LEE KHOTLELE
Joseph says the tournament, which will be held at Tempe military base indoor sport centre from Sunday, 06-12 July, is also going to play a huge role in promoting the sport in the region.
“The only way you can help the players become much better at a higher level is to give them exposure and opportunity to participate at a higher level, otherwise they’ll get stuck down there,” Joseph told Courant Sport.
“This is our premier event. We’re excited to be hosting it and happy that our children will learn and grow as table tennis players”
The annual championship will be hosted by the Free State Table Tennis Federation (FSTTF) in conjunction with the Department of Sport, Art, Culture and Recreation, Mangaung Metro Municipality and the Free State Sport Confederation.
The event will consist of two sections: the Inter-regional and Open championship. The Championship will have four categories, the under 12, 14 and 17 as well as the seniors for both men’s and woman’s.
“We have under 12 A and B teams (boys and girls), under 14 A and B teams (boys and girls), under 17 A and B teams (boys and girls), one women’s team and two men’s teams.”
“For under 12, one team consists of minimum two players and maximum four players, which means the third and fourth player can play in the doubles because the team’s event is four singles and one double.”
“Then from under 14 to the seniors, we’ve got a minimum of three and maximum of five players. They only play the singles."
The A teams consists mostly of players from the region, but Joseph said the selectors decided that the B teams should comprise of players from the other four districts, because the purpose is to give exposure to all districts.
“For our B teams, most of the players come from Thabo Mofutsanyane and Fezile Dabi. However, we have about three players from Xhariep and only have one player from Lejweleputswa.”
All of SATTB affiliated members are allowed to compete in the Inter-regional competition, but the Open event is only for any registered members and associate members of the SATTB as well as registered members of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
The Namibian Table Tennis Association is also expected to take part in the tournament. The opening ceremony will be at 18:00 on Sunday.
