NCTTA Newsletter
January 2011

As we gear up for the second half of the college table tennis season we've got your men's/coed and women's top 25 rankings, the schedule for ACUI singles qualifiers, updates on the College Table Tennis Championships, and the scoop on NCTTA's newest division.

Read on for all this and more ...

Mid-Season Rankings Reveal Interesting Trends

Hot off the presses, NCTTA’s mid-season rankings are out with some interesting trends for sure. Here are a few tidbits that really stand out:

• College table tennis is really catching fire in sub-freezing Canada. Four teams from Canada rank near the top in the men’s/coed division: Ottawa, Toronto, Western Ontario and Waterloo.
• Lindenwood is coming on strong. On the women’s side, Lindenwood of Missouri is the No. 1 team. Perennial powerhouse Texas Wesleyan, drops to No. 4 after occupying the top spot in the women’s rankings since September 2007.
• Newcomers are making their mark. San Jose State may be the biggest surprise, returning from an eight year hiatus to emerge at No. 5 on the rankings. New women’s teams at Purdue (No. 15) and Harvard (No. 18) have also hit the Top 25 in their first season.

Take a look at the new rankings and let us know what you think and what makes for a good story idea for a future NCTTA newsletter. The rankings are nice to study and get conversations going, but the real action heats up with Spring 2011 division competition on campuses around the USA and Canada starting in February.

ACUI Tourney Time Nears

Want to get to the 2011 Championships in Rochester, Minnesota? Even for teams that don’t qualify, there’s still a chance for singles competitors. This February, players hoping to punch their ticket to the Championships will flock to table tennis tournaments sponsored by the Association of College Unions International (ACUI).

Founded in 1914, ACUI brings together college union and student activities professionals. Each year, ACUI hosts regional recreation tournaments in 15 regions. Check out the complete rundown of competition sites for 2011.

The competitions are right around the corner, so hurry up and register for your region’s tournament today!

Rocky Mountain Division Welcomes Utah Schools

Sounding like something out of the hit TV series “Survivor,” members of the Utah table tennis team made the scary 15-hour drive through snowstorms in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to compete in NCTTA tournaments in California.

That incredible journey amid treacherous road conditions is history. Starting this spring, NCTTA welcomes a new Rocky Mountain Division that will keep teams like Utah much closer to home. There’s really no reason now for the Utes and others on the team to make the long trip to compete in the Northern California Division at Stanford University.

The Utah players definitely won’t miss the long ride to Palo Alto, CA. “They were delighted with the opportunity to play in a new division closer to home,” says Ed Toomey, NCTTA Recruitment Committee Chair.

Read more ...

Deadline nears for 2012 NCTTA Championship Bids

NCTTA leaders are gearing up for the 2011 Championships in Rochester, Minnesota. But at
the same time we’ve got to nail down a site for the 2012 games in a few weeks.
The deadline will be the final day in January for cities across the USA that want to submit bids to host the 2012 Championships. Once the bids come in, NCTTA folks will study the bid information, and post the details on our website. At that point, we want to get feedback from our NCTTA family…and that means you!

We want excellent facilities for table tennis – from flooring to lighting to seats for fans. But we also want to make sure our championship site for 2012 has other amenities – from nice hotels and restaurants – and also that our transportation needs are met. We want to make sure that host cities will truly welcome us for three wonderful days of collegiate table tennis competition. We want terrific food and adequate space for our Saturday evening awards banquet.

Our 2011 Championships in Rochester follows a site for the championship games near Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2010. But we are open to sites outside the Upper Midwest. We’ve held the games in states like Ohio, California and Texas in past years. Other bidders for the 2011 Championships included cities from Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan and Georgia.

So if you know of a potential bidder for the NCTTA championships, please spread the word. We want the very best site for our collegiate table tennis players, coaches, fans, volunteers and other supporters across the USA and Canada. And with the January 31 deadline looming, convention & visitor bureaus and other city and school officials are being asked to host us for what should be a memorable experience in April 2012!

For cities interested in bidding:
1. First read the 2012 Championships Bidding Guidelines
2. Submit a completed 2012 Championships Bid Application
Deadline is January 31, 2011.

Sponsor Corner
Special thanks to our sponsors, Newgy and Killerspin!

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 discounts. Browse all your favorite Killerspin equipment in the online Killerspin store.

Also, special thanks to NEWGY Industries, for its continued support of college table tennis. Newgy offers a great way to fundraise for your club and help out our sponsor as well by signing up and participating in their Newgy Robo Pong Affiliate Program.

Got an idea for a future story or newsletter topic? Email the NCTTA Media Relations Chair.

Athletes with Intellectual Disabilities Sought for 2012 Paralympics

The 2012 Paralympics in London will feature athletes with intellectual disabilities for the first time since the 2000 games. And table tennis is one of the sports to add a classification for athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) to compete in.

There’s just one problem: finding US athletes to compete in this new event.

According to Tracy Lea who works with Athletes Without Limits, an organization dedicated to developing and supporting ID athletes in international competition, there are currently “no athletes identified who are already playing at relatively high level for this disability group.”

Think you can help? If you know of any table tennis players with intellectual disabilities out there, get in touch with Tracy Lea. They might have a shot at representing the US in 2012. They would of course need to meet certain guidelines as set by the IPC and ITTF to be eligible.

2011 Championships Seeks Additional Sponsors

Big-time sponsors of the NCTTA’s 2011 Championships in Rochester, Minnesota are truly
outstanding! We are fortunate to have major sponsors like Killerspin and Newgy Industries on board for the 2011 College Table Tennis Championships.

But there’s room for other sponsors to step forward in the coming weeks. Before the April 2011 games begin in Rochester, home of the world-class Mayo Clinic, NCTTA folks are making their pitch to businesses and others to get involved in our fantastic tournament. There are opportunities for companies or individuals to become sponsors of such things as our national championship programs, t-shirts, our Championship website, and more.

The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association is the umbrella group that oversees collegiate table tennis at more than 150 campuses in the USA and Canada. Perhaps you know somebody out there who can play a big role with us. There are plenty of nice sponsorship possibilities we can discuss. Please contact our NCTTA leadership team to talk to us as potential sponsors and help make three terrific days of collegiate table tennis that much better!

It’s approaching mid-January and the championships are just three months away. So
contact NCTTA officers as soon as possible. We would love to hear from you as we build our 2011 sponsorship team!

Spring NCTTA Competition Fast Approaching

NCTTA action is heating up this winter, with division tournaments booked starting in early February. Not too many miles away from all the fun Disney attractions, the Florida Division will be among the first to kick off the second half of the season, as Florida players head to the University of Central Florida on February 5th.

On the same date, in the frigid Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, teams in the Minnesota division compete at Rochester Community Technical College. One day later, on February 6th, table tennis powerhouse Lindenwood (No. 2 Coed/No.1 Women) hosts the Lower Midwest division in Missouri.

Here before you know it, on Feb. 12, Ivy Leaguer Princeton hosts the Mid Atlantic division in New Jersey, the Decatur Gym hosts the Georgia Division and Stanford will toss out the welcome mat for teams in the Northern California division.

A week later, on Feb. 19, there are at least 4 division tournaments on the NCTTA calendar: Cornell hosts the Upstate New York Division, Portland State will be the home of the Northwest Division, Toronto will be the arena for the Eastern Canada Division, and Mississippi College hosts the Dixie Division near the capital city of Jackson.

Other key dates include Feb. 26th when Ohio division teams square off at the University of Akron. For a complete listing of NCTTA spring tournament check out nctta.org.

Around the United States and Canada Spring division competition is critical as college teams punch their tickets to the 2011 Championships in Minnesota. At NCTTA headquarters, we say invite your friends and family members to see some of the best collegiate table tennis in North America!