge)
9. WTTC Team System
10. Olympic Solidarity support
11. Olympic Games 2008
12. Next meeting
13. Any other business
14. Adjournment
ITTF Board of Directors Meeting (2nd Session)
To be held in Shanghai, China, 3rd May 2005, at 09:00 hours
1. Welcome and President's opening remarks
2. Roll call
3. Introduction of new members
4. Appointment of Committee Chairmen
5. Co-option of Chairmen as per Constitution
6. Propositions and Resolutions (Document A28)
7. Appointment of Working Groups
8. Next meeting
9. Any other business
The table tennis family reunites again for its annual gathering. We meet in the country where our sport is a passion. I thank the Chinese Table Tennis Association and its President, Mr. Xu Yinsheng, as well as the City of Shanghai for hosting this great event, the Volkswagen 48th World Table Tennis Championships.
Still fresh in our memories are two very successful World Championships in 2004. The magnificent Liebherr World Championships in Doha, superbly presented by the Qatar TTA; and the excellent World Junior Championships hosted by the Japan TTA in Kobe, which raised our Junior event to new heights.
PARTICIPATION
Many initiatives and programmes are undertaken to increase participation at all levels. The ITTF's Development Programme has been refined over the years and is now progressing in concert with the ITTF's Global Junior Programme, both linked at the junior development level by common goals and orientations. I am very happy to report the continued financial support of Olympic Solidarity to our Development Programme and to our Junior Programme as well as to several new initiatives including special funding for disaster affected regions.
The ITTF's Women in Sport programme is making remarkable progress and will celebrate its third Women's Forum in Shanghai. In the future, educational and motivational sessions and workshops may be regionalized in order to reach a larger level of participation. We may return with a Forum at the WTTC periodically with new themes according to need.
The number of ITTF events is increasing steadily, especially at the Junior level, giving more participation opportunities all over the World.
POPULARITY
Our Media Committee and our professional staff have stepped up the effort to improve our publications in both presentation and content. In 2004 we made some changes to our magazine and we are continuing the challenge to produce a world-class magazine for our membership. Our website is beating all records month after month with tremendous increase in the number of visitors. The ITTF website has become an information centre, a news outlet and a statistical database. It is followed all over the world by dedicated followers and discovered daily by newcomers. Our website is a reflection of our activities and a centralized source of valuable information.
For the first time in 2004 the Men and Women World Cup were held together and staged side-by-side very successfully in China to full-house spectators and extensive TV coverage. This concept may be repeated in 2006 in Paris, France.
The highlight of 2004 must be the Athens Olympic Games and the dramatic matches we witnessed. Table Tennis captured the attention of the IOC and many other international sports organisations for its centre-court concept presentation, the exciting matches, the universality of the participants from more than 50 NOCs and the extensive TV coverage. The Korean national newspaper named our event the most successful event at the Olympic Games, which is a great honour for our sport and for the ITTF.
The ITTF through its marketing partner, TMS International, doubled its efforts to put table tennis on TV screens. Long-term agreements have been made with CCTV in China, the new WCSC in the USA, Eurosport in Europe and other networks in various parts of the World. However, we need the cooperation and participation of the National Associations in placing table tennis on more TV screens across the World. This effort must continue.
PROFIT FINANCING
Our marketing partner, TMS International continues to exceed the marketing revenue budget for the ITTF and is constantly seeking new revenue streams for our Federation. This year two major long-term agreements were reached. TMS, on behalf of the ITTF, was successful in concluding a 4-year agreement with VOLKSWAGEN as well as a 3-year agreement with LIEBHERR. These two agreements provide the basis of the ITTF's commercial income for the period 2005-2008. In addition, several other agreements have been reached to ensure that all our events and programmes are adequately funded. It is important to note that the Marketing Income represents more than 60% of the ITTF's total income.
PLANNING
Over the past six years, as President of the ITTF, I insisted on starting new initiatives only if they were properly planned. Our constant reference point was, and still is, the P4 Philosophy-cum-Plan. All our actions, initiatives and programmes were based on the foundation of Planning, and the existence of at least two of the three remaining "P"s: Participation, Popularity or Profit-Financing Following this base, I highly recommend for the ITTF to embark on a formal planning exercise for the new Quadrennial. In my opinion the period 2005-2008 is a crucial period for the ITTF and our sport and should be managed through a strategic plan and an operational plan that will take the ITTF and table tennis securely to new heights within the international sports world.
I would like to thank the members of the Executive Committee for their constant support and hard work. I wish to thank the Continental Vice Presidents for their co-operation and work in developing our sport in their respective continents. I thank our Committee Chairmen for their tireless volunteer work and our Professional Staff for the tremendous support and devotion to our Federation and its activities.
Finally, I wish to personally thank my good friends Nicke Bergström and Pierre Albertini for their work, support and valuable advice within our Executive Committee during my Presidency over the last 6 years.
Respectfully submitted,
Adham Sharara (President)
January 2005
DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Since the General Assembly in
Where I'm concerned, I undertook these responsibilities by going to certain international events. The chronological agenda presented shows the diversity of the activities.
In reply to a long-standing invitation from the Latin American Table Tennis Union, I went to
I then represented the ITTF at the Olympic Qualification tournament held in
After that it was the Island Games in Las Palma,
From the 23rd to the 27th of June, I represented the President at the Brazilian Open in
The summer Olympic Games in
I do not wish to conclude this brief report without sincerely and warmly thanking all those who have invited me and welcomed me during my representation visits. You have all showed me friendship and interest and shared your passion with me.
A heartfelt thank you in particular to the representatives of the LATTU, the COJI and the COJO and to the associations of
Finally, at the end of this mandate my gratitude is expressed to all the friends of the Continental Unions, national association as well as my colleagues in the EC, EC+, BOD and the PAC, without forgetting the permanent members of the staff.
Good luck to table tennis. My best wishes to you all. A special thought for the families of the victims of the terrible natural disaster that struck
Pierre Albertini (Deputy President)
January 2005
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
Please find hereunder report of my activities during the year 2004/05
RESEARCH
A) Longer-Reach Experiment (New Team Play). Demonstration of this experiment was successfully carried out in
B) Experiment on Effects of Reduction of Total Thickness of
Dr. Miran Kondric and Prof. Radivoj Hudetz both ITTF members are the principal researchers while TIBHAR one of our equipment manufacturers will supply different thick nesses of combined sponge cum rubber. The goal of the experiment is to test possibility of reducing speed and spin and when completed and values put to achieved reduction, further test may be required of the researchers in the opposite direction.
C) Experiment on Marking the Ball with a view to making Spins Visible. The same principal researchers as in B will be handling this experiment whose goal is very obvious that is, to achieve more rallies during play.
D) 44mm Balls Bigger balls are being revisited. C.A.R (Centro de Alto Rendimiento,
DEVELOPMENT
A) General Development. This continues to engage the full attention of all ITTF Officers starting from the President to the staff directly charged with the primary responsibilities. The scope of work is increasing as greater coordination of agreed programs with all the Continents is being monitored and supervised. Our Development Manager is sparing no effort in exploring more ways of assisting developing associations whilst our Federation continues to assist with donation of more quantities of equipment. It will only be fair to mention at this stage the contribution of some developed associations like Chinese TTA in the donation of equipment through ITTF.
B) Olympic Solidarity Courses. All associations are still being encouraged to continue working on their National Olympic Committees to give more table tennis courses to them.
SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS
The undersigned is working with Colin Clemett (erstwhile Rules Committee Chairman) and Neil Harwood (EC+ member) on this assignment. Some meetings have been held and interested members opinion have been received mainly in response to a questionnaire sent out in September 2004.
A report is due for submission to and consideration by the Board of Directors meeting in
The undersigned has also been assigned the duty of leading the group which comprises Rufford Harrison (PAC member and former Equipment Committee Chairman) Odd Gustavsen (current Equipment Committee Chairman) Jean François Kahn (Sport Science Committee Chairman), Lineros Frederico (Equipment Committee member in charge of Glues-co-opted by the main group) and Jordi Serra (our Executive Director who has acted as Secretary and Facilitator). The main consultants are the experts from C.A.R.,
A major meeting was held in September 2004 in
A progress report is due for submission to the Board of Directors meeting in
The President, leading ITTF members and staff, continue to foster the good relationships already established with IOC, ASOIF and GAISF. Our Executive Director in Lausanne Jordi Serra also continues to maintain close links with the top officials of IOC.
All Executive Committee, Executive Council, Olympics Commission and Board of Directors meetings were attended during the year. Some representational visits were also made.
I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Executive Committee, Executive Council, the Board of Directors, Fellow Special Assignments Groups and Research and Development Advisory Board for their continued kind support. My gratitude also goes to our hardworking staff in
Thank you for sparing some time to read this report.
May God bless you all!
George O. Segun
(Executive Vice-President - International Relations and Development)
January 2005
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
When the AGM in
The preparation of the next Championships is in progress. We have visited
The Championships in the next year will be organized in very high standard facilities.
The venue Stadthalle
Besides taking part in all the meetings of the Executive Committee, the Executive Council and the Board of Directors, I have officially represented the ITTF during the year 2004 at the following events:
In conclusion, I would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Executive Committee, the Executive Council and the Board of Directors. A special thanks to the staff of
Nils Bergström
(Executive Vice-President - World Championships)
January 2005
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
Report to the AGM Document A5
The year 2004 is memorable with the success of the World Championships for team events in Doha, Qatar and the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. In the past year, our sport has made more progress owing to the efforts of the world table tennis family. The report on my work in 2004 is as follows.
ITTF EVENTS
Several events were held in China in 2004 and I have been working closely with the Chinese Table Tennis Association to ensure the organizations.
Men's & Women's World Cup
For the 1st time in ITTF history, the Men's and Women's World Cup were combined and held in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City on 27th - 31st October. A number of exciting matches were played and it was interesting to see top women playing next to men. The local government gave great support to the World Cup and the spectators were "full house" during all days.
ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals
The 2004 ITTF Pro Tour Grand Finals was organized in Beijing on 10th - 12th December with Volkswagen being the title sponsor for the 2nd year. The Capital Institute of Physical Education in Beijing did a good job in providing human resources and facilities and the Grand Finals were organized successfully.
China vs. the World
The China vs. World Challenge made its debut in Changsha City on 14th -15th December. The organizer and promoter made great efforts in promoting this event and the pilot project was organized in a high level. A "Special Challenge" was organized between players and spectators, who welcomed this concept very much.
All the above events received good TV coverage, which promoted and improved the image of our sport. The World Cup was covered live on TV from the 1st day and the 2 ITTF events held successively at the end of 2004 were intensively covered by TV and press. With the increased TV and media exposure, our sport has become more popular and attractive.
EVENTS IN 2005
The Men's World Cup will be held in Belgium and the Women's World Cup will remain in Asia. The Pro Tour Finals will be held in China with Volkswagen as the title sponsor once again. The contracts for China vs. the World have been signed for 2005 and the competition will be held in China.
The Shanghai Municipal Government has given great support to this event. The renovation of the venue -- Shanghai Gymnasium has started and will be completed by the end of March 2005. The Shanghai OC and the Chinese TTA will work more closely together on the last stage preparations for the upcoming World Championships. Now I am looking forward to welcoming the world table tennis family to Shanghai.
The design for table tennis venue - Peking University Gymnasium has completed and construction will start in 2005. The IOC will make the final decision in July 2005 about team events replacing doubles at the 2008 Games. As the Executive Vice-President (Sports) of the BOCOG, I will do my best to ensure the success of table tennis competition in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Assistance
I continued to work closely with the Chinese Table Tennis Association in providing assistance to the underdeveloped Associations. With the support from Chinese NOC and Double Happiness, equipment assistance to 10 Associations was planned in 2004 and 2 Associations have received them. The equipment to other Associations will be shipped in the beginning of 2005. China has also provided assistance in other aspects such as organizing training camps and sending out coaches and trainers to some Associations.
The ITTF Training Center and Table Tennis Academy will be set up in Peking University and open from 2006. Volkswagen has expressed its interest to sponsor this center.
I attended the following meeting and events in the capacity of the Executive Vice-President.
In 2005, I will focus on (but not limited to) the following tasks:
· Ensure the organization of the World Cup and other international events;
· Work with the Shanghai Organizing Committee on the 2005 WTTC;
· Work with the BOCOG on the 2008 Olympic Games.
· Acknowledgements
In conclusion, I would like to thank all my colleagues in the Executive Committee, the Executive Council, Board of Directors and the ITTF staff in Lausanne and Ottawa for their continued support and teamwork. I also thank members of the Chinese Table Tennis Association for their help.
Yang Shuan (Executive Vice-President)
January 2005
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT
Report to the AGM Document A6
Let me start my report with a personal comment: 2 years ago I was a little bit afraid of what I can contribute to the Executive Committee as a newcomer. Since then it is my greatest pleasure and honour to be given responsibilities inside the EC, which I really enjoy and feel interesting, productive and challenging.
As member of the Executive Committee, my responsibilities are:
The most grateful thing is to follow the instant and rapid growth of the Global Junior Program chaired by Tony Yue, coordinated by Mikael Andersson and the events managed by Raul Calin. Their dedication and capability are the guarantee for the success and the popularity of the program.
The Global Junior Program offers at the same time continental involvement and rotation; worldwide development on basic and top level; education of young people, giving them a chance for cultural and sport relation exchange; top level world competition at junior and cadet age.
The Junior Circuit in its 4th year offers already 12 tournaments comparing to seven in 2004.
The World Cadet Challenge had a great success last time thanks to the good cooperation and logistic organisation from the continental teams and to the excellent and warm hospitality from the organisers in
The 2nd World Junior Championships was a high-level event both from playing level and organisation point of view in spite of being the "youngest" element of the program.
The Junior Commission had meetings in 2004 in
When a child is growing fast, the parents have to change the clothes more often to a bigger size. It is exactly the same situation now with the budget for the Global Junior Program, which should be regarded as an investment for the future. Fortunately the Executive Committee is giving all the support by looking at the program as a priority and asking TMS to find sponsors for it outside table tennis.
The Women's Development Program is 2 years old only, but already preparing for the 3rd Women's Forum under the title "Changes through Participation".
It is very difficult to list all the initiations and achievements reached by the WWG under the useful guidance of the Chairwoman, Dorte Kronsell, and managed by the enthusiastic and fully determined Lila de Soysa.
Hereby I want to focus on two important facts which have to be underlined:
1) The Women's Working Group was brave enough - among its first actions - to create and publish the Terms of Reference for the group and insists on realising most of the planned goals (See the report of the Women's Working Group).
2) The ITTF is firmly considered as a pioneer and the best example to be shown when it is about Women's Development in Sport. The most visible and obvious signs from the Olympic family and from the international sports organisations are:
From time to time Lila, Dorte and myself report to the EC, which always supports and encourages our efforts.
I was nominated to chair the Calendar Working Group 6 years ago and now the time has come to give the chance to somebody else to take it over. I tried to do my best to make the transition as smooth as possible in a period when we have to face a new situation in terms of having more and more events on different levels, for different categories, while the year is still consisting of 52 weeks. (See my separate report.)
Beside attending all the EC, EC+, EB meetings, I attended the European Champion's League final in Charleroi, the Junior Circuit Final/World Cadet Challenge in Madeira, the World Junior Championships in Kobe, the Slovenian Pro Tour in Velenje as an ITTF representative, and I made a presentation on the ITTF Development Program ("Breaking Down the Barriers with Table Tennis Balls") at the 10th Sports For All World Congress in November in Rome.
Finally I want to thank my colleagues in the EC for being supportive, to the Committee/Commission/Working Group Chairpersons for their cooperation, to the staff colleagues for being dedicated and to the President for his trust in me.
Judit Faragó (Executive Vice-President)
January 2005
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT (FINANCE)
Report to the AGM Document A7
The years 2003 and 2004 were a period where we had very tight and hard management in the field of finance, in cash-flow, due to the transfer of our "cash reserve" into long term and real-estate investments. But under the fine and fair leadership of our President, Mr. Adham Sharara, and the excellent management, headed by our Executive Director, Mr. Jordi Serra, Ms Lilamani de Soysa, Miss Habiba Besic and Ms Violet Le Blanc, of their systematic and efficient work, we have managed the ITTF finances and overcome the period of "cash flow limitations" successfully. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank our Marketing Team, TMS, Mr. Anders Thunström and Mr. Christian Veronese for their splendid work in bringing greatly increased income to the ITTF. Now, the ITTF has settled all outstanding payments by the end of December 2004 and has not carried any payables into the new year 2005.
I am happy to report to the AGM that we have experienced a surplus for the 5th consecutive year, and that our total assets have increased positively. Furthermore, with the Olympic Funding that we have received, our finances have become very solid and well balanced and now we can carry on our P4 Plan.
The ITTF audited financial statements for the year ending
1) Headquarters - Chemin de la Roche 11, 1020 Renens/Lausanne, Switzerland
As you probably know, the renovation of the building has been completed and it is functioning well as our Head Office and is now able to display items destined for the museum.
2)
The building has generated profits on investment (purchase price) equal to 6% in 2002, 10% in 2003 and 10% net in 2004, as well as increased in value, so we can say that this is a very good investment. I would like to congratulate the Ottawa Office for their effort in managing the building efficiently.
The scope of TMS's work and success is expanding every year and the revenues are increasing gradually and steadily. This has made it possible for the ITTF to invest in development programmes and to increase its activities in Junior Circuit, Cadet Challenge, etc.
The final figures are not known, for the IOC does not have their final figures in expenses and income from the Olympics. But the minimum of US$ 915.000 in 5 years will be distributed as pledged at the EC+ meeting, which is 50% more than the amount distributed in the previous cycle.
I regret that I cannot include in this report the budget for 2005 and the next cycle, the audited report and the financial statements for the year 2004 and the final figures of the Olympic fund allocation. However, a detailed report including this information will be published separately as soon as the audits are completed at the end of March 2005.
In my capacity as Executive Vice-president I attended the following ITTF meetings and events:
March 1st to 7th LIEBHERR World Table Tennis Championships (
May 20-23 Pro Tour Volkswagen Open
May 27-30 Pro Tour Volkswagen Open
August 14-25 Olympic Games (
October 27-31 ITTF WJC Finals and WCC (Funchal,
In conclusion, I would like to thank my colleagues in the Executive Committee, Executive Council, Board of Directors and especially our President, Adham Sharara, for their support and co-operation where financial matters were concerned. I would like also to express my gratitude to Committee Chairmen and Chairwoman and to all ITTF staff in Lausanne and Ottawa, in particular, the Executive Director Jordi Serra and Lilamani de Soysa for their assistance and friendship. I foresee a great future for the ITTF with hard work and the leadership of our President, Adham Sharara. Thank you.
Respectfully submitted by
Han Sang Kook (Executive Vice-President - Finance)
January 2005
Report to the AGM Document A8
Translated from the French by Lilamani de Soysa
According to recommendations received to confine the AGM reports to 3 pages, you will find as follows a brief summary. The complete report of the African Continent containing 30 pages has already been presented in detail to the General Assembly of the African Table Tennis Federation in
Ms Jane Pinto (
Ms Bosse Kaffo (
Ms Dilshad Khanji (
Ms Hajera Kajee (
Committee
Ms Patience Iwuno (
Ms Cisa Nadine (
Ms Attignon (
WOMEN'S TABLE TENNIS DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP
Ms Mary Musoke (
Olympian in 1996 and 2000)
Ms Kodon Cissokho (
Ms Game Mothibi (
Ms Marlyse Ithier (
Therefore, this group of 20 women (surely also including Ms Gobel, President of the Namibian TTA, Ms Agripina Habicht, General Secretary of the Tanzania TTA and many others who were absent in Mauritius), will definitely give the positive results that we expect by 2008.
Chérif Hajem (Continental Vice-President -
January 2005
Report to the AGM Document A9
There is no doubt that the most significant event of all sports in 2004 is the Athens Olympic Games. Again, Asian players became the biggest winner of the Olympic table tennis competition by making a clean sweep of all four gold medals. What is different from last Olympiad in Sydney is that Korean player Ryu Seung Min fought hard to win a precious gold medal in Men's Singles, which ended China's hope to capture all the golds in the Olympic Games for the 3rd consecutive time.
Further to the tremendous success in the Olympics, Asia has organized nearly all the world title events of 2004-World Championships in Doha, Men's & Women's World Cup in China, ITTF Pro-Tour Finals in China, World Junior & Veteran Championships in Japan.
I am pleased to present the following report summarizing the activities in
The Qatar Table Tennis Association held the first-ever World Team Championships in
For the first time, the Men's & Women's World Cup were combined so that table tennis fans can enjoy the performance of world top male and female players at one time. Again, the event was held in Xiaoshan District of Hangzhou, China at the end of October. Although some players were not yet back from intensive training after the Olympic Games, the event still created many exciting and close matches. Chinese player Ma Lin and Zhang Yining, the newly crowned Olympic Champion took the title for men and women respectively.
Kobe of Japan organized the 2nd World Junior championships at the beginning of December, 2004. The event attracted world best junior players under 18 and ended with
The World Veteran Championships was held successfully in
Due to the busy preparation of World Team Championships in
Therefore, there were still 5 ITTF Pro-Tour events in
ITTF Pro-Tour Grand Finals'2004 was once again awarded to
Besides the regional qualification of
The competition selected the last 7 men and women qualifiers representing
East Asian Hopes Tournament for 2003 was rescheduled to
The Indian TT Federation, an extremely active member of
In November 2004, Asian Cup for Men was held in
Under the leadership of Ms. Sachiko Yokota, the Asian Cadet Boys & Girls Team achieved good result in the 3rd World Cadet Challenge held at the end of October in
As approved by the ATTU Congress meeting,
Before the World Team Championships in
During the Olympic Asian Qualifying Tournament, some of the ATTU Executive Committee members met in
The development officer Mr. Afshin Badiee has been working very hard to contact those under-developed associations, bringing courses and seminars to these "remote areas" for table tennis. Some regional and international opens were organized this year such as the Arab Table Tennis Club Championships (
Finally, I would like to thank all the ITTF leading officials and staff members who have been working closely with
Khalil Al Mohannadi (Continental Vice-President - Asia)
January 2005
Report to the AGM Document A10
1. Member basis
After the affiliation of
2. ITTF Meetings
As Vice-President for
3. ETTU Meetings
Since
During the year 2004, I visited the German as well as the Russian Association. Already now I am planning such visits for 2005. During the year I most probably will visit
4. Co-operation with the ITTF
The ETTU considers the close-co-operation with the ITTF as one of the most important principles in its work. Many deciding matters can be solved only on the world level and the ETTU is ready to strengthen its initiatives to reach the best possible results in favour of the world table tennis. I am especially happy to have signed during the year 2004 a TV agreement with TMS, which ensures that table tennis also is broadcasted throughout
The development of table tennis in
ETTU is always trying to participate in all ITTF's efforts.
5. Competitions
Since the AGM in
End of March beginning of April the Danish Association will host the European Championships. The French Association will organise the Europe TOP-12 beginning of February 2005 and the Italian Association will organise the Europe Junior TOP-12 by end of January 2005. All Club competitions are running smoothly for the moment and will end only after the Shanghai Championships.
As a very positive point ETTU considers the activities of ITTF for youth categories, such as the World Youth Championships, the World Cadet Challenge and ITTF World Junior Circuit.
Finally I want to express my sincere thanks to the ITTF Executive Committee and Executive Board for their consistent and successful work, to all other Continents for their co-operation and to the ITTF Secretariat for their friendly and willing help.
Stefano Bosi (Continental Vice-President - Europe)
January 2005
Report to the AGM Document A11
The North American Table Tennis Union was formally organized during this past quadrennium. NATTU signed Continental Agreements with the ITTF beginning in 2002. Compared to the lengthy history of other continental associations, NATTU is still in its infancy. It was pleasing to see significant progress on an annual basis, nonetheless, toward a unified continental initiative.
NATTU activities conducted throughout the year were:
· Junior participation in an international training camp. Canadian and American juniors traveled to Sweden and participated in the camp prior to the Swedish Junior Open.
· Junior participation in a continental training camp. The camp was hosted by the Canadian Association in Vancouver.
· Cadet participation in a continental training camp. This camp was also held in Vancouver.
· High performance coaching. Nearly 30 coaches from the US and Canada participated in the coaching camp.
· Women's development camp. Women and cadet girls participated in a camp in Ottawa.
A development visit to
In addition to the activities specified in the Continental Agreement, continental qualifications were successfully held for all required competitions such as the World Cup, Olympics and global junior and cadet events.
With this report, I am concluding my service as an ITTF Vice President. It was a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve in that capacity. One proposal I made that I was happy to see adopted was the ITTF's commitment to drafting formalized strategic and operational plans with corresponding long- and short-term goals.
I further suggested that the ITTF could model a major initiative after the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals. That initiative was approved by all countries in the UN. It contains 8 principles. Trackable information is available through regular internet updates. (For more information, see http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals.) The ITTF has already signified its approval of the P4 principles as articulated by ITTF President Adham Sharara. Wouldn't the growth of table tennis worldwide be phenomenal if the ITTF, as well as its continental and national associations specifically committed themselves to carrying out the P4 vision? By making Popularity, Participation, Profit and Planning our 24/7 (all day everyday) mission, we would all be working in unison toward our sport's growth.
Several months ago, as USATT president, I had the opportunity to lead the USATT Board through a workshop designed to tie in national goals with the ITTF P4 principles. I strongly recommend that other national associations do this as well and that continental associations also adopt P4 objectives.
In closing, I would like to thank my ITTF colleagues. Most of all, though, I extend my deep gratitude to the professional and hard-working executive directors of the Canadian and US associations: Tony Kiesenhofer and Doru Gheorghe.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheri Pittman (Continental Vice-President - North America)
January 2005
Report to the AGM Document A12
***
Dear Presidents and Delegates of the countries of Africa, Oceania, North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America here present, to the representatives of sports organisations, our excellent Executive Committee, Board of Directors, trainers, administrative workers and experts of the ITTF whose help is always so invaluable, to all of you, greetings from Latin America.
On behalf of the over 10 million representatives of Latin-American table tennis, I would like to dedicate my first words today to the victims of the tsunami in
Last year was a year of hard work and many activities were carried out 100% as PLANNED, which is a great achievement for our organisation.
We have reached the end of the 2001/2004 OLYMPIC CYCLE with better play and improved introduction of our programmes; evidence of this was the assessment of our First Strategic Plans for
In the final assessment, of the 40 planned measure criteria, 35 were rated as GOOD, 3 as AVERAGE, and 2 as INSUFFICIENT. This Olympic cycle has therefore proved very positive for Latin-American table tennis, which is ending with the best year in its history so far.
Our previous report, submitted in Qatar in 2003, was encouraging in the progress it evidenced and very self-critical of certain problems that came to light during this phase; these were analysed in detail at the ULTM General Assembly in Argentina, which was very educational for us and has enabled us to improve the work we carry out in the Latin-American Union and its member countries.
The work of the Regional Confederations, which includes organising tournaments, improving communications and obtaining rapid responses to their development programmes, such as courses, camps, equipment supply and many others, continues to improve and the future looks bright in this respect.
In 2004, two new presidents were appointed in the Regional Confederations: Mr. Stanley Hunte of Trinidad and
Increasing the POPULARITY of table tennis in our member countries is still our basic aim and significant progress is being made in this respect. As a result of this popularity, we have managed to increase PARTICIPATION by over 300%.
PLANNING in the Latin-American Union and its member countries has improved dramatically and our associations are using their resources and efforts to better ends.
The National Olympic Committees and our government bodies are now more aware of table tennis in
Excellent progress in quality was made with the preparation and participation of our junior teams who represented
Rather than focusing on what we actually achieved in the championship, our experiences and the close working relationship between our leaders and coaches gave us a clear view of our situation and what we are up against if we want to obtain better results.
Another achievement in participation and performance was the presence of our BRA and VEN youth teams at the World Junior Championships in Kobe/Japan, who came 2nd. We would like to thank them for the efforts they made to participate and represent us all proudly, and for their achievements in the tournament.
We would like to extend our most heartfelt THANKS to our world ATHLETES and COACHES, to their leaders for all their efforts to guarantee the presence of their classified players, and to the coaches of classified players that did not attend the competition, for their professionally executed job and achievements.
- Progressing with our "OLYMPIC PROMISES" in countries with top programmes, in the Union with the ITTF/ULTM camps, and in the CIAR in Brazil with the presence of our top players, has become one of the main aims of our strategic plans and improvements continue to be made in this area.
- Last year was a very satisfactory year for us:
In 2004, we had 7 Olympic solidarity scholarship holders, thanks to the support of our hard-working friend, MIKAEL ANDERSSON, and of course to the Executive Committee of the ITTF.
We received record total resources: between the support of the ITTF and OLYMPIC SOLIDARITY, we reached the top figure of USD 134,000.00. We would like to thank GLENN TEPPER and MIKAEL ANDERSSON for their unfailing support.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
My final words of affection go to our national associations and their executive committees, to our athletes, trainers, referees and activists who silently and systematically work to achieve top-level table tennis in
To finish off, we would like to inform the friends of TABLE TENNIS here present that the ULTM General Assembly, held in April 2004 in the beautiful city of
Thank you very much,
Miguel Delgado (Continental Vice-President - Latin America)
January 2005
Report to the AGM Document A13
This year has been extremely busy with many events, including the Olympic Games, World Team Championships and the Oceania Championships, as well as a plethora of other events. This very busy calendar provided great opportunity for players.
I will report on the various areas of activity
This area is clearly the most important for our zone with positive results being reflected across all activities.
Our Development Officer, Steve Dainton, has been very pro active throughout the region. In addition he also visited Afghanistan on a joint ITTF-International Olympic Committee project to assist the reestablishment of sport in that country.
Steve led a cadet team, with representatives from many of our associations, on a training and competition tour of Sweden. This was a first for Oceania Table Tennis. He also led the Oceania team to the Cadet Challenge in Portugal, where our results continued to improve.
Two Oceania Training Camps were successfully conducted, the first prior to the Oceania Championships, and the other before the World Junior Circuit event in New Caledonia. He visited twelve countries to conduct either development activities or run Olympic solidarity courses.
Our development program is strong and we are grateful for the support that we've received from the ITTF (particularly Glenn Tepper), Oceania National Olympic Committee, Butterfly and other sponsors.
Steve Dainton is working part time for Oceania, from this year, with his other time allocated to the establishment of an ITTF Asian office in Shanghai. We will be working closely with the ITTF to ensure that this change will have minimal impact on our development program.
As mentioned above there was a development trip to Sweden in January 2004, the Cadet Challenge in Portugal during October and teams competed at the World Junior Championships at Kobe in Japan.
The second World Junior Circuit event conducted in Oceania was held in Noumea, New Caledonia and was an outstanding success. This event was awarded a prize for being the best sporting event conducted in New Caledonia during 2004. I am delighted that one of our rapidly developing associations, Fiji, will host a World Junior Circuit event in 2005.
The Oceania Championships were held in Whangarei, New Zealand, during April, with record-equalling entries. They were preceded by a training camp with over fifty participants from eight different countries taking part.
The organisation, facilities and hospitality were top class and provided the stage for great competition. I thank the organisers, led by James Morris, for their efforts.
Senior Teams Men, New Zealand - Women, Australia
South Pacific Cup Men, Fiji - Women, Vanuatu
Senior Singles Men, William Henzell, Australia - Women, Miao Miao, Australia.
Detailed results of all events are available on the OTTF web site.
Oceania qualified eight new International umpires and Averil Roberts, of New Zealand, achieved blue badge status, which is currently the highest level.
We provided two umpires and a deputy referee for the Athens Olympic Games and four umpires for the World Championships in Qatar.
I am delighted with the progress that the ITTF Women's Working Group has made and also that we are seen as leaders in this area on the World sporting scene.
Our Continental representative of this group, Mareta Tovata, attended the World Championships in Qatar and took part in workshops that were held at that time.
An Oceania Women's Table Tennis course was conducted by Kerri Tepper, of Australia, in Suva, Fiji. This course was attended by women from four countries from a varying range of both table tennis and community groups. The outcomes of this course were very positive and will provide a network of people in the region to focus on women's development and table tennis generally. Whilst neither Australia nor New Zealand were attendees they have agreed to have an active involvement.
2005 will be another busy year and I'm sure it will be very productive. The tsunami and other national disasters will require all of us in table tennis to work closely together to provide opportunities to all.
I wish to place on record my thanks to the ITTF, Oceania National Olympic Committee and Butterfly for their continuing support. Such strong support for our junior program provides the impetus to make things happen.
I also thank our member associations, Development Officer, Steve Dainton, Executive Director, Phil Males, and my fellow Management Committee members, Patrick Gillmann, David Jackson, Graeme Ireland, Michel Lehoullier, Ron Garrett and Anthony Ho. The cooperation and support I have received makes the task enjoyable.
Neil Harwood (Continental Vice-President - Oceania)
January 2005
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Report to the AGM Document A14
2004 a difficult but very positive year
2004 was the Olympic year. The year of the Olympic Games in
2004 was also our first full year with our new offices located in Renens/Lausanne. Every change needs a period of adaptation and for us, to be used to the new Headquarters required also a special effort.
2004 was also a difficult year from the financial point of view. We completed our investment in real state at the new HQ and this means that all our reserve fund was invested there. The ITTF Olympic fund, due to the old policy, was all spent at the end of the year 2003. The new Olympic funds only arrived at the end of October 2004 and this created a period of cash flow problems. Several decisions were taken in order to avoid that this happens again in the future being the most important the distribution of the ITTF Olympic fund over a period of 5 years (from 2004 to 2008 both years included). This will allow us to include the year 2008 in the new Olympic period and to reserve Olympic funds for this year. The next Olympic cycle will come back to the normal 4 years period (2009-2012).
Nevertheless, 2004 was finally a very positive year. The Olympic Games in Athens and the Qatar World Team Championships were both excellent. The ITTF Pro-Tour circuit, the World Cup events, and the Junior competitions had also a very high standard from the organization perspective.
We are now used to the new Headquarters and ready to complete the full project with the set up of the ITTF Museum and the Documentation and Information Center. Finally, the cash flow problems disappeared with the arrival of the new Olympic funds and we hope that the new financial strategy will avoid to face again these kind of problems.
Communication
During the year 2004 we have come to the updated editing of the Handbook 2004-2005, the Rules Booklet 2004-2005 and already within the year 2005, we published our Yearbook "Review 2004/Preview2005" a compendium of the competitions held in 2004 and the anticipated ones for 2005.
The printing of Table Tennis Illustrated moved from Denmark to England and is now designed by Sports Services Group and Mr. Ian Marshall.
Mr. Ian Marshall and Mr. Christian Veronese covered the Communication area on the interim period after Mr. Peter Jensen left the ITTF. I would like to thank them for their efforts in maintaining the high standards of the ITTF Communication Area.
The ITTF News with a new modern format appeared 6 times per year thanks to Mrs. Lilamani de Soysa.
Finally, the ITTF web site continued the improvements and increased a lot the number of visits and is now one of the most powerful communication tool thanks to the efficient work of the IT Manager, Mr. Mohammed El-Shentenawy.
Staff
Mr. Didier Leroy, from Belgium, and Mr. Raul Calín, from Spain, are the new ITTF Competition Managers. Mr. Leroy is mainly in charge of the ITTF Pro-tour events and Senior World Championships and Mr. Calin's work is focused mainly on the Youth competitions.
Mr. Chuck Hoey, the Curator of the ITTF Museum, was working the full year at the new ITTF Headquarters and he will remain with us the full year 2005.
A new internship program started in 2004. Mrs. Christin SCHWUCHOW (GER) joined the ITTF for a 6 months internship (February to July) and Mrs. Susan YAN DONG (CHN) replaced her from July 2004 till January 2005.
Finally, I must also report that Mr. Peter Jensen, Media and Communication Manager, left the ITTF on May 2004. The new Media position will be announced and fulfilled during 2005.
International relations and IOC relations
Together with the ITTF President I have attended the Sport Accord conference held in
As usual I have made sure that during the visits of the ITTF President to Lausanne he had the opportunity to meet with the IOC officers and the local, regional and international sports authorities.
Thank you very much to all of you for your continued support and for your confidence,
Jordi Serra (Executive Director)
January 2005
EQUIPMENT COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A15
At the last count of approved / authorised equipment we had:
40 mm balls 67
Tables 60
Floor mats 3
Nets 41
Glues 70
Racket coverings 925
Racket coverings
The agreement to transfer our testing to a laboratory was finalised in 2004 and was started from 1. January 2005. This increases the handling time for the suppliers, and introduces a fee to cover our expenses. The suppliers (on a cost plus basis) will pay all testing; so far this has been free. This will then be in line with what we do for other equipment.
The number of authorised coverings continues to rise.
Some more advanced tests are done in a laboratory on a trial basis.
The problem with "treated rubbers" is not solved.
Other types of material
This part is mainly running in a smooth fashion. We are participating in the Glue Working Group according to the decision in
Internet / ITTF web site
We will continue to develop our part here, as soon as we have the needed support available from our staff - who had to pay more attention to other matters recently.
The inclusion of image files to show the texts in rubbers, which has been a time consuming operation, is now nearing completion.
General
A discussion has been started with "hardbat" players to see how their needs can be covered. Also a discussion about blades was initiated. Both are expected to continue in 2005.
The BOD gave us a possibility to put pressure on suppliers who are using ITTF logo illegally, and this has proved to be a strong tool, however, to be applied with caution.
We have some very devoted workers in our Committee, and we are very much in debt to them, while others stand more at ease. Our co-working with the Lausanne office is most satisfying, and we are very grateful for that.
Odd Gustavsen (Chairman, Equipment Committee)
January 2005
MEDIA COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A16
The Committee have put forward some ideas to increase the coverage of table tennis in the Media.
The scholarship criteria have been renewed.
We have made guidelines for players informing them how to deal with the media, which could be useful specially for younger players and for players participating in the Olympic Games for the first time.
We have made guidelines for associations with ideas on how to get more media coverage (on the website).
The Media minimum requirements for ITTF events have been renewed, we have made a proposal to select players of the Year, we have made a proposal for a photo gallery.
Unfortunately our Media Manager Peter Jensen did not renew his contract with the ITTF, and since June we have been without a Media Manager. Peter Jensen was the first Media Manager at the ITTF. He improved the services that the ITTF provided for the Media. Our work got much more professional. He created a network of media, distributed press releases regularly, and acted as ITTF Press Officer at big ITTF events. The image of the ITTF among the media improved considerably in the period Peter was employed.
In a sport federation like table tennis it is essential to have a professional Media Officer, who can serve the media whenever it is needed.
The ITTF will employ a person to be the Press Officer for the ITTF in Shanghai. The employment will be from February to the end of the championships. After the championships I hope, we have a more permanent solution.
Some of the ideas of the Committee could not be fulfilled, because the work had to be done by the Media Manager; for example the idea of selecting a player of the year. Hopefully we can implement the idea next year.
The committee had during the Doha championships a meeting with the producer of the TV pictures.
He said that table tennis had the potential to be a TV-sport. The base is good but table tennis needs to have more profiles. The ITTF needs to increase the knowledge of the players. Players must be personalities.
All TV stations look at the ratings. Therefore table tennis must fit the product to the demands from television. On the other hand table tennis must put demands on the TV stations. It is a two-way strategy the ITTF must follow.
The TV producer also said that the change to 11 points was excellent, the time out rule was excellent (it gave possibilities for slow motion and flash back). The design in Doha was nice, and table tennis must use the same, so the TV-audience will also in this way recognize table tennis. Blue and red are young colours and are much better than green, which by the audience will be recognized as old fashioned.
Television today is all about excitement and emotions. The producer said he would like to see more emotion from the players.
In Doha 10 cameras were in use, which included two super slow cameras. With the super slow camera it is possible to give table tennis an extra dimension.
He saw the time scheduling as one of the biggest problems for table tennis. There is a reason that all TV-series are about one hour. TV programmes loose viewers after one hour.
The major TV market was Asia. CCTV broadcast all the televised matches from Doha. Europe is a difficult TV-market, but there we sold rights to Eurosport and Germany and news rights to EBU.
In Doha there were about 80-100 accredited journalists.
The organiser had hired a marketing company to run the press centre. 16 computers were available and wireless cards for internet were available on the tribune.
In Athens, Christian Veronese acted as liaison between the media and the ITTF, and Ian Marshall wrote articles for the website from all the ITTF events.
CCTV from China produced the television pictures from Athens.
The Olympic Games were quite successful. A lot of good matches, many surprises but unfortunately not always crowded with spectators as in Sydney. One of the weaknesses mentioned in the evaluation report was the presentation of the games. No information about players' ranking or previous results were ever mentioned.
If we want to attract spectators we must be ready to entertain them and take them seriously. Of course in an appropriate way, so we do not harm or disturb players. The Media Committee will make a catalogue with ideas, how to inform spectators during events.
The traffic on the website is increasing. We have in few years developed a website which contains all kinds of information. There is still room for improvement, but in my opinion we still have one of the best websites compared with other Federations.
Table Tennis Illustrated has got a new format.
Background stories, development articles from all over the world must be the main content. Of course we must cover ITTF events, but if we publish news on the website then the stories in the Illustrated must have some added value to the stories already published on the website.
The Magazine needs more subscribers, and we must all work very hard to make the illustrated a must for all table tennis fans.
In Shanghai we will offer three scholarships for young journalists. At least one of the scholarships will be given to a woman, and priority will be given to applicants from continents outside the host continent.
We have never had so many applications as we have for Shanghai. We take it as a sign of increasing interest from the media to cover world table tennis events.
Arne Madsen (Chairman, Media Committee)
January 2005
RANKING COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A17
During the period elapsed since my last report the Ranking Committee kept on preparing the various rankings they have to produce.
The Senior Rankings have been issued at the usual frequency, i.e. one ranking in the first days of each month, with the exception of ranking nr. 9, which was produced on 23d August right at the end of the last final of the singles events of the Olympic Games.
The number of players recorded on these lists is still increasing passing for the first time the limits of 900 men and 600 men, compared to respectively 800 and 500 in the 2003 report.
Beside these singles rankings the Ranking Committee also prepared Seeding Lists for the doubles events at the Olympic Games and at the present World Championships as well as for each of the ITTF Pro Tour Tournaments.
Together with its Senior Ranking Lists the Ranking Committee prepares each month special rankings for U-18 and U-21 players, which are in fact merely extracts of the corresponding Senior Rankings.
However in the same time as the first 2005 rankings, two sets of rankings were produced for each of these age categories, the first one recording the positions of all the players eligible in 2004 in their respective categories, the second one taking only into account the players who will be still eligible in 2005 for the same categories.
Senior and Junior World Team Rankings are still produced at the same rhythm as the individual ones, the Senior ones were used for the World Team Championships in
· The Ranking Committee is also in charge to apply the Ranking Penalty Policy implemented since the beginning of 2005 for the ITTF events, and consisting in a deduction of rating points for players who do not show up at a tournament for which they were entered or who default during the competition.
In order to increase the interest of the players to take part in the tournaments of the ITTF Pro Tour Circuit, which is the showcase of the Federation throughout the whole year, especially as sponsors, television and other media are concerned, it has been decided to raise the level of the Bonus Points awarded for the Grand Final of this circuit. As a consequence, in order to remain consistent, the Bonus Points for the World Championships and for the Olympic Games had also to be raised, as well as at the lower level those for Continental Championships and World Cups. This change is operational since
Once again I would like to express my thanks to all the people who helped us, in various ways, to carry out all these activities and especially to the Competition Managers, Didier Leroy, Raul Calin and Karl Jindrak whose precious collaboration made our task much easier, but also to David Jackson who is running the Team Rankings, to Mo El-Shentenawy, who has to display all this information on the ITTF Website and last but not least to Tim Gautreau, who always manages to produce these rankings just in time...or nearly.
My gratitude also to the people of the ITTF head office with whom it is always a pleasure to be in touch as well as to the members of the Committee who contribute to our work.
André Damman (Chairman - Ranking Committee)
January 2005
RULES COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A18
The Rules Committee's main tasks in 2004-2005 were:
Although at the start of the season there was quite some turbulence about the new service rule the situation got much calmer and it seemed to be evident that most players adjusted themselves to the requirements. Nevertheless we were still looking for improvement and our final goal is to have a service rule fulfilling the following criteria:
Personally I suppose we can proceed with the present rule but should make it more visible and understandable by using diagrams as well as explanations and clarifications in the ITTF Handbook. In addition we should create a more reasonable structure for our rules and in particular the service rule. At present we most likely have too many aspects packed in one paragraph.
Nevertheless there are some other options brought up by experts, which are certainly worth to be discussed. As an example I should like to mention the proposal to have a free space between the ball (instead of the server's body) and the net from the moment the ball has been projected (2.6.4).
The implementation of new eligibility/representation/nomination rules prepared by our Committee was obviously successful.
Still I was consulted repeatedly for clarifying specific eligibility cases.
In co-operation with the Junior Commission our Committee prepared a proposition to the Board of Directors on the topic of "continental eligibility" to be applied at competitions of continental representative teams, such as the World Cadet Challenge.
Probably there is some necessity to have special regulations for juniors' eligibility.
We keep on checking and adjusting our rules and subsequently our Handbook. For this purpose I got many useful comments from my Committee members and some more ITTF officials which resulted in a number of propositions to the AGM and the Board of Directors meeting 2005. In other cases we had just to correct some errors or typing mistakes.
Since the last World Championships I had to answer more than 800 questions concerning ITTF rules from all continents. Most of inquiries came from umpires, but there were also national and regional Associations, clubs, journalists as well as competitive and leisure players who were asking for an official answer to their problem.
I have to repeat that new means of communication make it easier to reply but also easier to ask for something.
Finally I have to thank my Committee members for their valuable contribution on rules matters. At the same time I would like to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues, the chairmen of other ITTF Committees, Commission and Working Groups, and some more experts for their valuable contribution to our tasks. I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for communication difficulties caused by a continuous serious problem of my e-mail server with some e-mail addresses and attachments.
Rudi Sporrer (Chairman, Rules Committee)
January 2005
SPORTS SCIENCE COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A19
- The Annual General Meeting held on
- The Sports Science Committee meeting on 4 March.
- The Board of Directors meeting on 5 March.
- The Executive Committee meeting (in part) on
- Meeting of the Glue Working Group on
Updated and detailed ITTF Anti-doping rules have been approved in
Doping control: from January to December 2004, I received information concerning 104 samples taken in competition and 44 samples taken out of competition (by WADA and other national agencies). 5 samples were positive and sanctions have been taken.
Therapeutic use exemption (TUE):
In application of the article 5.4.4. 6 documented files (abbreviated process) have been submitted to the ITTF.
Medical service during the 2004 Liebherr World Team Championships in
- There was a first aid room inside the hall. There has been no major problem for players as well as for officials despite an elevated outside temperature. Playing conditions were excellent, and accommodation, meals and transportation were of very high standard.
- The doping control (18 tests) has been conducted by 2 doping control officers (DCO): one male officer from the Ministry of sports of
The 2004 Olympic Games in
- In the Galatsi Hall (table tennis venue) there was a large medical centre for players and officials, very well equipped and the medical staff was present from the opening to the closing of the hall. Several massage rooms and a resting place were at players' disposal with fruit and drinks available.
- Next to the medical centre, the doping control station was also very large and well equipped. Two doctors (man and woman) were in charge of the doping control process, with the help of several doping control officers, chaperons and interpreters. We received the visit of different members of the IOC Medical Commission. They all seemed to be positively impressed by the quality of the station and by the way the doping control was conducted. All medallists have been controlled and 36 samples were taken: all were negative.
Composition of the group: G. Segun (Executive Vice-President and Chairman of the Research and Development Advisory Board), R. Harrison (member of the President's Advisory Council and former Chairman of the Equipment Committee), O. Gustavsen (Chairman of the Equipment Committee) and J.F. Kahn.
In attendance: J. Serra (Executive Director).
Invited to attend: F. Lineros (member of the Equipment Committee, in charge of glues).
Taking into account that the organic solvents contained in the liquid glues used in table tennis can be detrimental to the health of players, especially the youngest, and that most of them are subject to transportation restriction, solutions need to be found to apply the decision of the Board of Directors (March 2004, Doha, Qatar), namely to prohibit the use of liquid glues containing organic solvents as of 1st September 2007.
The whole working group agreed that an easy system to control that a glue has no organic solvents is the key issue to implement any ban.
During the afternoon, several experts working in the research centre of the high level training centre (CAR) in Sant Cugat, joined in the discussion.
A detailed report has been issued.
A second meeting of the working group will be held in February 2005 together with the President of the FIT.
Some activities and publications of the Committee members
- Miran Kondric: in charge of publishing TOP SPIN, a scientific and technical journal (4 issues per year) in Slovenian language + abstracts in English.
- Tsung-Min Hung et al., Assessment of reactive motor performance with event-related brain potentials: attention processes in elite table tennis players (paper submitted to a scientific journal).
- Zhang Xiao Peng: preparation and organization of the 9th ITTF Sports Science Congress in
- Yuri Pokholenchuk and A. Gennady: Methodology of sporting preparation: table tennis (book in Russian)
- Michael Scott : experienced member of the ITTF doping control panel.
- Jean-François Kahn: Herbal supplements and sport: be cautious! (information and recommendations published in Table Tennis Illustrated # 50, July-August 2004).
- Science and racket sports III, edited by A. Lees, J.F. Kahn and I. Maynard, Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2004, pp. 279.
Dr. Jean-François Kahn (Chairman, Sports Science Committee)
January 2005
NOMINATION COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A20
The work of the Nomination Committee within the period since March, 2004 up to April, 2005 was done according to the decisions and regulations stipulated by AGM, EB and EC.
At present the ITTF unites 197 national Associations (Federations). It is a great "conglomerate", which requires attention, respect and to a greater extent - Management.
Management of such a great "conglomerate with most efficiency is a highly complicated task.
· First: ITTF consists of Associations (Federations) similar in rights, but having different economic status. Among them there are " rich", "middle" Associations (Federations) and the ones of the moderate means.
· Second: ITTF members preach different religions: Islam, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Buddhism, Judaism etc. Besides, there are their own "inter-relations" inside these flows, for example there are "Shiites" and "Sunnites" in Mohammedan, among Jews there are - '"Farcy" and so on.
· Third: Different geographical position of countries involves difference in culture, in the way of life, education, mentality etc. For example the mentality of inhabitants of Northern countries differs greatly from the mentality of South-African, Arabian countries etc.
· Fourth: Difference in the political structure of the states - from parliamentarism up to presidential Republic.
· Fifth: The system of communication: different time zones, different state holidays, week-ends, a number of Associations do not have the efficient communication system (E-mail, fax etc.)
The abovementioned shows, that a well organized structure, including formation based on democratic principles, such as equal rights of Associations (Federations), common rules for candidates, pretending for effective office in ITTF and so on, in combination with professionalism of officials, who directly exercise management of ITTF (committees, commissions, working groups, executive management etc.) shall manage this "conglomerate".
At the same time rational combination of elected personnel, working "on a voluntary basis" and professional officials (getting wages) shall be taken into account.
The tasks, which ITTF faces, require increase of professional officials quantity.
If at the earlier stages of ITTF's activity the work of many committees was performed based on the "question-answer" principles, that didn't require deep studies, at present fundamental elaborations of problems and tasks, which arise in connection with the Decisions of Congress, Board of Directors, Executive Committee and so on are required.
The Nomination Committee continues to pay attention to the work efficiency of the Nomination Committee members, work with National Federations concerning more efficient selection of the candidates to the Committees; are considered questions of close cooperation with Continental Federations; bringing to work in the Committees more considerable quantity of women; preparing instructions for the members of the Committees, determining their rights and obligations for realization of the aims, facing the Committees. For decision of these problems the Nomination Committee prepared several proposals, which will be sent to the ITTF.
I would like to thank the officials of ITTF, Chairmen of Committees, Management and Staff of ITTF, for their valuable cooperation.
Yuri Posevin (Chairman - Nomination Committee)
January 2005
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A21
Following the AGM in Doha, the Technical Committee has been working on the following areas:
1. Proposed by the Committee Chairman and agreed by the ITTF, the competition schedule for the Men's and Women's World Cup and the Pro Tour Grand Finals were adjusted. The Men's and Women's World Cup were held jointly over a period of 5 competition days while the competition days of the Grand Finals were reduced from 4 to 3. And the experience from these tournaments can be summarized as follows:
2. Discussions were continued on how to improve the competition system for team events in the Olympic Games. The suggested number of participating teams has been increased from 12 to 16 and the number of players in each team has been reduced from 4 to 3, based on the following considerations.
The proposed team competition system for the Olympic Games was submitted to the ITTF EC and EC+ meetings in Beijing in December 2004.
3. More detailed discussions and study were carried out concerning the team competition system for the World Championships, which could be summarized as follows.
I believe the delegates will select the most suitable team competition system in Shanghai also considering the fact that table tennis competes with other sports and the requirements from TV coverage and marketing.
Yao Zhenxu (Chairman, Technical Committee)
January 2005
UMPIRES & REFEREES COMMITTEE
Report to the AGM Document A22
Updated and published the Handbook for Match Officials (HMO) and Handbook for Tournament Referees (HTR).
Developed and administered the 2004 IU exam to all member associations;
Updated and translated into seven languages the 2004 Advance Umpire Training exam.
Updated the three online Umpire training courses and republished on the ITTF website;
Updated the Advance Umpire Training Course and distributed to all URC trainers;
Developed and conducted an advance Train-the-Trainer course for all active URC trainers;
Conducted 12 AUT courses in five of the six continents (Oceania did not have a Pro Tour stop in 2004).
Certified over 300 new International Umpires in 2004;
Certified the first 13 Blue Badge International Umpires in 2004;
Certified no new International Referees in 2004 - no courses have been held event though Japan showed some interest they never decided to hold a course. France have showed some interest to hold a course.
Upgraded the evaluation procedure and trained active URC trainers toward consistent performance;
Conducted over 600 field of play evaluations during 12 separate events;
Posted the results of all evaluations to the URC database.
Expanded and enhanced the URC database. Over 60 ITTF associations are now directly updating their umpire records in the URC database;
All active URC trainers are directly posting the results of AUT course into the URC database;
All active URC evaluators are directly posting the results of Field of Play evaluations into the URC database;
URC exam graders are directly posting the results of AUT exams into the URC database and providing direct email feedback to each course conductor, candidate or the respective associations. Uploaded the 300+ newly certified umpires and referees into the URC database;
Converted all URC publications to PDF format and published on the ITTF / URC websites.
Completed the nomination and selection of Umpires & Referees for the 2004 World Championships (
Updated and published new service and behaviour video examples based on changing rules;
Built new service video examples based on training needs.
Continue Referee education in most of the continents;
Since a lot of our International Referees are experienced but also quite old we will need younger ones to take over in a few years. It has been a challenge to find referees for both the WJTTC in Japan and the WTTC in Qatar;
Build an advance Referee training program;
Build a Referee evaluation system and feedback;
Use the various ITTF communications platforms (Web site, ITTF news publication, Table Tennis Digest, and broadcast emails) to keep umpires and referees updated on URC activities and upcoming training opportunities;
Develop an automated International Umpires certification exam that can be taken over the Internet;
Develop an automated International Umpires refresher course that can be taken over the Internet for all active umpires;
Deliver an Advance Umpires Training course and follow up evaluations in conjunction with every Pro Tour stops on the ITTF Calendar for 2005;
Update and publish the Handbook for Match Officials (HMO) and Handbook for Tournament Referees (HTR) based on changing Rules and expanded training needs.
Continue to train and certify more umpires toward consistent and exemplary performance;
Encourage more ITTF associations to take responsibility for maintaining their umpire and referees records directly in the URC database;
Complete the nomination and selection of umpires and referees for all ITTF World Title events at least three months before the start of the event;
Create, publish and keep up-to-date a URC calendar of activities - post on the ITTF/URC website;
Create the process to administer and grade an annual International Umpire exam through the Internet;
We are looking forward to the challenges in the future.
Submitted by
Aksel Beckmann (Co-Chairman, Umpires and Referees Committee)
Aly Salam (Co-Chairman, Umpires and Referees Committee)
ATHLETES' COMMISSION
Report to the AGM Document A23
Translated from the French by Lilamani de Soysa
Since the last General Assembly of the ITTF, which was held in
Zeina SHABAN, female member of the Commission, was nominated « Sports woman of the year » in her country,
A meeting of the Commission was held in
The subjects discussed were as follows:
1) Avoiding long queues at accreditation
2) Providing enough light in all the competition halls
3) Making sure that umpires are briefed in a uniform manner: when there are foul services some umpires are slow to react and other very severe.
The Commission also continued its work by e-mail on the following subjects:
A report on the Athens Olympic Games was produced and forwarded to the Executive Council for use during the next Games in
The President of the Commission:
I would like to thank all the members of the Commission for their efficient contribution and their presence during meetings as well as all the athletes that I often contact by e-mail.
I also thank the members of the table tennis family for their permanent support to our athletes.
Claude Bergeret (Chairwoman, Athletes' Commission)
January 2005
JUNIOR COMMISSION
Report to the AGM Document A24
The ITTF Global Junior Programme became in 2004 more than ever a reliable platform for constructive and creative development. As a sport-movement, successfully linking Development and High Performance initiatives, we now are an established and recognized force.
In the forefront for our support model runs the ITTF/Olympic Solidarity project "With the future in mind". Among 18 supported athletes, not fewer than three young girls reached, well ahead of their schedule, all the way to the Olympic Games in Athens. Zeina Shaban, Jordan - Maryiana Nonaka, Brazil and Cecilia Offiong from Nigeria represented not only their country but also in a sense the whole ITTF Global Junior movement.
The important work to profile and highlight new upcoming stars in Table Tennis will continue with the help of all our supporters, sponsors, officials and operating staff. There is no doubt that the interest for Junior Table Tennis is on the rise. We can now start recognizing and take interest in the progress of promising young athletes carrying the future attraction of our sport on their shoulders.
Much or most of today's work wouldn't be possible without the financial support from our GJP partners - Joola and Tamasu Butterfly. I thank them for their confidence and valuable participation at all levels.
Our WJC events all over the world attracted more participants than ever before. The interest to organize junior events also surged, encouraging us to launch 11 WJC events in 2005.
The quality of our premium events, The ITTF World Cadet Challenge, the ITTF World Junior Circuit finals as well as the ITTF World Junior Championships was tremendous. It's hard to believe that in such a short time we have gained such a high level of acceptance from the host organizers.
In Funchal, Portugal back in late October the Madeira Table Tennis Association and the Portuguese TTA gave the ITTF World Cadet Challenge & WJC finals a real lift. The organization and hospitality was simply superb. Under the supervision of Mr. Carlos Leon, the chair of the association, we were all treated to an experience of a lifetime. I am sure that all the young players touching base with the ITTF for the first time flew back home with the goal to once again participate in ITTF GJP events. Good organization and presentation will boost motivation and desire, much needed tools in the world today.
In Kobe, at the World Juniors, we also saw the bright future of our sport. Young champions, predominantly from Asia, showcased Table Tennis in a way never seen before at the junior level. I still have fresh on my mind the tremendous finish in the junior boy's team semi-finals; what a dramatic ending! A couple of points in the opposite direction and the final would have been Japan vs. Germany instead of China vs. Korea. Now that's excitement.
Ai Fukuhara had a good event, although always under great pressure and high expectations. She is pretty good after all, with smiles and great dignity, in handling her role as a star and the "darling" of the Japanese media.
The new smiling Japanese Junior Boys National team gave China a good run for their money in the junior boy's team event semi-final. What a pleasure to see the Japanese players (most of them junior players in 2005 as well) attacking the future, highly motivated and armed with great technical skills and an innovative game. I can hardly wait for the championships in Linz, Austria, to see the next chapter of an emerging junior rivalry between two great TT nations.
China dominated the event in Japan, winning six of seven titles, in the most impressive way. The thing to learn from the Chinese players is not only the technical and tactical aspects but also their great mental strength, which gives them an edge in all pressure situations.
It has indeed been a successful year. I am grateful for the professional support provided to the ITTF GJP, especially by Mr. Raul Calin, the ITTF CM, handling our events in such a professional manner, and to Mr. Glenn Tepper, our "Development General" for his constructive and always useful input. Ian Marshall, with his creative writing skills and tireless coverage of our events, has made the ITTF GJP web page very interesting and enjoyable. Let's not forget our TMS International colleagues for their work in providing a financial base for our existence.
Finally, I sincerely thank our elected volunteers and members of our Junior Commission, and with the active support of the ITTF Vice President, Judit Farago, without whom our progress would be impossible.
With the future in mind,
Tony Yue (Chairman - Junior Commission)
January 2005
OLYMPIC COMMISSION
Report to the AGM Document A25
The main decisions regarding the Athens Olympic Games were taken during the year 2003 at the Olympic Commission meetings held in Paris (France), on 12 May 2003 and in Santiago (Chile) on 20 December 2003: appointment of Technical Officials (Jury, Referees and International Umpires, Racket control, Medical doctor (anti-doping issues), approval of the Table Tennis explanatory e-book containing the key points for the Athens table tennis competition, the homologation of the ORIS (Olympic Results Information System) system for table tennis etc.
Last year was the year of the implementation of all the above decisions and the previous ones approved in 2002 (system of play, Technical Delegates nomination, etc.) at the successful Athens Olympic Games.
After the Athens Olympic Games the Olympic Commission met once in Beijing, 11 December 2004 and decided:
The Olympic Commission approved the nomination of Mr. Neil Harwood and Mr. Georgios Seliniotakis as Technical Delegates for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
· Competition Manager 2008
The Olympic Commission endorsed the request from BOCOG for the nomination of Mr. Yao Zhenxu as Competition Manager for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Mr. Yao Zhenxu presented a draft team format for the 2008 Games in case the IOC accepted the ITTF request for team events instead of the doubles event. The Commission was requested to study the proposal and give feedback to Mr. Yao Zhenxu before further discussion in Shanghai.
Jordi Serra (Executive Director)
January 2005
CALENDAR WORKING GROUP
Report to the Board of Directors Document A26
I was nominated to chair the Calendar Working Group 6 years ago and now the time has come to give the chance to somebody else to take it over. The Calendar Working Group will have a new composition, structure and guidelines. All of them have been already presented to the Executive Committee for consideration and the changes shall be accepted by the BoD in
The second half of 2004 was devoted to prepare the procedure carefully in order to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Khaled El-Salhy (EGY) is proposed to be nominated as a Chairman and beside him, the TMS-representative and the EC-representative, the group is composed of 6 continental corresponding members, providing input and dates of events on the relevant continent. The aim of this change in the structure is to give representation to each continent, to involve them deeper in the shaping of the calendar now that we have a wide range of competitions with the relatively new Junior events and with more Pro Tour/Open events all around the world.
The main elements of the refreshed principles (beside keeping the clear priority of the events and fixing the dates and period for the World TT Championships in a 4-year cycle) are:
The practice shows that the ITTF has to move into this direction. With such a great number of tournaments, we surely can't avoid several events being held on the same date, and it is better to consider it as an alternative, choice rather than clash. In the future it will be a reality that events of different categories (Major, Regular Pro Tours, senior, junior events) will be allocated to the same dates and to have more events at the same date in different part of the world.
The responsibility of the Calendar Working Group is to "share" the dates, to fix all the events into the calendar year with the optimum planning and harmony.
Once it is realised, it is the general responsibility of the ITTF to secure more human and financial resources to support this development and to keep the quality of the tournament organisation at the present level.
The Calendar WG use the ITTF website as the first and only source of input on dates and updates of events. The ITTF News and the TT Illustrated get the information for announcement from the web-site.
Finally - at the same time with wishing good luck to my follower - I would like to express many thanks to my colleagues in the Calendar Working Group and in the Continental Associations for their cooperation and flexibility. Special thanks to Anders Thunström, Etsuko Enami and the ITTF staff for their administration contribution from
Judit Faragó (Chairwoman, Calendar Working Group)
January 2005
WOMEN'S WORKING GROUP
Report to the Board of Directors Document A27
At the World Championships in
At the meetings we discussed and agreed to the Terms of Reference of the Group. The Terms of Reference have 3 main goals:
A lot of activities in order to achieve the goals were discussed and 15 different activities were decided in the Terms of Reference. Therefore it is a pleasure to look back at the year and see the progress we have achieved.
Planning
I want to thank both Lilamani de Soysa and Judith Faragó. Lilamani for her dedication to the women's work and for her help every time needed and Judith for always bringing the women's work forward within the Executive Committee. Last I want to thank the President and the EC for all the support we get.
Dorte Kronsell (Chairwoman, Women's Working Group)
January 2005
PROPOSITIONS AND RESOLUTIONS
Propositions to the AGM Document A28
2/3 majority required
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1 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee To insert new paragraphs 1.3.2., 1.3.3 and 1.3.3.1 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 1.3.2 The ITTF is committed to providing a sport and work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to participate and work in an environment, which promotes equal opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices. 1.3.3 The ITTF is committed to providing a sport environment free of harassment on any basis without exception. 1.3.3.1 The Executive Committee shall impose appropriate disciplinary sanctions from warnings to exclusions from all kind of activity in the ITTF, when a complaint of harassment has been substantiated. The same disciplinary sanctions shall be imposed if a false accusation has been substantiated. By this an ITTF anti-harassment policy would be introduced. |
|
2 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee To insert a new paragraph 1.4.1.12 1.4.1.12 to encourage and to support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and to ensure significant representation of women in ITTF Committees, Commissions and Working Groups. This would define a new object within the ITTF Constitution. |
|
3 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee The "Research & Development Advisory Board" shall be renamed "New Technologies and Research Committee" (1.5.2.3). Remark: Not many of Development assignments have been carried out directly by this group since inception in the year 1997. Development matters are now being handled by all, with the President in the forefront and a Development Manager handling all the technicalities. Research matters, on the other hand, are on-going all the time as experience has shown. New technologies are being introduced daily and ITTF needs to be abreast with these for more rapid development. |
|
4 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee 1.10.1 The number of persons serving on each Committee shall be determined by the Board a year before the nomination of Committee members. This would lead to a change from a fixed number of Committee members to a number according to the actual requirements. |
|
5 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee To insert a new paragraph 1.10.4 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 1.10.4 Each Committee shall take interest in Continental and Regional Federations' activities in their various fields and shall advise the Federations through the ITTF Executive Committee on ideas for further development. Remark: This proposition is beneficial to all parties. ITTF will help to develop Committees at the Continental/Regional level while ITTF will benefit from more information worldwide. |
|
6 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee 1.10.5 The Chairman of each Committee shall submit to the Board an annual report and to the Executive Committee a quarterly report of the activities of the Committee, drawing attention to any recommendations that the Committee wishes to make; acceptance of the report shall not automatically imply acceptance of such recommendations. Remark: This proposition is aimed at updating the information on the activities of each Committee and this is to be sent to the Executive Committee which will be acting on behalf of the Board of Directors. |
|
7 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee 1.10.9 The Nominations Committee shall check the qualification and validity of nominations for office, shall supervise the allocation of nominees to Committees and shall recommend to the AGM the composition of Committees and Commissions; provided that sufficient number of female nominations is made for a committee, at least 25% of the full number of that Committee or Commission should be selected out of female nominees. By this an IOC principle would be applied by the ITTF. |
|
8 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee To insert a new paragraph 1.13.3 1.13.3 ITTF staff members are to be appointed by the Executive Director to serve as coordinator of each Committee. Remark: Experience has shown that where staff members are involved good coordination work has been affected. By this a professional coordinator for each Committee would be instituted. |
|
9 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 1.18.4.1 The agenda for an AGM shall include . . . 1.18.4.1.2 a roll call of the Associations present or represented by proxies (1.18.7); This would include the announcement of proxies into the agenda of an AGM. |
Propositions to the AGM
3/4 majority required
|
10 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 2.4 THE RACKET 2.4.2 At least 85% of the blade by thickness shall be of natural wood; an adhesive layer within the blade may be reinforced with By this 15% of the blade by thickness could be of any material, not only of wood or other fibrous material. |
|
11 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 2.5.6 The free hand is the hand not carrying the racket; the free arm is the arm of the free hand. This would formally define "the free arm". |
|
12 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 2.5.8 A player obstructs the ball if he or anything he wears or carries, touches it in play when it is above or travelling towards the playing surface By this a superfluous addition would be deleted. |
|
13 |
Proposed by the 2.6.4 From the start of service until it is struck, the ball shall be above the level of the playing surface and behind the server's end line, and it shall not be hidden form the receiver, the umpire and the assistant umpire by any part of the body or clothing of the server or his doubles partner
Justification: * The introduction of the free arm position during service has created confusion for the player, coaches, umpires, and officials. * The position of the free arm may not have any relation to hiding the ball. A free arm that is resting of the chest of the server after projecting the ball upward is not hiding the ball, however that is now illegal. A free arm that is under the table resting inside the body of the server is not hiding the ball from the receiver. * The logic raised by players and coaches in the above mentioned examples and other ones, makes it impossible for the umpires and officials to justify the rule of the position of the free arm. * Referees are trying different interpretations and instructions, during umpires' briefings that complicated the rule rather than make it simple. * Coaches use the free arm position as one of the main elements of the balance for every stroke. A rule to restrict it is physically and mentally confusing to the players, especially to those who have mastered it as a fundamental base in their strokes. * A year has passed since the introduction of the free arm position, but unfortunately 75% to %80 of the players' service could be judged as fault. * Appeals for leniency for the young players, and references to the fact that umpires can make their estimates when they do not see the ball, is extremely puzzling. How can an umpire make a judgment about the service if he does not see it? * The service to day is very complicated and there are other requirements besides the free arm position. It is impossible for an umpire to make a judgment without seeing what they are judging. * The above mentioned proposal is simple, clear, easy to understand and apply by players, coaches, umpires, and officials. This would require a service in front of the body. |
|
14 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To replace "A Good Service" by "The Service" (in the headline) and "a correct service" (within the text of the paragraph) 2.6 2.6.5.3 Whenever there is a clear failure to comply with the requirements for a 2.6.6 Exceptionally, the umpire may relax the requirements for a This should analogously be applied to 2.8.1, 2.8.2, 2.9.1.3, 2.10.1.1, 2.10.1.3 |
|
15 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 2.6.4 From the start of service until it is struck, the ball shall be above the level of the playing surface and behind the server's end line, and it shall not be hidden from the receiver by 2.6.5 As soon as the ball has been projected, the server's free arm shall be removed from the space between the This would also cover the situation where a player is hiding the service by his racket. |
|
16 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 2.7 This should analogously be applied to 2.8.1, 2.8.2, 2.9.1.3, 2.10.1.2, 2.10.1.3, 2.15.2 |
|
17 |
Proposed by the To integrate following principles of the International Paralympic Table Tennis Committee into ITTF rules 2.6 and 2.7 (Service and Return): The Doubles Play in Wheelchairs: When two players who are in wheelchairs due to a physical disability are a pair playing doubles, the server shall first make a good service, the receiver shall then make a good return but thereafter either player of the disabled pair may make good returns. However, no part of a player's wheelchair shall protrude beyond an imaginary extension of the centre line of the table. If it does, the umpire shall award the point to the opposing pair. By this the modified rules for players in a wheelchair would become part of ITTF rules. |
|
18 |
Proposed by the To integrate following principles of the International Paralympic Table Tennis Committee into ITTF rule 2.9.1 (Let): The Service against Players in Wheelchairs: When a player who is in wheelchair due to a physical disability is receiving a service in singles, the rally shall be a let if the ball: leaves the table by either of the receiver's sidelines (on one or more bounces) or after bouncing on the receiver's side, returns in the direction of the net or comes to rest on the receiver's side of the playing surface. However, if the receiver strikes the ball before it crosses a sideline or takes a second bounce on his or her side of the playing surface, the service shall be considered good and no let shall be called. When a player who is in wheelchair due to a physical disability is receiving a service in doubles, the rally shall be a let if the ball: after bouncing on the receiver's side, returns in the direction of the net, or comes to rest on the receiver's side of the playing surface. However if the receiver strikes the ball before it takes a second bounce on his or her side of the playing surface, the service shall be considered good and no let shall be called. By this the modified rules for players in a wheelchair would become part of ITTF rules. |
|
19 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 2.9.2 Play may be interrupted 2.9.2.3 to warn or penalise a player or adviser; By this the rule would be brought in line with the current practice. |
|
20 |
Proposed by the Finnish Table Tennis Association 2.15.1 Except when 18 points or more have been scored This would just be another wording for the existing rule. |
Propositions to the Board of Directors
Simple majority required
|
21 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.1.1.5 An invitation tournament is one that is restricted to specified Associations or players, individually invited. This would make clear that if at an invitation tournament team events are played, not individual players but also Associations may be invited. |
|
22 |
Proposed by the Equipment Committee To insert a remark on paragraph 3.2.1.1 From Motivation: The main reason is to try to obligate to the manufacturers to develop glues based on not organic solvents as soon as possible. |
|
23 |
Proposed by the Equipment Committee To insert a new paragraph 3.2.1.4 3.2.1.4 The blade shall be of a brand and type authorised by the ITTF and the brand and the ITTF logo shall be clearly visible. Remark: The implementation time to be determined by the Executive Committee. This would also include racket blades due for ITTF approval. |
|
24 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.2.2.10 Where opposing players or teams have a similar By this the rule would be brought in line with the current practice to consider only the shirt. |
|
25 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.2.3.1 The playing space shall be rectangular and not By this the geometric form of the playing space would be defined in accordance with the current practice, providing an exception for arranging additional surrounds cutting the 4 corners of the box. |
|
26 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To insert a new paragraph 3.2.3.2 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 3.2.3.2 The following equipment and fittings are to be considered as part of each playing area: The table including the net assembly, umpires tables and chairs, score indicators, towel boxes, printed numbers identifying the table, surrounds and floor mats. By this "the equipment and fittings that are normally present" inside the playing area (3.2.4.1) would be defined explicitly. |
|
27 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To amend 3.2.4.1 only if proposition 26 is passed 3.2.4.1 Inside the playing area, advertisements shall be displayed only on equipment or fittings listed in 3.2.3.2 |
|
28 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To insert a new paragraph 3.2.4.2 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 3.2.4.2 At Olympic Games advertisement on playing equipment, on playing clothing and on umpires' clothing shall be according to IOC regulations. This would make clear that there are specific advertisement regulations at Olympic Games. |
|
29 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.2.4.6 There may be 1 permanent maker's trademark, symbol or name and 1 temporary advertisement, each within a total length of 30cm, clearly separated from each other, on each half of each side of the tabletop and This would clearly define acceptable printings on the sides of the table top. |
|
30 |
Proposed by the German Table Tennis Federation 3.2.4.9 Advertisements on playing clothing shall be limited to . . . 3.2.4.9.4 not more than 2 advertisements, contained within a combined total area of Explanation: The increase from 80 to 160 cm² is to improve the visibility of the advertisement for spectators and television viewers, and therefore to raise the value for potential sponsors. |
|
31 |
Proposed by the Umpires and Referees Committee To split 3.3.2.4 in 3.3.2.4.1 and a new paragraph 3.3.2.4.2 3.3.2.4 the assistant umpire shall 3.3.2.4.1 decide whether or not the ball in play touches the edge of the playing surface at the side of the table nearest him; 3.3.2.4.2 inform the umpire for breaches of the advice or behaviour regulations. Rationale: To effectively enforce the regulations on advice and behaviour. Regulation 3.3.2.3.10 makes the umpire responsible for "taking action for breaches of the advice of behavior regulations." Advisors frequently sit in positions not easily seen by the umpire. Players sometimes commit violations of behaviour regulations observed by the assistant umpire but hidden from the umpire. The Handbook for Match Officials provides: "16.7 The assistant umpire may often be in a better position than the umpire to see that advice is being given illegally. He may warn the adviser informally between rallies, perhaps by a signal, but only the umpire can give a formal warning. If further advice is given illegally the assistant umpire should immediately draw this to the umpire's attention, interrupting play if necessary by calling "stop" and raising his hand." Although the assistant umpire is equally qualified, he has no responsibility in the regulations to report such violations. The proposed change leaves the responsibility to the umpire to take action to enforce the regulations. It authorizes the assistant umpire to inform the umpire when the assistant umpire observes violations. |
|
32 |
Proposed by the Umpires and Referees Committee 3.4.1.2.1 When a point has been scored, he may raise Rationale: The URC has developed hand signals to make clear to the players and spectators which player won a point and other decisions. The Regulations and Handbook for Match Officials specify different signals. Our advanced umpire training course uses the following signal for point won: This signal is clearer to more spectators than the signal specified in the Regulations. The proposed change brings the Regulations into line with what our instructors are teaching. |
|
33 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.4.4.1 Play shall be continuous throughout 3.4.4.1.1 an interval of up to 1 minute between successive games of 3.4.4.1.2 brief intervals for towelling after every 6 points from the start of each game and at the change of ends in the last possible game of 3.4.4.2 A player or pair may claim one time-out period of up to 1 minute during This would make clear that 3.4.4.1 and 3.4.4.2 apply only to individual matches (as part of an individual event or as part of a team match). The proposition is connected with proposition 34 which shall cover the continuity of team matches (as a set of individual matches). |
|
34 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To move 3.7.7.4 to 3.4.4 and insert it as 3.4.4.2 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 3.4.4.2 Observing the set practice period (3.4.3.1) successive matches of a team match shall be played continuously except that 3.4.4.2.1 a player who is required to play in such successive matches may claim an interval of up to 5 minutes between those matches. By this the continuity of team matches would be required. |
|
35 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.5.2.1 Players and 3.5.2.2 If at any time a player or 3.5.2.7 Except as provided in 3.5.2.2, if In order to be consistent with 3.5.1 "Advice", this would change "coach" to "adviser". |
|
36 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee and the Rules Committee To move 3.5.3 "Gluing" from the present position to 3.2.4 (as part of 3.2 "Equipment and Playing Conditions"), to renumber present 3.2.4 "Advertisements" to 3.2.5 and to introduce a new paragraph 3.5.3 "Good Presentation". 3.5.3 Good Presentation 3.5.3.1 Players, coaches and officials shall uphold the object of good presentation of the sport; in particular players have to do their utmost to win a match and shall not withdraw except for reasons of illness or injury. 3.5.3.2 Any player who deliberately fails to comply with these principles shall be disciplined by total or partial loss of prize money in prize events and/or by suspension from ITTF events. 3.5.3.3 In the event of complicity proven against any adviser or official the relevant national Association is also expected to discipline this person. 3.5.3.4 A Disciplinary Panel appointed by the Executive Committee, consisting of 4 members and a chairman, shall decide on whether an infringement committed and if necessary on appropriate sanctions; this Commission shall decide according to directives given by the Executive Committee. 3.5.3.5 An appeal against the Disciplinary Panel's decision may be made by the disciplined player, adviser or official within 30 days to the ITTF Executive Committee whose decision on the matter shall be final. On one hand this would introduce a "Good Presentation Policy" of the ITTF; on the other hand this would move "Gluing" from a disciplinary matter (3.5) to an equipment matter (3.2). |
|
37 |
Proposed by the To insert new paragraph 3.6.3.8 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 3.6.3.8 Alternatively, any doubles pair consisting of players from different Associations may be considered a pair of both of these Associations. This would offer 2 options how to deal with a "2 Associations" doubles pair at a draw. |
|
38 |
Proposed by the European Table Tennis 3.7.1.4 A player or team may not take part in an international competition if he/it is suspended by his/its Association or Continental Federation. This would make a suspension by a Continental Federation relevant for the ITTF. |
|
39 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 3.7.5.6 Unless otherwise authorised by the Jury, if 1 player or team is to qualify the final match in the group shall be between the players or teams numbered 1 and 2, if 2 are to qualify the final match shall be between the players or teams numbered 2 and 3 and so on. This would make this principle applicable to team events too. |
|
40 |
Proposed by the Executive Committee and the Rules Committee 3.8.3 A player is eligible to represent an Association only if he is a national of the country in which that Association has jurisdiction, except that a player who has By this the wording of the present rule would be improved by explaining explicitly what is meant by "legal representation". |
|
41 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To insert a new paragraph 3.8.4 and to renumber present paragraphs 3.8.4 until 3.8.7. 3.8.4 A player is eligible to represent a Continental Federation (1.17.1) in an event of continental teams only if he is eligible to represent a member Association of this Continental Federation according to 3.8.3. This would define a "Continental Eligibility". |
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42 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To insert new paragraphs 4.1.2.6 and 4.4.2.5 and to renumber subsequent paragraphs 4.1.2.5 and 4.4.2.4 The organisers 4.1.2.6 and 4.4.2.5 Organisers shall This would make the relevant responsibilities of organisers mandatory. |
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43 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 4.1.2.8 (World Championships) and 4.4.2.6 (World Junior Championships) The organisers shall provide the ITTF with offices at the venue of the Championships and place at its disposal translation, This would bring provisions of World Championships' organisers to an updated level. |
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44 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 4.1.9.2 The system of play in team and individual events, This would define that the system of play of World Championships' individual events shall also be decided by the Board of Directors. |
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45 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee 4.1.9.6 Each Association shall be entitled to 4.1.9.6.1 The host Association may enter up to 7 players in each individual event. 4.1.9.6.2 Different players may be entered in each doubles event. This would include the (present) maximum number of players per Association at World Championships' into the ITTF-Handbook instead of being stated in the prospectus only. |
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46 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee To introduce a new paragraph 4.1.9.7 4.1.9.7 Players of the same Association shall be separated only according to 3.6.3.1, 3.6.3.3, 3.6.3.4, 3.6.3.5 in preliminary rounds and groups and in the first round of the draw but not in further rounds. This would bring in to the ITTF-Handbook that the main principles of "Seeding per Association Nomination" (3.6.3) will not be applied to World Championships. Up to now this was announced by additional ITTF publications. |
|
47 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee and the Junior Commission 4.4.1.3 All applications shall be considered by the Executive Committee and shall be submitted to the 4.4.1.4 Where necessary, the By this the rule would be brought in line with the current practice. |
|
48 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee and the Junior Commission 4.4.2.2 The organisers shall provide accommodation and meals from the evening before the Championships begin until the morning after the Championships end for . . . 4.4.2.2.3 not more than 1 coach of an Association 4.4.2.2.4 members of the ITTF Executive By this the rule would be brought in line with the current practice. |
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49 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee and the Junior Commission 4.4.3.2 The system of qualification for team and individual events shall be determined by the By this the system of qualification at World Junior Championships could be changed based on recommendations made by the Junior Commission at the previous Championships. Otherwise the provision of the 1 year term could not be observed. |
|
50 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee and the Junior Commission 4.4.5.4 An Association may nominate up to 4 qualified boys' and up to 4 qualified girls' players This would clearly identify the maximum number of players per Association eligible at World Junior Championships. |
|
51 |
Proposed by the Rules Committee and the Junior Commission 4.4.8.1 The Jury shall consist of the Chairman of the ITTF Junior Commission, the Chairmen of the ITTF Ranking and Rules Committees, a representative of the Umpires & Referees Committee, the ITTF Junior Program Manager, the ITTF Competition Manager, the Championships Director (or his equivalent), a representative of the organising committee and the referee; the referee shall have the right to speak but not to vote. |
Resolutions to the Board of Directors
Simple majority required
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A |
put forward by the Executive Committee The ITTF anti-harassment policy and procedures shall be adopted with immediate effect. |
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B |
put forward by the German Table Tennis Federation Gluing The Executive Committee, through the Equipment Committee, to initiate comprehensive scientific research about the existing health risks of ITTF approved speed glues. After thorough examination of such report to review the present procedures and to take, if necessary, any additional measures by issuing precise regulations regarding the use of glues, coming into effect latest by Explanation : There is growing uncertainty about health risks for players using speed glues. |
