NATIONAL TABLE TENNIS SQUAD TRAINING AT SYDNEY OLYMPIC PARK

Led By NATIONAL PERFORMANCE PATHWAY MANAGER SIMON GERADA

The 2021 Table Tennis Australia (TTA) National Squad training kicked off at Sydney Olympic Park on 20 January 2021.

Sydney Olympic Park features a large sports and entertainment area, originally developed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games with international level first class stadiums, arenas and venues for sporting, musical, and cultural events.

Simon Gerada represented Australia in the 2000 Sydney Olympics as a 19-year-old,and is now using that experience as the National Coach to lead National Squad training at Sydney Olympic Park from 8 - 12 February 2021.

As the manager, Simon focuses on establishing innovative ways to develop athletes across Australia to help them reach their potential. This will enable athletes to progress through the high performance pathway to become internationally competitive at both junior & senior level. It also allows them to work with other National Squad athletes in the daily training and competition environment.

Simon wished the National Squad members, from all cultures and communities, who celebrate Lunar New Year good health and success in 2021. May the Year of the Ox be filled with happiness, opportunities, prosperity, success and many precious memories.

Simon said “We are delighted that our National Squad athletes have access to outstanding training conditions at Sydney Olympic Park with the Olympic spirits, values and philosophy. We’re thankful for the generous support from TTNSW, and the National Squad is able to train at Sydney Olympic Park multiple times per week.

Simon said that “the TTA Able-Bodied High Performance Program made strong progress throughout 2020 in Sydney with the establishment of regular and ongoing National Squad training.TTA thanks  Paul Zhao, Coaching Director TTNSW and Hongbo Liang, Performance Coach, TTA.” For their professional contributions to the Program

Vice President of TTNSW, Ted Davis said “TTNSW welcomed the agreement between TTA and TTNSW for National Squad Training at Sydney Olympic Park. TTNSW is delighted to continue supporting TTA in their endeavours to assist the elite players to achieve their goals at both national and international level.”

Ted said “TTNSW has a proud history of producing National champions and Australian representatives in Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ITTF World Championships, and ITTF World Junior Championships etc. Our first-class facilities will give the best chance for players to reach their potential. TTNSW is keen to see Australia continue to improve on the international stage and is working with TTA to achieve improved results in the Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.”

Simon commented that “Our NATIONAL TALENT ID PATHWAY PROGRAM will include three camps open to all junior players. The National Hopes Weeks in Melbourne follows the NSW State Hopes Week’s which was held in January 2021. Further developments in Sydney will include the State & Territory Remote Training, and Support and Mentoring Program which also kicked off in February 2021.”

“TTA Undertook a comprehensive review of the system in 2019 and 2020 with the aim of bridging the international gap and increasing the level of expertise throughout the country”

Simon also announced that “As part of the 2021 NATIONAL TALENT ID PATHWAY PROGRAM, a camp has been scheduled at Sydney PCYC Hornsby, 1 Park Lane, Waitara NSW 2077 from Sat 03 Apr 2021 09:00am to Wed 07 Apr 2021 05:00pm with National Head Coach John Murphy, National Pathway Coach Eva Jeler. The members of the National Squad in Sydney and Melbourne are expected to join the camp.”

More details for registering: https://www.tabletennis.org.au/events/81890/