Blog: 'The Charter helps us to make table tennis a sport for all'
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.
July's theme is EFDS's Charter for Change, which was launched by EFDS at an event in Parliament in February. This week Steve McFadyen, Clubs and Disability Officer at Table Tennis England, blogs for us. He discusses incorporating the Charter into his organisation's overall mission.
Steve’s blog:
The Charter complements our mission to make table tennis a sport for all for life, so supporting it fits in within our ethos. More importantly, helping to promote equality and remove barriers is quite simply the right thing to do to.
We too, at Table Tennis England, believe disabled people should be given the same opportunities as non-disabled people to be active for life. It’s not generally well known that almost 20% of the population considers themselves to be a disabled person. That’s a large proportion of our society so it’s important to consider such a valuable audience!
From a beginner in a local club to our greatest Paralympian table tennis players, we want our sport to be a meaningful experience for everyone. You don’t have to be a top player to be a part of the sport. We run many social events and there is lots of fun involved!
Disabled people’s activity levels are much lower than non-disabled people’s, and the Charter for Change is aiming to do something about that- by making it easier for disabled people to get into sport and physical activity.
So why has Table Tennis England supported the Charter and how will it deliver on that commitment?
Our Chief Executive, Sara Sutcliffe, and I wrote to EFDS outlining what we will be doing to support the Charter and encourage more disabled people to be active for life.
The commitments we have made are:
- To develop new projects to provide more opportunities for disabled people to enjoy table tennis.
- To ensure current projects are inclusive and allow opportunities for people with a disability to get involved.
- To work effectively with partners to enable us to support and deliver a wider range of table tennis opportunities.
- To educate our club network in providing suitable sessions and environments for disabled people to get involved in.
- To educate Table Tennis England staff and Board members to continue to think positively about disability and be inclusive in our work.
- To raise the profile of our current disabled players to act as positive role models to attract more people into the sport.
- To invest in our Ability Club network and priority zones to enable delivery of targeted projects.
An example of the third bullet point – to work effectively with partners to enable us to support and deliver a wider range of table tennis opportunities – came in the form of our very successful last Thursday 16 July.
Thousands of people across England celebrated #TableTennisDay in style, and some even posted their enjoyment on social media.
It was the second annual showcase of our sport, and it engaged and enthused people of all ages and backgrounds in every corner of the country.
An example of one positive story came from New Bridge in Oldham, Greater Manchester. It is a special needs academy, and on #TableTennisDay the school linked with neighbours Radclyffe School for a round-robin tournament.
All the young people who competed from New Bridge have autism, while Radclyffe provided year 10 qualified umpires, who did a fantastic job. There was also a longest rally competition, which reached a high of 268.
Commonwealth Games 2014 medallists Sam Walker attended some of the day’s events, and said:
“It’s been a great day and a great publicity event for the sport. We had a lot of interest in the city and a lot of people asking questions and wanting to play.
“It doesn’t matter how old people are, they’re giving it a go and enjoying it and that’s what sport is all about – even at the elite level you’ve got to enjoy it.”
So the key question, really, is how can you or your table tennis club get involved?
Your first step is to get in touch with Table Tennis England. They will give you the help and advice you need to set up sessions for disabled players. Please email Steve McFadyen or the development team.
Visit Table Tennis England's website. Find out more about the Charter on the designated website page.
