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OFFICIAL AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVES

AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVES - MEN AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVES - WOMEN

Australian Representatives - Para Men Australian Representatives - Para Women


TTA is pleased to present the complete records for all players who have officially represented Australia at senior level in both able-bodied and para competitions. Australia first competed internationally in able-bodied events at the 1954 World Championships in London, with the trio of Lou Laza, Geoff Jennings and Bill Hodge being the first players to don the green and gold. In para events, William "Bill" Mather-Brown and Bruno Moretti had the honour of being the first Australian representatives when they competed at the 1960 Stoke Mandeville Games (Paralympic Games) in Rome.

Since then, Australia has been a mainstay on the international scene, winning a multitude of titles and medals along the way. To date, a grand total of 80 men and 72 women have represented Australia in able-bodied competitions and 74 men and 31 women have represented Australia in para competitions, making this a prestigious and exclusive club.

TTA feels it is important to recognise all official Australian representatives to showcase our proud history and identify all those who have contributed to our success. TTA developed the following criteria that must be met in order to be recognised:

The intention is by limiting the events at which a player can become an official Australian representative, it provides a tough but fair and consistent criteria. Moreover, it eliminates official Australian representation being awarded through competing in minor events, friendly international matches, or representing "Australia B" Teams or "Australia Development" Teams, etc.

TTA has reviewed all historical records and compiled a complete career record for every official Australian representative. For each player this comprises their official player number, every international competition where they represented Australia, all international medals won, all Oceania titles won, and all national titles and awards won. TTA and all players can be proud of this thorough and comprehensive piece of work.

All official Australian representatives are awarded complimentary TTA Past Player and Alumni Membership (if they are not a member in any other capacity), ensuring a link to the sport can be maintained.

Please check in regularly as the records will be continuously updated.

 

OTHER AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVES
TTA recognises there are other athletes who have competed under the Australian banner at senior level in other events, such as one-off international tournaments, Test Matches and international friendly matches. TTA has identified 26 able-bodied men and 9 able-bodied women in this category. The existing list of athletes may not be exhaustive and will be updated if further historical records are discovered. TTA thanks these athletes for their contribution to Australian table tennis.

Other Australian Representatives - Men and Women

 

PARA EVENTS HISTORY
Para table tennis has a long and rich history with events being held under multiple names and classifications. A comprehensive summary document has been created to highlight the history of para table tennis events. 

Para Events Background for Table Tennis

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TTA acknowledges the following people for their contribution to this initiative:

  • Scott Houston (TTA CEO), who developed the idea of identifying and recognising every official Australian representative, which was unanimously supported by the TTA Board.
  • The late Karol Javor, who was an avid and meticulous record keeper. Karol’s records, especially for the 1950’s-1980’s period, form the backbone of Australian table tennis history for able-bodied athletes and events.
  • Bob Tuckett (TTA Life Member and TTA Hall of Fame Member), who inherited and has continuously updated the records following Karol’s passing. Bob was also a valuable sounding board as the project was being developed.
  • Marie Pinkewich (TTA Board Member), who spent countless hours sourcing information, confirming records and contacting past players to cross check results and achievements for both the able-bodied and para lists.
  • Arthur Wilks (TTA Life Member), who is widely regarded as the pioneer of para table tennis in Australia and who provided data from, and insight into, the early days of the National Para Championships and also background info to para table tennis in Australia in general.
  • Ian Marshall (ITTF Editor), who assisted with providing international results.
  • David Jackson (International Referee and former ITTF-Oceania Management Committee Member), who assisted with providing ITTF-Oceania results.
  • Roger Massie (former National Head Coach - Para), who provided valuable information for para representatives.
  • Steven Lee, who provided results from national and international results for para events and provided technical advice on the workings of para events.
  • Brian James, who provided results from national para events.