The Bendigo Table Tennis Association is calling all "local champions" to show their skills at an upcoming tournament.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The association is hosting the Local Champion Challenge for players of all skill levels.
"The idea came about as we have such large participation in our sport across Victoria and Australia," Bendigo Table Tennis Association president Gary Warnest said.
"What we're trying to do is get more people who haven't played table tennis under a competitive structure to give it a go.
"The tournament will give them plenty of feel for competitive play as a lot of them might have only gained experience at home or in social settings and are unsure of what their ability."
The competition will be held at the BTTA's stadium at Eaglehawk on Saturday January 16 and is free to enter.
"Our goal is to achieve a few things with the tournament," Warnest said.
"To show the local community that the BTTA is here in our community and hopefully boost our player numbers even further.
"And also to give something back to those players who compete to show them what their standard is and increase their interest in table tennis."
SPORT NEWS:
Entries have only just opened and the final format for the competition is yet to be determined.
However, the association has different planned formats it will use depending on competition numbers.
"If there is a high number of entries we will most likely have a round-robin tournament, otherwise new players can compete against club members and gauge their ability based on the standard of their opponents."
Another upcoming highlight for the BTTA is the launch of its next pennant season that's scheduled to get underway in February.
"The thing with when COVID-19 hit it brought with it disruptions to our pennant system.
"It led to some people leaving Bendigo due to circumstances changing, but also we've seen new people arrive," Warnest said.
"Through pennant we are reconnecting with as many players as we can.
"This is the ideal time to let people know that if they're interested in playing pennant, regardless of their skill-level, that we can accommodate them as we have three pennant divisions."
For more information or to enter the Local Champion Challenge (Saturday January 16 9.30am-3.30pm at 140 Victoria St Eaglehawk) please visit https://www.facebook.com/bendigotabletennis.
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.