Independent Table Tennis Association Of NZ (ITTANZ) Launches Nationwide “Table Tennis Tables In Schools” Programme

The Independent Table Tennis Association of New Zealand (ITTANZ), in association with Double Fish Table Tennis (China) and Trade Tested NZ (New Zealand) is pleased to announce the launch of the ITTANZ nationwide “Table Tennis Tables in Schools” Programme (TTTSP).

TTTSP was initially conceived as an idea in West Auckland, when the Waitakere Table Tennis Association, a local West Auckland Table Tennis Club, began harvesting good quality second-hand tables from the community, and then re-directing these tables into schools and school-based activity host organisations, to encourage young people into the sport of table tennis.

ITTANZ works to represent the interest of the 71% of independent table tennis clubs in New Zealand who are not affiliated to any particular professional body, and ITTANZ quickly recognised that the TTTSP initiative could bring local table tennis clubs and schools together in partnership to promote the sport and activity of table tennis in New Zealand.

ITTANZ approached Double Fish Table Tennis product representative Trade Tested New Zealand, to broker an exclusive agreement for Trade Tested New Zealand to supply new Double Fish table tennis tables to schools across New Zealand.

Double Fish Table Tennis (China) is an internationally recognised table tennis table manufacturer since 1954, whose high quality and durable tables have appeared at the most senior level of world competition in table tennis.

Trade Tested New Zealand sells the Double Fish Table Tennis table brand nationwide, and has a full after-sales support service inside and outside warranty (including parts) ensuring that any school or community organisation that purchases a product from Trade Tested New Zealand can be assured of quality and local after-sales service.

In a 2024 Nationwide Industry Sector Report, ITTANZ reported that there are 93 table tennis clubs in New Zealand, and many of these clubs are keen to promote the sport of table tennis to youth, and to welcome new players and their families to their clubs.

“The TTTSP initiative is a win, win, win, for all parties who are part of it” says ITTANZ Convenor Stephen Taylor.

“Schools benefit by having their students involved in a year-round sport that has been described as “aerobic chess”, working the body, and all parts of the brain, whilst not being constrained by the weather, and not requiring huge amounts of space to play the game. Anyone can learn and play table tennis, and age, height, weight, or ability are no barriers to engagement. Table Tennis is by its very practice a social and interactive game. It is comparatively cheap for schools and community organisations to set up and run table tennis as a sport, compared to some other sporting disciplines. Perhaps the best news of all, especially for parents, is that table tennis deals very nicely with getting young people away from their devices and the virtual world, and returns them to a physical and cognitive-based social activity, grounded in the real world. ITTANZ is delighted to be a part of this nationwide initiative to promote the sport of table tennis in New Zealand, and to encourage our young people to engage in the very affordable, fun-enhancing, easy-to-learn, and social activity of table tennis - who knows, there could even be a host of potential future New Zealand champions out there who would love the opportunity to pick up a racket, and play the game” says Mr Taylor.

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