Table Tennis Canada (TTCAN) is pleased to launch a brand-new promotional campaign called “Women in Table Tennis”. This initiative is the result of a joint effort between the TTCAN Athletes’ Commission and Gender Equity Committee to prompt the necessary awareness and discussion centered around female participation in the sport.
The origin of the project stems from various conversations and surveys conducted with players and those involved in table tennis in Canada. Additionally, statistics reveal that the number of female players, coaches, and administrators has been steadily decreasing over the past few years. Upon this discovery, Table Tennis Canada felt the need for immediate action to inspire and empower the women and girls of our national table tennis community. This promotional campaign was therefore developed with this exact goal in mind.
Here are a few observations that emerged from our surveys and conversations with our female table tennis community:
-Training that is less suitable for female players
-Few female sparring partners
-Female players, coaches, officials and administrators feeling as if they are considered inferior to their male counterparts
– Lack of inclusion in mixed training opportunities and the need to train in welcoming and safe environments
– Few female role models and mentors
As a result, TTCAN Member Associations are struggling to recruit, train, develop and retain female table tennis athletes at all levels. We need to act immediately!
Several objectives are targeted by the Women in Table Tennis campaign. A key objective of ours is to increase the visibility of girls and women in table tennis. In addition, we aim to highlight the challenges and illustrate the successes of female members of the table tennis community. By displaying a positive image of our women in table tennis, we would like to make our sport better known to and more well-established in the general population. Ultimately, we strive to increase the number of female table tennis players at all levels of the sport.
We will therefore bring to you and highlight the journey of female athletes, coaches, officials and administrators in the near future. Each month, we will feature a different individual’s challenges and achievements on Table Tennis Canada’s website and social media. Please look forward to upcoming features – we hope you are excited as we are!
ABOUT TABLE TENNIS CANADA
Table Tennis Canada (TTCAN) is the national governing body for the sport of table tennis in
Canada. TTCAN encourages and facilitates the growth and development of table tennis in
concert with its 13 member provincial/territorial member associations. It is also responsible for overseeing the preparation and participation of Canadian national teams at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, World Championships, and other international events.
For more information, contact:
Thorsten Gohl,Marketing & Communications
Table Tennis Canada