Fiji table tennis coaching Course

Lautoka, the second largest city in the islands and located on the west coast of the principal island of Viti Levu, hosted the course. Scott Houston, the Oceania Development Officer, was the expert on duty.

The course was conducted over an action packed eleven days; in addition to the Fiji Open Championships, an ITTF/PTT Level One Coaches Course plus Training Sessions for the talented junior athletes were carried out.

Backbone of Programme
The ITTF/PTT Level One Coaches Course formed the backbone of the programme; the goal of the course was to certify more coaches in the west of Fiji, as there is room for more growth in this region.

Sixteen participants took part in the coaching course, many of whom were from the various schools in the region that cater for students with physical and intellectual disabilities. It is hoped that table tennis can be introduced into these schools, and now the teachers are equipped to start students on their table tennis journey.

Overall Success
The ITTF/PTT Level One Coaches Course was an overall success. Six coaches finished the course at the highest level and once they have finished their coaching hours requirements they will be granted ITTF/PTT Level One status. In addition to this, another six finished with an ITTF Club Coach accreditation and four others finished with a School Teachers accreditation.

With sixteen new coaches in the region it is hoped that table tennis will continue to spread far and wide in the already highly active Fiji. Although table tennis in the capital city of Suva is continually expanding and there are already some commendable activities in Lautoka, some of the other districts of Fiji including Nadi, Ba, and Lami are still in their infancy as table tennis hubs.

Expansion
The highly active President of the Fiji Table Tennis Association, Mr. Anthony Ho, is always looking to expand table tennis throughout Fiji and this coaching course will help this to happen.

Training sessions for the local junior players were also carried out each day. There are already some youngsters from the West of Fiji that have made their way into the Fiji National Junior Teams and it is felt that there is potential for more young players to join them in National colours. With continued and regular structured training their potential can be realised as they reach adulthood.

Very Active
Once again it was another successful Olympic Solidarity Course for Fiji. The Fiji Table Tennis Association is one of the most active in Oceania and they are held in a very high regard within Oceania circles. Their continued improvement over the past nine years under the guidance of Anthony Ho’s leadership is to be commended and they are setting a fine example for others to follow.

Many thanks must be given to the Fiji Amateur Sports Association and National Olympic Committee for allocating an Olympic Solidarity Course for the visit, and also to the Fiji Table Tennis Association and the Lautoka Table Tennis Association for organising and hosting a very fruitful visit.

Source: ittf.com