Eastern Suburbs & Churches Table Tennis Association President: Bill Marsh 5 Irving Court Vermont, 3133 Ph: 9878 8741 Ian Benjamin Strategic Recreation Projects Officer Whitehorse City Council Locked Bag 2 Nunawading Delivery Centre VIC 3110 Dear Ian, This letter is in response to the Draft Recreation Strategy. I am the President of the Eastern Suburbs & Churches Table Tennis Association (ES&CTTA) and our Association would be very interested in being included in the future provision and development of recreation facilities and services in Whitehorse. OUTLINE OF THE PRESENT SITUATION Our Association has been playing table tennis in the eastern suburbs since the mid- 1940 s when it began as Camberwell Churches. In the sixties its name changed to Eastern Suburban Churches, and then in the late seventies became Eastern Suburbs and Churches Table Tennis Association, which has continued until today. The Association and all the clubs within the competition are run and managed by volunteers. Within Whitehorse and surrounding areas there is no central venue for competition. This means that the ES&CTTA hire facilities at a number of locations. These consist of the Eley Park Community Centre and the ground floor room of the sports building at Mahoney s Reserve. The Association also hires a number of Church halls within Whitehorse and surrounding areas to cater for the growing number of players. The lack of a central location severely limits the number of players we can accommodate and is a major impasse to introducing a junior competition. It also
means that we are prevented from catering for community groups, schools and individuals who have approached us about the availability of facilities during the day for recreation and competition use. The lack of a central venue impacts on the management and participation of our members. At present we have 155 members, an increase of 25 members over the 18 months. That number is near the limit we can cater for due to our access to suitable venues. There are constraints on the number of tables that can be set up at the different venues, some venues have three tables available, others two and some only one. This means that instead of having a fixed night on which to play (and organize their life around) players have to compete on different nights of the week and may play on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night over the course of a season. This means that some people are prevented playing due to family and other commitments. A single night for a grade competition would enable many more people to participate. There are also a number of other groups within Whitehorse that offer Table Tennis as a recreational sport at the sports building at Mahoney s Reserve. The Blackburn Over 50 s Table Tennis Group use the facility every Monday morning from 9-30 to 12 and have 20 members with an average age of 65plus. They have a number of players in their 80 s with the oldest member 88. The Life Activities Club Whitehorse use the building on Friday s for Table Tennis from 9 to 4. The LAC is a club for retirees and has the aim of encouraging social and physical activities to keep retirees active and fit. We would like to implement a program to provide the over 50 s citizens in Whitehorse with the opportunity to participate in non competitive Table Tennis fun. Socialising, along with gentle exercise in a safe and enjoyable environment are the priorities of the program. The City of Whitehorse s focus on community health and fitness would be addressed in this activity. The Association would like the opportunity for our more senior residents in the City of Whitehorse to become involved in this popular past time. This program called Keenagers was developed by members of Table Tennis Victoria and has been run successfully throughout Table Tennis centres in metropolitan and country Victoria since 2001.
Table Tennis is a low impact sport that can be actively pursued at either a competitive or recreational level by senior citizens. For many years Table Tennis has been the officially endorsed sport of the Arthritis Foundation in their Move It Or Lose It campaign. Within our Association we have a number of players who have been playing Table Tennis for 50 years. Other times that the building is used recreational Table Tennis use are:- Monday night The Association through Don Chenye hires the ground floor room of the sports building at Mahoney s Reserve for recreational use by the public and for practice by people wishing to play competitively, but needing to improve their skills before playing in ESCTTA competition. This is done at a non-profit level to keep costs down and enable as many people as possible to participate. Friday and Saturday nights - Are used for practice that caters for a predominately Asian community and offers the chance for many people working evening and shift work to play. Tuesday night Coaching sessions will commence after the completion of the Commonwealth Games, when the lady who will run the sessions returns from competing in Glasgow. This will involve coaching and practice sessions for juniors and senior players of high skill. In addition to this Mark Smythe has established a competition at Vermont South. This is a different set up and is a commercial business that offers prize money and a professional coaching staff from among Australia s leading players. It does, however, illustrated the demand for Table Tennis in Whitehorse and Mark s business has attracted 200 people playing and being coached in Whitehorse since it began around 3 years ago. This is in addition to players competing in the ES&CTTA, as our competition nights vary during the week and only one player from our Association plays in Mark s competition. Mulluana Secondary College also has training sessions on Saturdays from 12-5pm. As you can see there is a demand for Table Tennis within Whitehorse with around 400 people playing for sport, recreation or being coached each week. The number of players and the demand for access to Table Tennis facilities will continue to increase every year. It would be of major benefit to our Association if we could have a permanent base and a fixed night(s) for all games. Of the 45 associations registered with Table Tennis Victoria we are one of only four who do not have a permanent
base. The establishment of a home has long been a goal of the Association and would help enormously in expanding our competition and reaching out to a number of groups that we currently cannot cater for properly. In particular it would create the opportunity for us to become involved in junior development programs that at the moment we are unable to accommodate. In ES&CTTA, we cater for people from all walks of life. At different times over the years we have had teams from municipal councils, factories, football clubs, Australian Road Research Board and other community groups competing within our Association. The ES&CTTA offers participation to a wide range of people of all ages and abilities. At present our youngest player is 11 and our oldest is 85. We have parents and their children who play together within teams. Our competition is mixed with male and female members competing against each other in every grade. We also cater for players with disabilities who compete each week. POPULATION DEMOGRAPHICS The population demographics of Whitehorse have changed considerably over the past 20 years and will continue to change over the lifetime of this Recreation Strategy Plan. The total population of Asian descent was approximately 16.9% in 2011. This figure is expected to rise above 20% at the next census. In Box Hill that percentage was 26.2% and is expected to rise above 30% at the next census Within the ESCTTA, 43.2% of our playing cohort is made up of people of Asian origin. This is a much greater percentage than the general population of Whitehorse and reflects the popularity of this sport within that community. We would like to play our part in providing the opportunity for all new migrants to integrate into our community, to make friends and socialise through a sport that is popular and familiar to them. It would be sound planning to take into consideration the future demands that the changing demographics within Whitehorse bring.
JUNIOR COMPETITION We have no junior competition. At present we are unable to offer junior competition because we cannot get access to venues at suitable times and of suitable size. The ES&CTTA has parents contacting us every week seeking to have their children play Table Tennis., but because we cannot get regular access to a playing venue during the hours suitable for children we are only able to offer them competition against adults. This is unsuitable for the vast majority of children because of late night finishes to competition (around 10-30pm and sometimes later) and because of the difference in the skill level of children wishing to take up the sport. Access to one of our current venues, at a suitable time would only cater for 12 children at the same time (there is only room for 3 tables). This makes it extremely difficult to match children of similar skill levels. In the past this has been a deterrent to children in trials we have conducted when they were not able to play and improve against players of a similar skill level. In 2012 there were 8,781 children between the ages of 5-9 and 17,709 young people between the ages of 10-19. We would like to engage them in recreation, practice, coaching and competition. Table tennis teaches children how to work hard Table tennis takes hard work physically and mentally. No one develops a table tennis game in a week or a month. It takes consistent hard work over a lengthy period to develop to the top level. This hard work will carry over to other areas of life, even University or careers. Table tennis teaches children about physical fitness and diet Fitness on and off the court is a daily routine for the top player. Developing good fitness and diet habits will last a lifetime and change a player for the rest of their life. Table tennis teaches children about success and failure Unfortunately, life is full of both success and failure. How should a player react when losing? How should they react when things aren t going their way? Coaches and organisers can offer advice and act as role models and mentors to assist during these times. These same lessons will help them mature throughout their teen years. Table tennis teaches children about marketing In order to fund travel and training, many players need to learn to market
themselves. Children will be coached and learn how to talk to sponsors and how to best promote their products. Table tennis teaches children how to handle pressure Many players can practice well but can t convert it to the match. The coach will teach them what to think between points, how to react to good and bad points, how to handle conflict, and how to think clearly even in a pressure situation. This is vitally important for any career whether it be a job interview, a speech, or any other public job. Table tennis really does benefit other areas of life The habits developed early will influence a child for the rest of their life. Children wishing to take up Table Tennis in Whitehorse are faced with lack of a local competition due to the factors described previously and all juniors must travel some considerable distance to play. For many juniors this means they never take up the sport that they enjoy playing at home and school because they simply cannot get to a venue. A junior program is by far the Association s greatest challenge and our biggest desire is to provide the opportunities and assistance all young people need to achieve their full potential both as a person and as a Table Tennis player. We would like to be involved as coaches and mentors to any young person who wishes to try our sport and give them every opportunity to become a success both at the table and in life. Table Tennis competition is available at Coburg, the Melbourne Sports (MSAC) and Acquatic Centre, Dandenong, Kilsyth and Diamond Valley. The closest of these centres is 15Km from Whitehorse. Junior Table Tennis competition is only offered at Coburg, MSAC, Dandenong and Kilsyth. A new Table Tennis Centre within Whitehorse would be central to all the other Table Tennis Centres that currently exist in the eastern suburbs. In recent years both Kilsyth and Dandenong have expanded due to demand. Neither venue has room for further expansion at the moment. Table Tennis is an Olympic and Commonwealth Games sport and has the potential to produce future Olympic and Commonwealth Games representatives. It is a sport that allows talented competitors to progress to the very highest representative levels.
A Table Tennis venue in Whitehorse would enable club championships to be held, and would have the potential to conduct State Competitions and National Championships at senior and junior levels, bringing in state and international players and spectators and the economic benefits that would flow to the Whitehorse Community and businesses. VENUE REQUIREMENTS Our requirements are: A large cleared floor with Room for 15 20 tables, each taking up an area approx. 5x10 metres with a 5metre ceiling. Lighting of at least 600 lux uniformly over the playing surface. A storage facility adjacent to the floor area for storing tables, nets, etc. - about 6m x 6m if the venue is to be shared with another sport. A small office area suitable for administration, meetings of around 8-10 people and for record storage Access to toilet facilities. Kitchen facilities if possible at least to get a drink of water. Access to the venue 7 days a week if possible, to allow us to implement the programs we have plans for. Preferred night(s) if sharing with another sport Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday FURTHER REASONS WHY TABLE TENNIS WILL BENEFIT WHITEHORSE RESIDENTS Reason 1: Table Tennis keeps you in shape The game is great for working up a sweat and getting your heart rate up, but at the same time it s easy on your body. Playing a friendly game of table tennis for an hour burns about 300 calories. That s equal to a 27-minute power walk on a treadmill. Just a couple of hours a week hitting that little ball around can do wonders for your fitness. Reason 2: Table Tennis keeps you young Improved reflexes result because of the fast-paced nature of the sport over very short distances. Both gross and fine muscle movements are improved. The game is distinguished by bursts of exertion and recovery, leading to fast-twitch muscle development. Over the course of play, a fair, yet not extreme, amount of aerobic activity occurs. Players can set their own level of involvement.
In addition to being terrific cardiovascular and aerobic exercise, the sport keeps your reflexes and balance sharp. This is important because it can help prevent falls, which are common when people get on in years. Reason 3: Little risk of injury As a non-contact sport, using a ball that weighs only a few grams, table tennis is a low-impact, practically risk-free sport. Reason 4: Table Tennis is also a mental workout Table tennis is accurately described as 'high-speed chess'. The mental alertness encouraged by the sport's tactical challenges is particularly good for seniors. The ability to concentrate on applying a tactic is good for all ages. Studies by the UCLA Center on Aging show that beneficial brain changes are visible with high-tech imaging after just a few weeks of playing Table Tennis. Reason 5: Table Tennis is a great social sport People who play will meet many new friends and role models. Play singles, or grab a teammate and play doubles or mixed doubles. It doesn t matter whether you re big or small, young or old, or male or female. Even players with disabilities can successfully compete. It s also one of few sports where children can compete against adults. It s your skill that matters. Reason 6: Table Tennis is relatively inexpensive There s no high-priced equipment to buy (such as in golf or cricket for example). You ll probably want to purchase your own bat at some point, but that s no large investment. And any fees going to the club are invested back into facilities as the club is run entirely by volunteers. Reason 7: You can play Table Tennis all year around Table tennis is an indoor sport that can be played anytime day or night. You don t have to worry about rain or summer heat and humidity. It is available year-round as a social outlet. It is one of the few sports in which size, age, and sex are irrelevant competitive factors. This aspect has led to it's adoption as the world's most popular life sport and the slogan "table tennis: anybody, anytime, anywhere".
I hope the information outlined above is helpful to you in the development of your Draft Recreation Strategy and can convince you that there is a demand from the residents of Whitehorse for a Table Tennis venue and that it would be fully utilised should it become a reality. Please contact me if you require any further details. I would reiterate that ES&CTTA is very interested in the development of a Table Tennis Centre and would like our expression of interest noted in the implementation of the Final Recreation Strategy. Yours Sincerely, W.A. Marsh President ES&CTTA