STAYING HEALTHY AND ACTIVE IN THE WORKPLACE - A SPORT FOR ALL, FOR LIFE!

Keep active and healthy at work, for all, for life. The 2021 Table Tennis Corporate Cup - Sydney Finals was successfully held at Sydney Hornsby PCYC Table Tennis Centre on 30 April 2021 with over 60 players representing Google Australia, Nuix, Genisys, Gigahire and Canva. Two teams led by Karen Zhang, Account Executive, Google Cloud - Google Australia won one Silver Medal and one Bronze Medal.

                     2021 Table Tennis Corporate Cup - Sydney Finals, 30 April 2021

The Table Tennis Corporate Cup (TTCC) was developed by Table Tennis Australia (TTA) for businesses and organisations across Australia to engage employees, build employee communication while also providing strong corporate health and wellbeing benefits. This successful corporate wellness program that ran in 2019 and early 2020 saw over 1,000 employees from more than 250 companies and organizations across Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne register to play.

Marie Pinkewich - TTA Director, John Murphy - TTA National Head Coach (Able-Bodied), and Karen Zhang  - TTA Director  -  2021 Table Tennis Corporate Cup - Sydney Finals, 30 April 2021

TTA Director, Karen Zhang from Google Australia said “It is really exciting to see the transformation that Table Tennis Australia is experiencing with the roll out of programs like the Corporate Cup. There is a table tennis table in just about every office, co-working space or home. It is an incredibly inclusive sport for people of all ages and skill levels. The Google Australia team is able to play at the office, providing a fun opportunity to connect and collaborate with individuals outside of your core role.”

                        2021 Table Tennis Corporate Cup - Sydney Finals, 30 April 2021

Karen works to support enterprises across Australia undergoing digital transformation to adopt cloud technologies and innovation for Google Australia. Beyond her core role, she co-leads the Women@Google Community Pillar that oversees the Google Connected Women Australia community, #IamRemarkable program and Social Impact partnerships with NFP organisations including Global Sisters and Share the Dignity. She has extensive experience across start-ups, including running her own e-commerce business.

                                         2007 National Junior Championships

Within table tennis, she is a former NSW State Junior Representative from 2006 to 2010, the Founding President of the University of Technology Sydney Table Tennis Club and the Founding Vice President of the Inter-university Table Tennis Association.

She was awarded the Silver Medal at the 2009 National Junior Championships representing NSW U15 Girls Team and medals during her time at the Australian University Games representing UTS.

                                                 2006 National Junior Championships

Her entrepreneurial and leadership skills are recognised by one of the world’s most innovative companies. Her background and professional skillset bring a unique perspective to the Australian table tennis community, particularly as TTA looks to push harder into the corporate sector with the Corporate Cup and deepen its engagement with the broader table tennis community, particularly within the universities and youth communities. She provides a significant injection of sport and commercial knowledge to the TTA Board, given she is widely recognised as one of the leading sports administrators.

   Founder of UTS Table Tennis Club and Founding VP of Inter-university Table Tennis Association

TTA President Graham Symons commented, “We are thrilled to secure Karen on the TTA Board. As TTA looks to implement its 2019 - 2022 Strategic Plans, continue to grow in a sustainable fashion and navigate our way through the return to sport post-COVID-19, it is pivotal that we have quality people with diverse skills sets and professional backgrounds on the TTA Board. Karen clearly delivers this and I am confident that the TTA Board and TTA Management will continue to work together to further build on the achievements.”

                      2021 Table Tennis Corporate Cup - Sydney Finals, 30 April 2021

Karen is innately curious, inquisitive and seeks to learn and understand situations from every angle. Airing this mindset with the energy and passion that she has to execute and get things done, she is able to be cognizant, empathetic and understanding to diverse backgrounds, but is also able to create and lead initiatives and communities that create opportunities for inclusivity and connection.

                           2020 Fostering Resilience and Fun in An Engaged Workforce

She has always strived to give back, influence, and impact others in the community, and she has been heavily involved in diversity and inclusion (D&I), culture, social, and wellbeing efforts in various leadership positions. She is currently the Women@Google Community Pillar co-lead and also a founding member of UTS Young Alumni Committee.

                                   2021 International Women’s Week Presentation

She heavily drives D&I efforts across table tennis within Australia within her role as the Director of TTA. She is a champion of bringing people from all different backgrounds together through the sport of table tennis and leads efforts across TTA initiatives like Corporate Cup bringing organisations and individuals together from diverse backgrounds to play and socialise through table tennis.

Australian Olympian Panel on Strategies in Resilience & Motivation - Connected Women Australia

By creatively leveraging her involvement and experience across various fields, Karen is influencing and impacting views of D&I. In 2021, she organised an Australian Olympian Panel consisting of female able-bodied and para elite athletes across table tennis and football to share their Strategies in Resilience & Motivation in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, highlighting the achievements and challenges of Australia’s elite athletes, and sharing their lessons learnt from sport that can be applied to everyday life.

Australian Olympian Panel on Strategies in Resilience & Motivation - Connected Women Australia

She has the ability to bring different worlds together as exampled in her involvement with Table Tennis Australia’s event on Fostering Resilience & Fun in an Engaged Workforce in 2020 where she brought together elements across her technical role Google, role as a Google Culture and D&I lead and the Director of TTA Board.  In the 2021 International Women’s Week Presentation, she shared the importance of 'living' beyond a career, balancing extracurricular with work, what initiatives Google has in place to champion diversity and inclusion, how women can continue to thrive by taking leaps of faith and her key takeaways throughout her career.           

                             2021 Table Tennis Australia Tour - Sydney, 29 May 2021

Due to her excellent contribution as a young and aspiring female leader and a role model with an active voice for other women, Karen has been nominated as a finalist in the 2021 ARN Women in ICT D&I Champion Award. This award recognises an influential individual who actively drives D&I initiatives beyond their current job responsibilities through mentoring and thought leadership across the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.

The TTA Tour - Sydney was held during 29 - 30 May 2021 after sports and events halted nationally more than 12 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This newly established tournament aims to provide an opportunity for all athletes to compete at a national level.

                                       2021 Table Tennis Australia Board Meeting                   

“This inaugural TTA Tour event in Sydney marks the return to national competition for Australian players. It is an excellent vehicle to showcase all up and coming premier athletes in a new and fresh competition environment. TTA looks forward to seeing new top players emerging and all participants taking their table tennis game to the next level.” Karen, TTA Director.

“It is an aspiration for TTA to support our retired junior players to reconnect, collaborate and empower one another within the table tennis community through a series of social and professional development opportunities like TTCC. We are passionate about supporting our retired junior players as they embark upon their professional careers and start making their mark on the world while playing table tennis to stay active and healthy at work.”

 “TTCC will be a key initiative to build advocates and ambassadors of table tennis in the corporate sector. With our retired junior players now ambitious young professionals at different stages of their careers, the goal will be to reignite their lifelong connection to the sport forged over the years.”

 “We are aiming to facilitate connections between current university students, industry partners and the table tennis community; and grow the youth table tennis network nationally and worldwide to give our retired players the opportunity to experience professional and personal development across multiple platforms.”

 “Table tennis is an ideal sport that attracts people of all ages, irrespective of gender, culture, social background or physical ability. It is a very healthy and inclusive activity with multiple benefits, both for physical and mental health. A sport enabling individuals to stay active and healthy in the workplace. For all, for life.” Karen, TTA Director.

David Lee and Michael Li thank Karen Zhang for the interview, discussion, advice and support in contributing to this article, and wish to gratefully acknowledge Table Tennis NSW and Table Tennis Australia.