TABLE TENNIS

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 239, 4 July 1940, Page 2

TABLE TENNIS

Dominion Association’s Annual Meeting

PROGRESS OF GzIME

The past year had been very eventful, as it had included the first overseas tour and the holding of the championships in the South Island for the first time, said the chairman, Mr. W. Barker, at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Table Tennis Association. Good progress was being made throughout the country and the game was now well established. The_ game was proving very popular in military camps and he hoped that all the associations would assist the authorities in providing facilities and information. Mr. Barker said the visit of the New Zealand team to Australia last year had been a complete success in the interests of the game in both countries, and had paved the way for friendly negotiations and reciprocal visits in the future. The visit was made possible by the generous donation of Mr. H. N. Smith, England, the association’s delegate on the International Federation of Table Tenuis.

An invitation to attend a Pan-Paci-fic contest to be held in Japan this year had been extended by that association, but because of the shortness of time and the international situation the invitation had been reluctantly declined.

The financial position was not very satisfactory because of the continuaf drain on the funds for the further establishment of the game. There were at present 20 associations affiliated or in the process of being affiliated. The election of officers resulted:— Patron, the Governor-General; president, Mr. H. W. Bryen (Auckland); vice-presidents, Messrs. H. D. Kennedy, IV. J. Gillies, F. T. McAneny (Auckland), C. Ennis (Stratford), A. Marshall (Lower Hutt), B. A. Barrer (Christchurch). S. Robson (Invercargill), R. L. Eames (Timaru), E. Casey ('Wellington), J. H. D. Miller (Dunedin), and other presidents of affiliated associations; chairman of executive, Mr. A. Marshall: secretary-trea-surer, Mr. H. N. Ballinger: committee, Messrs. L. Wilson, 11. Osborn, O. Heketa, K. Longmore, W. Barker and T. S. Williams; auditor, Mr. O. A. Ohl-

son; delegate to 1.T.T.F., Mr. H. N. Smith. Tournaments Allotted. Tournaments were allocated as follows: Centennial championships, Wellington ; North Island championships, Taranaki; South Island championships, Canterbury. Several delegates outlined their activities in connexion with the war and stressed the need for co-operation. Special mention was made of the South Canterbury association, who gave the proceeds of a tournament to the National Patriotic Fund. In Auckland they were visiting the military camps and' giving exhibitions. Mr. Price. Auckland, reported that his association had conducted experiments in an endeavour to obtain a suitable table paint and that any association wanting information on this subject could obtain it from the Auckland association. It was decided that the Incoming executive give every consideration to the compilation of a handbook of table tennis. A vote of thanks was passed to the Press for valuable publicity during the past year.