| Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. |
 |
|
NCTTA
Newsletter December may be a time of final exams, semester breaks and the holiday season. But there's still lots of news in the college table tennis community. There's the Killerspin Holiday Open coming up toward the end of the month.NCTTA is looking for volunteers for 2010 Championships and also starting the selection process for the site of the 2011 Championships. Plus, there's features on Puerto Rico's scholarship program, community college participation, and college players at the Para PanAm Games. Soon enough the college table tennis season will be back underway, and so you'll want to check out the college singles (ACUI) qualifying schedule coming up February. Read on for all this and more. Happy Holidays from NCTTA! Killerspin Holiday Open Lures Players to ChicagoTop international stars to play at Navy Pier, December 26-27
The
Killerspin SPINvitational is for invited international champions, but
there are also two-person team events and 41-point handicap events open
to any players. There’s even an unrated event for players without a
USATT rating. For the
Wisconsin team ranked 4th in the country, being part of this major
tournament can't hurt their game. And that's true with players from
other college teams as 2010 approaches with more regional NCTTA
competition just down the road. 2010 Championships Welcomes Volunteers Don't expect to receive a big salary, hefty expense account and a fancy rental car for this assignment. That's why they call it volunteer work. But it does have its rewards. Volunteers will get a t-shirt and a ticket to the NCTTA Awards Banquet Saturday night at the event in the Milwaukee area. The food promises to be good and so is the evening of table tennis fellowship. It's the chance to rub elbows and break bread with outstanding players from around the country. An army of volunteers played a vital role during the 2008 and 2009 Nationals in Rochester, Minnesota and at annual collegiate table tennis championships before that. A volunteer is truly an unsung hero whether he or she is working a registration table, pointing visitors in the right direction, or serving as an umpire. Leaf says she's starting to hear from a few people who plan to help the cause at the College Table Tennis Championships, April 8-11, 2010. One good example of the spirit of volunteerism in action, she says, is Yee Wang. She's the 14-year-old daughter of Dr. TJ Wang, CFO of the Shorewood Table Tennis Club in Wisconsin. Yee plays table tennis and recently passed the club umpire certification test. Yee intends to be a volunteer umpire at the Nationals. "Recently, Yee commented that she wished she had done it a long time ago,'' Leaf said. "As if she is that old!'' To get more details on how to sign up and become an NCTTA Nationals volunteer, contact Linda Leaf at upper.midwest@nctta.org. No doubt, table tennis fans, volunteer work is good for the soul! Puerto Rico Recruits Table Tennis Players with Big Scholarships The 30,000-student University of Puerto Rico a.k.a the Universidad de Puerto Rico offers full scholarships plus other aid to its top table tennis players. That covers such things as dorms, meals, funds for racquets, rubbers, three paid trips to NCTTA tournaments in the United States, and sports clothing. Plus, there is a paid master’s degree for athletes that want to pursue such degrees in graduate school, says Joel Alvarado, one of the university's team leaders. The players on the current team come from Trinidad, Tobago and the rest are from Puerto Rico. "We also try to recruit from the Dominican Republic, South America and Europe.'' At the University of Puerto Rico, costs are low compared to schools around the United States. And media coverage of table tennis is quite extensive with key matches often shown on TV on the 100 mile long by 35-mile wide island that brings together Hispanic and Anglo cultures. Read more ... Community Colleges Join NCTTA Ranks This Fall Students don't stick around very long at America's community colleges. They stay for a year or two and then they're gone in most cases. They often drop out, go to work or hit the road to attend a four-year college or university. That's why it's tough to launch table tennis teams at the nation's two-year schools. And the rapid turnover rate on a community college campus is a big reason why very few of them have real staying power when it comes to this high-energy Olympic sport. So it was really encouraging to hear that some community colleges packed up their paddles and traveled this fall to play in a few National Collegiate Table Tennis Association tournaments. Such was the case with Hagerstown Community College in Maryland that competed in the NCTTA's Mid-Atlantic Division regional in November. NCTTA Opens 2011 Championships Bid Process But that April 1, 2010 deadline is really no joke. It's the date that information must be submitted to National Collegiate Table Tennis Association leaders. NCTTA officials will pick the host city that will woo some 250 players, coaches and fans for four days in April 2011. Ladies and gentleman let the bid process begin! For table tennis lovers, the talk is starting to turn to the 2011 Championships even before the 2010 Championships cranks up in the Milwaukee area April 8-11, 2010. What cities will step forward to bid? Despite the current economic downturn, NCTTA officials anticipate a number of cities turning in their bids by the April 1, 2010 deadline. Hosting a table tennis tournament for a few days does have some positive economic impact no matter what the venue. Read more ... College Players Bring Home Gold from Para PanAm Championships Also, the U.S. team won the Bronze medal in the men's team class 5 - Andre Scott and Texas Wesleyan's James Segrest. Fontaine, Leibovitz and Segrest were among the outstanding players competing at the NCTTA Paralympic Nationals in Rochester, Minnesota in April 2009. The team "had a solid tournament,'' says head USA Paralympic Team Coach Daniel Rutenberg. There were 103 athletes representing 10 countries in the championships lasting from Sept. 27-Oct. 4. In Venezuela, Seidenfeld and Fontaine received the ITTF PTT 2009 Best Players of the American Region Awards. It's the second time winning the award for Seidenfeld. The USA team was well represented by its eight athletes. "Obviously winning 9 medals and three awards was the highlight of the tournament,'' Rutenberg said. “But knowing that all eight athletes all won medals and played well in their matches now can walk away knowing they did their best!” The paralympic table tennis competition is separated into ten classes depending on the disability of the player. Brazil with 33 players in the competition, finished first overall with a dozen gold medals. Hats off to a strong performance by the entire Team USA. Team USA expresses its gratitude to USATT and USOC for their support in preparation for the tournament, says Coach Rutenberg. Subal Mehta Boosts USC Table Tennis Team USC head football coach Pete Carroll is really the face of the large Los Angeles-based University and his successful Trojans make the headlines almost daily. But Mehta, whose table tennis rating is around 2200, and his USC teammates are starting to get a little media attention because of their winning ways. The "Ping Pong Posse" as they're known around campus, currently sit in first place atop the Southern California Division standings. Read more ... Sponsor
Corner  NCTTA, would like
to thank Killerspin
for its support of college table tennis. Killerspin is
the exclusive NCTTA League and Championship Equipment sponsor through
2011. Member schools just need to fill out the Killerspin
Premium Membership Program Application to receive phenomenal equipment discounts in the online
Killerspin store.
 Also,
special thanks to NEWGY
Industries,
for its continued support of college table tennis including the
Newgy-NCTTA Scholarship Program. Newgy offers a great way
to
fundraise for your
club by signing up and participating
in their Newgy
Robo Pong Affiliate Program.Regional Singles (ACUI) Qualifiers Coming in Feb. And what is ACUI, you ask? That stands for the Association of College Unions International. Each year, ACUI conducts a number of regional tournaments - from three-on-three basketball to darts, chess, billiards and bowling. But folks in NCTTA circles are mainly interested in ACUI when it comes to the Olympic sport of table tennis. Sure, foosball and dominoes can be fun, too, for students caught up in ACUI competition. NCTTA is delighted to again help promote ACUI Table Tennis Regional Tournaments that are held all over the USA. The regional tournaments consist of singles and doubles competition. Check out the ACUI Regional Competition Schedule for dates and locations. Nationwide, there are a total of 15 regions. Not sure which region you're school is in? Check out this handy ACUI Region Map then register for the tournament in your region. NEW for 2010! ACUI has created a new rule that allows the top eight men and women from each region to qualify for the College Table Tennis Championships, says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo. The 2010 Championships is going to be held in Waukesha, Wisconsin near Milwaukee April 9-11. Got an idea for a future story or newsletter topic? Email the NCTTA Media Relations Chair. |
| NCTTA
Newsletter - December 2009 Our mailing address is: NCTTA 2322 5th Street #204 Santa Monica, CA 90405 Our website: www.nctta.org Copyright (C) 2009 National Collegiate Table Tennis Association. All rights reserved. |
The
Windy City can get pretty cold this time of year, but it’s bringing
some of the world's hottest table tennis players to town for the 