Pride of Place in South Africa in June, Table Tennis Centre Stage

By: Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

07/15/2010

The eyes of the world were focused on South Africa during the last days of June as the FIFA World Cup reached its climax.

At the conclusion of proceedings there were no Al Martino teardrops falling from Spanish eyes. The 116th minute goal scored by Andres Iniesta in the final against Holland brought joy to true blue Spanish eyes.

However, whilst the drama in Soccer city was unfolding, during the day there were other eyes clearly focused on sport in South Africa.

They were Slovenian eyes, the eyes of Polona Cehovin Susin, the ITTF Departments Programme Manager.

Good Organisation
“The South Africans did well, actually very well especially in terms of organization and finally also contributed abundantly to the promotion of the country, known for its biodiversity but also mixtures of cultures and languages”, explained Polona Cehovin Susin with regards to the FIFA World Cup. “However, there was another activity in which South Africa excelled recently; the South African Table Tennis Board organised an ITTF Development Program, ITTF-PTT Level One Coaching Course and an ITTF-PTT Level One Course Conductors’ Training.”

Pretoria was the home for the course from the Sunday 27th June to Thursday 1st July; 19 students attended of whom 16 were women with all nine South African provinces being nominated.”

Historical
“It was a historical course for at least two aspects: it was the first time that ladies were in focus at a coaching course in South Africa and also because it included the Para Table Tennis component,” said Ganief Fataar, the President of the South African Table Tennis Board.

The participants, who were mainly school teachers, will play an important role in the popularization of the game in South Africa, which is also one of the main goals of the Board.

Nationwide Development
“We would like Table Tennis to be played in all the provinces, in every single town in South Africa and this is why schools are in the focus of all our activities on the ground roots level,” continued Hajera Kajee, Vice-President of South African Table Tennis Board and also Chair of the ITTF Women’s Working Group.

“After the coaching course a Level One Course Conductors Course followed in which eight candidates participated, three from the current group and five new coaches”, continued Polona Cehovin Susin. “The newcomers were all certified as Level One Coaches in April 2010 but joined the group on the last day of the course to enrich their knowledge with the topic of Table Tennis for Athletes with disabilities.”

Certainly, the attendance was impressive.

Great expectations
“Once again the Board has big expectations for the Course Conductors, who will be responsible of conducting all Level One Coaching Courses in South Africa while the Board plans to mobilize the support of the International Table Tennis Federation for Level Two courses and thus making a significant step forward in acquiring new and advanced knowledge in the field of coaching”, concluded Polona Cehovin Susin.

Progress for South Africa, a country rich in sport and a country where table tennis has great possibilities.

Ready for action in Pretoria Photo By: Courtesy of Polona Cehovin Susin

(left) The Para Table Tennis component of the course and
(right) course members with Polona Cehovin Susin, Ganief Fataar and Hajera Kajee.