Table Tennis United
Table Tennis England’s Strategic Plan
Our Purpose
Hosting generations of players at our table
Our Vision
A table tennis nation
Our Guiding Principles
To underpin its Vision, we have developed a set of guiding principles which help to define our Pledges, and the role we will fulfil to lead and empower the table tennis community:
- Table tennis first
- Olympic first
- ‘Meet people where they are at’
- Open to everyone; adaptive to attract diverse communities
- Customer focused, with people at the heart of the design and delivery
- Data and insight led organisation making evidence-based decisions
- Embracing digital and technology to reach and engage existing and new audiences
- Collaborating, listening and co-designing
- Greater connectivity between the formal and informal game
- Developing partnerships that help it go faster
- Focussing attention on the critical actions that will make a difference
- Journey, not a sprint
It is a strategy for table tennis in England and sets out our Pledges and how we will honour them, against which the impact of investment and activity can be measured.
To be successful, there will be a number of key dependencies, including, but not limited to, a need to create and support:
- A sports system which demonstrates collaboration, diversity, knowledge sharing, inclusion and thought leadership, enabling table tennis to thrive locally and nationally.
- Data and insight to enable informed decisions.
- A strong network of clubs and other environments, that support community and talent development.
- Great coaches working within, and across, community and talent environments.
- Passionate volunteers who feel valued.
- Officials who can help us to deliver the calendar of competitions and events.
- Growth, to be underpinned by exceptional governance.
The journey from strategy to implementation will need the support of many stakeholders and partners, including:
- Members
- Sport England
- UK Sport
- Sponsors
- Broadcasters
- Clubs
- Leagues
- Coaches
- Officials
- Volunteers
- Local Authorities
- Education
- Active Partnerships
It is recognised that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’. We will work across the table tennis community to develop locally owned strategies. Investment and decision making will be devolved to the Area network to ensure valuable resources are aligned to priorities that complement the national strategy.
Our Pledges
Working in Partnership
- We will develop partnerships, at national and local level, and provide resources and programmes to those who contribute to increasing participation and diversifying our audience.
- We will seek investment, and partnerships, to expand the Ping! initiative to more towns and cities and encourage greater integration across the sport.
- We will support our clubs to develop and utilise their own resources, enabling them to play their part in the growth and diversification of our sport.
- We will establish an area management and delivery structure, with devolved investment, to support our national goals through locally owned strategies.
Growing a Grass Roots Workforce
We will support the growth in number of volunteers, coaches, and officials, from different backgrounds and communities, ensuring the workforce is equipped with the tools and training they need to grow participation, nationally and locally.
We will ensure our national coaching team provide inspiration and learning to coaches working across communities.
Competition for All
We will introduce a competition ‘day licence’ that will enable non-members to enter tournaments.
We will initiate a review of league table tennis ensuring it can attract, and retain, players.
We will reduce the competition hosting regulations to make it easier and more cost effective for organisers.
We will invest in tournament management and entry platforms for all regulated events.
We will be more innovative with the use of technology and embrace competition beyond our traditional structure.
Participation with a Purpose
We will ensure a seamless and integrated structure from the playground to the podium enabling a lifelong involvement in table tennis while also providing a progressive pathway for talented and committed players to become world class.
We will ensure qualified and educated coaches become part of the fabric of table tennis clubs.
We will work with clubs to reimagine their environment, and their offer, to ensure they are appealing to a wider and more diverse audience.
Measuring our impact
- Clear, relevant, and measurable local development plans are in place.
- Data and insight profiles are informing activity and focus.
- More players are joining clubs.
- Every Premier and Associate club has an active link with at least one local school.
- Every Premier and Associate club has an active licensed coach.
- More coaches are learning and actively coaching.
- Leagues are stronger and more diverse with more players, more teams, more divisions and a more flexible delivery model.
- More players are competing regularly.
- A more diverse playing, competing, volunteering, coaching, and officiating population exists.
- Ping! is available in more towns and cities.
World Class Pathway
Our sport structures will be aligned to the world class goal.
Our pathway will be clear and accessible to all.
We will develop a pipeline of talented coaches who demonstrate the ability to be part of the performance pathway.
Our pathway will be progressive and prioritise those players and coaches showing the characteristics to be world class.
World Class Behaviours
We will demonstrate behaviours that are conducive to a world class environment and elite performance, also ensuring a world class workforce, and clear succession planning across our system.
World Class Environments
We will support a network of local performance development centres with the ability to develop players and coaches.
A national training centre to support the best players in England and Great Britain will be established.
Measuring our impact
- Players are committed to a full-time performance programme.
- A National Training Centre is providing access to full time training.
- Progressive improvement to medal success at European, Commonwealth, World and Olympic level.
- By 2025 – five players inside the top 100 in the world and medals at European Youth level.
- By 2028 – three players inside top 50 in the world and one European medal.
- By 2032 – two players inside the top 20 in the world and a World and Olympic medal.
- More players, men and women, are successfully transitioning through the pathway and establishing themselves in the senior team.
- A National Coaching Curriculum is established and being implemented.
- Local performance development centres are providing a minimum 15 hours a week training to young players.
- All coaches working within local performance centres are committed to annual learning and development programmes.
Building our Digital Capability
• We will seek to develop our digital capability with a clear focus on the user experience, including creating exciting content that people are interested in and want to follow.
• We will ensure we gather data and insight that informs our decisions and investments.
• We will launch TTE.TV to bring events and engaging content to more members and fans.
Staging Fantastic Events
We will make table tennis more visible to fans across the country and will seek to stage events that people want to watch. We will use these events to inspire our audience and showcase the sport.
Developing our Partners
We will develop relationships with partners who share our excitement and ambition and who can help us to grow table tennis.
We will seek a national broadcast partner to support our major events and increase the visibility of table tennis
Measuring our impact
- A data strategy is created that enables us to collect, store and utilise data to make informed decisions.
- Clear value propositions are established for our members and players.
- More people are members of Table Tennis England.
- A baseline Net Promoter Score (NPS) is established with annual improvements in engagement.
- A content strategy is in place that enables us to engage a wider audience.
- Engagement with our social channels and website increases annually.
- A minimum of two annual international events are staged in England, including one at world level.
- A broadcast agreement is in place with a national broadcaster.
- The number of subscribers to TTE.TV increases annually.
A Powerful Culture
• A culture that wins together will be established, creating unity and a common purpose across the table tennis community.
• We will review the governance structure bringing together the talent of our team with the expertise and passion of our volunteers to create a powerful force for good.
• The members will be an integral part of the decision making process.
• We will review our strategy regularly to ensure our goals and impact are being achieved.
Tackling Inequalities
We will play our part in tackling the inequalities in society, and specifically, in table tennis by ensuring that we are an inclusive sport that also actively promotes diversity of thought at all levels of the organisation.
Investing in People
We will recognise that the people involved in table tennis are our greatest asset and so we will not only invest in their growth and capability, but in their wellbeing; we will protect people involved in table tennis.
Influencing our Partners
We will seek to influence across the sporting landscape both domestically and at the highest levels within the ETTU and ITTF.
Inspiring Change
We will harness the platform of table tennis to enable positive change and accept the responsibility we have as the governing body to lead, and inspire others, to be part of a more sustainable sector.
Growing our owned Income
We will increase our owned income and become less reliant on public funding.
We will seek opportunities to work with those keen to partner with our ambition.
We will redesign our membership scheme presenting a value proposition that encourages revenue growth based on volume
Measuring our impact
- People wellbeing is at the centre of our organisation.
- Our members value their governing body.
- Our governance structure is reformed.
- We are compliant with the Code for Sports Governance.
- A People Plan is in place with clear development goals ensuring we attract and retain talent across our staff, coaches, officials, and volunteers.
- Table Tennis England is a diverse and inclusive organisation demonstrating equality across the sport.
- Public investment into table tennis increases.
- A year-on-year increase in self-generated income is achieved.