Hundreds of Victoria's best country table tennis players will converge on Bendigo for the Queen's Birthday long weekend.
The Bendigo and District Table Tennis Association is hosting the 68th Victorian Country Table Tennis Championships.
"This year participation has sky-rocketed, we started with around 250 players four years ago and in 2019 we will have 400," BDTTA president Gary Warnest said.
"All of the players love the country feel of the tournament, as well as Bendigo's great facilities."
The championships will be held across two venues, the Table Tennis and Badminton Stadium and nearby Truscott Reserve, with 57 tables in total ready for competition play.
"The amount of work that's needed to set up is significant," Warnest said.
"I've been working solidly over the past two weeks to get everything ready for the big task of setting up."
Troops of volunteers will work tirelessly setting up the venues to make sure everything is in top condition, ready for the first match on Saturday.
"This tournament would not happen without help from volunteers," Warnest said.
"With over 17 different associations from across the state participating, it has been great to see a few send up some of their members to help with the set up."
One of the biggest changes Warnest notices every year the BDTTA hosts the event is an increase of the "calibre" of the competitors.
However, above all Warnest sees the championships as more than a competition, it's one of the biggest social occasions for players from across Victoria.
"The competition itself is more participation focused - all of the country clubs come together for friendship and to compete in the name of having some good fun," he said.
"These friendships build up over years and the players may not see each other until the next year's competition, so it's great for table tennis in general in Victoria."
The 2018 championships saw 114 teams compete, but the record will be broken this year when 119 play across multiple grades during the three-day tournament.
Bendigo will have 11 teams competing in the championships, and will hope to secure championship glory off 2018 winners Ballarat.
Spectators are invited to attend for free, with food and coffee available throughout the competition.
The highlight of the event will be the men's and women's singles finals which will be played on Monday June 10 at 12.30pm.
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