Vale Angelo Tabone

One of the great servants of Australian table tennis, Angelo Tabone, passed away this morning (Fri 7/4/2023) in Melbourne, aged 80 years old. Angelo had a long and decorated career at all levels of the sport for nearly 60 years, primarily in officiating and administration.

As an Official, Angelo became an International Umpire in 1975 and an International Referee in 1996. Angelo served as an Umpire and Referee at countless international events. Table tennis took Angelo to all corners of the globe, including the Olympics in 1988, 1992 and 2000; Commonwealth Games in 1982 and 2006; Commonwealth Championships Scotland and Singapore; ITTF Pro Tours in Qatar, Japan, Russia and USA; Open Championships in Belarus and Luxembourg; Asian Championships and World Championships in Pakistan, Malaysia, India, England, Sweden, France and North Korea.

As an Administrator, Angelo’s contribution was enormous. He served on nearly every Committee at both Victorian and national level across five decades, including stints as Vice President. He also served as the Australian delegate to the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, Asian Table Tennis Union and ITTF. Additionally, Angelo served as the Team Manager for the Australian Team for more than 20 years.

Angelo was recognised on multiple occasions for his contribution to table tennis. He is a Life Member of TTA (1997), Table Tennis Victoria (1985), the Victorian Umpires League and the Victorian Railways Institute for Table Tennis.

When Angelo received his TTA 50 Years of Service to Table Tennis Award back in 2018, TTA Hall of Fame Member Glenn Tepper shared a funny story about Angelo, remembering:

“We were playing England at the Commonwealth Championships, with the English Team and the Australian Team sitting next to each other. England Table Tennis Association President, Alan Ransome, was sitting on the Team Bench closest to the Aussie Team. Angelo, the Australian Team Manager, went to sit on the corresponding seat on our Team Bench (closest to the English Team; and also Alan Ransome).

 For those that know Angelo, he has a peculiar sitting technique, whereby he lowers himself initially…and then drops onto the seat. On this occasion, the white plastic seat (not known for its durability) collapsed on one side. This saw Angelo’s seat drop and crash into Alan Ransome’s chair, resulting in them both on the floor, with Angelo sprawled on top of Alan Ransome, making it one of the few times Australia got on top of England!

 Needless to say, the start of the match was delayed for some time, as players, umpires and coaches from both teams could not stop laughing at the image of Australia topping England before the match even began!”

Angelo was also well known for his jokes. Although they were not always overly funny, Angelo had a way of delivering them with such enthusiasm that people couldn’t help but laugh.

Angelo will be sadly missed, but his contribution to table tennis will be fondly remembered.

Rest in peace Angelo.

To view Angelo’s full bio, please see the attached document.