Celebrating New Year, the Oceania Talent Team Way

Celebrating New Year, surely there is nowhere better than being at a table tennis training camp.

There may be a few million people who disagree with that suggestion but that was the choice of the Oceania Junior Talent Team. Organised under the umbrella of the ITTF-OTTF Development Programme the players gathered in Sydney, Australia on 28th December 2006 for two days before flying to Chengdu in China, where they will stay for fifteen days; until 15th January 2007.


Six Countries Represented
“The group consists of seven players from six countries: Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tahiti, Cook Islands and New Caledonia”, explained Andrew Hubbard, the Oceania Development Officer. “All the players have been selected by their national associations and virtually all will be available for this year’s ITTF World Cadet Challenge.”

Co-operation
It a tremendous opportunity and has been made possible through co-operation between three bodies.

“The training has been made possible thanks to funding from both the Oceania National Olympic Committee and the International Table Tennis Federation”, explained Andrew Hubbard. “Without their help it would not have been possible and a special thank must go to Butterfly; they have made a large contribution to the Oceania Development Programme and continued their generous sponsorship of the Oceania Junior Talent Team by providing all the young players with clothing.”

It was most certainly a magnificent gesture by Butterfly and one that all the young players appreciated greatly.

Chengdu
“After two days in Sydney we flew to Chengdu in China, home of the world famous Panda, and also known for its hot spicy food”, continued Andrew Hubbard. “Training started on the morning of the 30th December, with two daily sessions: 8.30am to11.30am and 2.45pm to 5.30pm with an optional evening session.”

Eye Opener
Playing in China and especially in Chengdu is something of an eye-opener for the players from Oceania.

“The centre is a three storey building with the men training on level one, the women on level two and juniors plus recreational players on level three”, explained Andrew Hubbard. “There are twelve professional men and women on each level, two of the women were at a national team training camp during our stay and as you can imagine it was a great environment for our young players to experience.”

Reception
It is an unparalleled experience and Andrew Hubbard was delighted with the reception the group received at the centre.

“All the staff in Chengdu really looked after us, the training was excellent, with plenty of one-on-one coaching”, he said “The coaches were keen to help our young players and Jackie, our interpreter, was like a big sister to the youngsters!”

Culture
Superb organization, attention to detail and those are undoubtedly major reasons why the Chinese have been so successful in the sport of table tennis. Furthermore, the programme was not just dedicated to training, opportunities to visit the locality were provided.

“On our rest days, the centre made all the arrangements for our transport and took us all to see the famous Pandas plus also some famous historical sites”, continued Andrew Hubbard. “It was a great experience for all the players and a big thank you to the Chengdu Table Tennis Centre from all the Oceania Team.”

New Building
The centre in Chengdu is excellent but it is to be even better.

“Together with Jiang Jiazhang, the School Principal and Fu Bin, the Office Director, I made a visit to the area where a new training centre is to be build”, explained Andrew Hubbard. “The new venue will comprise a practice area with one hundred tables, a match venue with seating for two thousand, a players’ living area and a hotel for other visitors.”

Return Visit
A practice area for one hundred tables, it is quite incredible. “The intention is that the new venue will host training camps for the Chinese national team”, explained Andrew Hubbard. “It is planned to be completed within the next twelve months.”

Andrew Hubbard was impressed, anybody would be impressed and the Oceania Development Officer is planning ahead. “It’s an exciting prospect for our next visit”, he said. It is; I doubt he’ll have any refusals when he sends out the invitations.

Posted 15/01/2007