NCTTA Newsletter
January 2008

The college table tennis season gets back into full swing after the new year and we've got a jam-packed newsletter for you. With the season at the halfway point, we've got updated Top 25 rankings, ACUI regional competition schedules, and information on preparations for the 2008 Championships. Plus, check out results and awards from the Sunrise scholarship program in the Florida Division. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter for some great national scholarship opportunities Newgy and NCTTA are putting together. And since we're on the subject of next month's newsletter ...

Writers Needed
You think this newsletter writes itself?
Any Communications, English or Journalism majors out there? Or anyone else with an interest in writing for that matter. NCTTA is looking for people to help write-up short articles for the monthly newsletter you're reading right now. It's not a huge time commitment (maybe 5-10 hours a month) and it's a great resume builder; you can say that you wrote for a nationally, scratch that, internationally distributed newsletter. Plus, the best way to improve as a writer is to, well, write ... a lot. Course if you figure out a way to have the newsletter write itself, that would be okay too.

If you're interested in contributing to NCTTA by writing for the newsletter, please email us at info@nctta.org along with your name, school, major, and any qualifications/why you think you can help.

NCTTA Volunteers in Chicago: A Job Well Done!
Many NCTTA members helped out at the US Paralympics Championships and Killerspin Holiday Open
A variety of people involved in college table tennis, from NCTTA member schools and even a few NCTTA officers and division directors, volunteered their time over the holiday break to help out with the 2007 US Paralympics Table Tennis Championships and Killerspin Holiday Open/SPINvitational, held at McCormick Place in Chicago, December 28-30. The side-by-side tournaments were a part of Mayor Daley's Holiday Sports Fest, a huge 3-day event featuring more than 25 different sports and activities with attendance of over 85,000 people. 

The City of Chicago was excited to have more than 125 disabled athletes from more than 25 different countries on hand for the US Paralympics Championships. As the US bid city for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, Chicago is looking to enhance it's resume by hosting these kinds of international sporting events, in hopes of bringing the Olympics to US soil in 2016. The NCTTA members were part of a great team of volunteer staff and umpires that did a tremendous job throughout the 3 day competition. Kudos to all!

Sponsor Affiliate Programs
Support our sponsors and earn money for your club at the same time!

Join the Table Tennis Pioneers affiliate program. It's easy to setup and then your club gets a commission (up to 10%), for any sales generated through your site. Encourage members of your club and all your friends to use it. Earn commissions on top of the already generous NCTTA discounts. No risk, so it's practically a no-brainer.

Table Tennis Pioneers and Killerspin are the exclusive NCTTA League Sponsors for the 2007-2008 competition season. All NCTTA divisions will be playing with Killerspin 3-star balls and Killerspin barriers this season. Please remember to take advantage of the generous DISCOUNTS (up to 20%) on tables, racquets, rubber, balls and just about any other table tennis equipment your club might need.

NEWGY Industries, our valued Championship Sponsor has a great new affiliate program. Add a Newgy online store section to your club's website and earn amazing commissions of 23.75% on sales through your site. They even have videos to help you get setup quickly. Hard to imagine an easier way to earn some extra money for your club.

Scholarships Awarded in the Florida Division!
Sunburst Tour success wins the University of Central Florida $1000 and Florida State $400
UCF's Knights Table Tennis won first place and $1000 for their club in the first ever Myrtle Wilkins Collegiate Table Tennis Scholarship. The program was sponsored by the Sunrise Table Tennis Club (STTC), which each year holds 3 table tennis tournaments in Clearwater Florida as part of the as part of the Florida Sunburst Table Tennis Tour. College players were able to enter these tournaments for 50% off the usual entry fees. Four out of the five current NCTTA member schools in the Florida Division participated: Central Florida, Florida, Florida State and Daytona Beach Community College. 

Tournaments on the Sunburst Tour followed a round-robin format with points earned for matches won. Each school could have up to 7 players competing to earn points for their school, with the first and and second-place schools earning scholarships paid from the tournament's college entry fees. The UCF Knights under solid leadership from club president Jonathan Mohlenhoff were able to field full 7 person teams for all legs of the tour, giving them a decisive advantage. Perhaps Woody Allen was right that "80% of success is showing up," but no doubt the support of team coaches Jermaine Bennett and John McInerney also helped UCF to their eventual first place standing in tour points and $1000 for their club. Florida State came in second and walked away with $400 of their own.

ACUI Regional Schedule
Don't miss the ACUI singles qualifier in your region; check the schedule and register today!
ACUI regional tournaments are coming up in February. These tournaments serve as qualification for singles and doubles entries to the 2008 College Table Tennis Championships. When and where is your regional tournament? Check the regional competition schedule. NCTTA Divisions are different than ACUI Regions, so if you're not sure which region you're school is in, check out this list of states and provinces in each region. Once you're ready, you can register for the tournament in your region online.

NCTTA members with experience running table tennis competitions (especially NCTTA Division Directors) are encouraged to volunteer their support to help run the ACUI regional table tennis competitions. Each tournament has a regional coordinator listed on the schedule, who is the contact person overseeing the organization of all the competitions (not just table tennis). Often they could use assistance in organizing and running the table tennis competition, so please contact them and offer help if you're able to.

Gearing up for the 2008 Championships
Check out the new Championships website; sponsorship opportunities are still available
Preparations are well under way for the 2008 College Table Tennis Championships, which will be held April 11-13 in Rochester, Minnesota. You'll want to check out our brand new Championships website, and while you're there be sure to take a look at the promotional video (with footage from last year's Championships) on the front page. The website will be updated with additional information as planning progresses and more details become available.

Since we're talking about the Championships, it's worth pointing out that a number of sponsorship packages are still available for the event. Sponsorship makes up a key part of the funding for the event, so if you know of any companies or individuals that might be interested in some great sponsorship opportunities or even making a tax-deductible donation to the event, be sure to forward any leads to marketing@nctta.org.

Mid-Season Rankings
Several teams make their debut on the Top 25 after strong performances in the season's 1st half

Co-Ed Team Ranking

1. Texas Wesleyan
2. Princeton
3. University of Puerto Rico
4. University of Minnesota
5. USC
6. UC-San Diego
7. Cornell
8. Virginia Tech
9. Columbia
10. Maryland
11. Georgia Tech
12. Florida
13. Rutgers
14. RPI
15. Cal State East Bay
16. Duke
17. Penn
18. Michigan
19. Northeastern
20. Stanford
21. Illinois
22. Ohio State
23. Iowa State
24. Buffalo
25. Wisconsin

1. Texas Wesleyan
2. Stanford
3. Columbia
4. Virginia Tech
5. Cornell
6. UC Berkeley
7. Toronto
8. Johns Hopkins
9. NYU
10. Auburn
11. Wisconsin
12. Stonybrook
13. USC
14. Georgia
15. Caltech
16. Virginia Commonwealth
17. Florida
18. Central Florida
19. Polytechnic
20. Virginia
21. Georgia Tech
22. Duke
23. Florida State
24. Illinois
25. RPI