SYDNEY NORTHERN DISTRICTS TABLE TENNIS ASSOCIATION INC.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR 2006

The year 2006 was generally a good one for the association. Our registration fee income increased significantly to the highest level for some years, indicating increased player participation in organised competitions throughout the region. This is a pleasing outcome.

The association’s financial position continues to be very sound, as the Secretary/Treasurer will report.

During the year we conducted the usual Autumn and Spring Interclub Competitions across three to four divisions and the annual District Championships held at Suns Club in Thornleigh. The interclub competitions were successful with the relatively new AR Division confirming that there is a permanent place for that division. The District Championships were disappointing, however, with entries well down on previous years. This can be attributed, at least in part, to a clash with a TTNSW City v Country day at Homebush drawing players away. A couple of clubs provided next to no entries while C and D grades were a disaster with one entry for C and none for D. The District Championships are a core part of the association’s activities and the incoming committee will have to decide what can be done to avoid clashes and make the event more attractive to players.

The association’s Manly Vale facility, run by Jill Abrahams and Jenny Nolan on Saturday afternoons was again successful and finished with a modest surplus for the year. After a number of years, Jenny is no longer able to participate so if anyone else can assist Jill, please let us know.

An innovation was the Top 5 Challenge played across most grades at Manly Vale and Suns in mid-year. The five best performing players in each grade were invited to play a round-robin to determine the top player in that grade. Not all players were available on the day, but the event was well supported and successful. We expect it to become part of our annual program. Thanks to Theo Morsink for the idea and most of the organisation.

Another innovation was a promotion and relegation policy for interclub competitions. The idea was to relegate lowest placed teams and promote highest placed teams from one division to another, thus rewarding or penalising team performance and avoiding stagnation of teams within one division. The policy, while welcomed in principle, had some teething problems that are being continuously addressed. It is still a work in progress but we expect it to settle down and become a normal part of the competition procedure.

As foreshadowed at last year’s AGM, we spent $800 on an attractive leaflet advertising table tennis and the association’s clubs. Contact points were clearly displayed. Early in the year the leaflets were extensively distributed throughout the region with mixed results. Undoubtedly, many enquiries were made and new players joined up but it is difficult to measure the overall effectiveness of this approach. In my view, the promotion was worthwhile because at least it brought table tennis to the attention of the public throughout the region. We also have a supply of leaflets that can be usefully distributed in future. Desirably, what we need is not only more players but more clubs, especially in the lower divisions.

Interclub competition By-laws were updated and published for the first time in many years. Again, these are a work in progress in that continual additions and amendments are to be expected over time.

I regret that there were a number of disciplinary matters dealt with by the committee during the year. Almost all of these could have been avoided if players considered "the spirit of the game" as their guiding light rather than winning at all costs, which, unfortunately, too often results in bad sportsmanship and other poor behaviour. As well as causing friction between players and officials, it brings our sport into disrepute and the committee has made it clear that offending behaviour will not be tolerated.

With the Autumn 2007 Interclub Competition approaching, we are asking for team entries to be submitted by 10 February so that there will be adequate time to consider how divisions and teams can be organised before draws are made. Without this breathing space, it is simply not possible to consider how to best structure the divisions and place the entries to ensure balanced competition across all divisions.

I would like to thank Rod Falck for maintaining our website as an attractive, easy to access source of up-to-date SNDTTA information, especially interclub results and rankings. Thanks also to Rod for his hard work as an association Recorder.

I would now like to conclude by warmly thanking my fellow committee members, Barry Davies, Theo Morsink, Jill Abrahams, Mark Seeto and John Wells for their unstinting and valuable contribution to the management of the SNDTTA. Each of them voluntarily gives up personal time to provide the means by which organised table tennis can be played in our large region and they deserve your help and support. On a personal note, after eight straight years on the committee, the last two as President, I have decided that it is time to stand down. On behalf of the outgoing committee, I extend our best wishes to the committee shortly to be elected for 2007.

Syd Birchall
President, SNDTTA
7 February 2007