Check out the latest NCTTA mid-season rankings and you'll see an unprecedented number of teams from Canada from top to bottom. For instance, Western Ontario sits in the No. 3 spot among the women’s teams, just one notch below No. 2 Rutgers of New Jersey. Other teams from Canada landing in the top 25 for the women include Toronto at No. 15 and British Columbia at No. 19. Women’s table tennis is definitely on a growth spurt on the campus scene in North America.

A look at the coed team rankings shows the University of Toronto tied for No. 9 with California-Berkeley with another college from Canada, Waterloo U, listed at No. 11, Montreal’s McGill University made it to No. 15 and Ottawa is at No. 21.

That’s an amazing number -- seven ranked college table tennis teams from Canada! Call them the "Magnificent Seven," just like the classic 1960s Western.

It’s not just the Olympic sport of table tennis that’s luring collegians from all over to study in Canada. More than 130,000 students hit the books in Canada every year and they come in even greater numbers to learn English or French. International students bring diversity to the classroom and share their culture with friends on campus.

Today, Canada is home to immigrants from more than 240 nations. During the mid-to-late 19th and early 20th Century waves of immigrants arrived from Europe. There were also lots of Asian immigrants from China, Japan and India who settled mainly in the western provinces during that time. Many immigrants helped build Canada’s railways.

Canada in the 21st Century is still tossing out the welcome mat to people from all over the globe, including top-notch table tennis players.

Reflecting the growth of the sport, a new Eastern Canada Division was formed in 2009 from the northern schools of the  Upstate New York Division. Driving up the interest in her region and beyond is Lillian Yu, a former standout at the University of Toronto. The bright Toronto graduate is now working for an accounting firm in Toronto. It was Lillian’s way of staying active in her sport and giving back to NCTTA.

Also making a difference with the the sport’s boom at the University of British Columbia is Chris Wang, a University of Toronto graduate. He serves the NCTTA as National Division Director Representative.

The NCTTA salutes folks like Lillian Yu and Chris Wang who are boosting the sport of table tennis in Canada and across the border in America. Hats off to all the high-achieving college teams from Canada!! Evidently, this indoor sport is seeing a surge in popularity year-round.