TABLE TENNIS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 123, 26 May 1937, Page 18

TABLE TENNIS

SUCCESSFUL YEAR NEW ASSOCIATION FORMED The annual meeting of the New Zealand Table Tennis Association was held last night, Mr. A. Marshall presiding. The past year had' been a most successful One, the report stated, and there had been a steady increase in the j membership of the associations. The I standard of play had improved and the public interest in the game had increased greatly. : Delegates had been sent to various centres to stimulate interest in table tennis, and as a result new associations had been formed at Christchurch, Greymouth, and TimaVu, and application for affiliation with the New Zealand association had been ■ received. Invercargill, which had had an association before, had applied for affiliation, and Napier delegates were being called together to consider the formation of an association. Stratford had undertaken to form an association and to affiliate. Whereas a few months ago there had been five associations belonging to the New Zealand .body, the chairman said, it would not be long before there were at least 15. The New Zealand championships, held in Wellington in September, had been highly successful. The entries had been large and it had been impossible to finish the events at a reasonable hour. The system of daylight play had proved unsatisfactory, only 31 matches out of over 130 having .been played during .the1 day, and the cost was more than doubled. Reports: from the various associations indicated that they were all financially sound. j ; FUTURE TOURNAMENTS. '...It..was decided that the 1937 national championships should be held in Wellington not earlier than September 7.' A South Island tournament, under the control of the Otago. Association, is to.be held in Dunedin on July 30 and 31. A North Island tournament, to be controlled by the Auckland Association, will also be held in July. A committee of three was set up to investigate the advisability of the association affiliating with the International Table Tennis Federation and of its becoming an incorporated society. The executive was empowered, if suitable arrangements could be made, to arrange for a tour of the affiliated associations by New Zealand 1937 champions or other suitable players. It was decided to grant £10 to the winners of the North and South Island tournaments to enable them to compete in the national championships. On the motion of the Wellington Association the management committee was instructed to,inquire into the possibility of a visit-from an Australian team. ■ The election of officers resulted as follows:—President, Mr. M. Fraser; i vice-presidents, Messrs. A. Bell (Wellington) and W. J. Gillies (Wanganui); secretary-treasurer, Mr. K. B. Longmore; hon. auditor, Mr. O. A. Ohlsson; executive committee, Mr. A. Marshall (chairman), Miss Parker, and Messrs. Barker, Burke, Day, and Fyle.