My Gender My Strength initiative brings together fun, friendship and confidence

Table Tennis Australia’s My Gender My Strength initiative has seen a new crop of female participants pick up a paddle for the first time and discover a passion for the sport.

The initiative, which is supported by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), saw five female table tennis coaches deliver Girls Spinneroos sessions over four weeks at five clubs; Port Sorell Table Tennis Club, Townsville Table Tennis Association, Darwin Table Tennis Association, Southern Table Tennis and Adelaide Table Tennis Club.

With the purpose of creating a fun, safe and inclusive environment where girls aged 5-12 years could learn the basics of table tennis, the program aimed to increase female participation in the sport.

Girls Spinneroos coach from Darwin TTA Club, Elfida Kalich, said the program provided a great opportunity to encourage more diversity across the sport.

“I have been playing table tennis against men for 20 years because there are not enough women in the sport, so I wanted to encourage girls to get involved, and this was the opportunity for me to do so,” said Kalich.

Konon Kuboi from Southern TT said one of the most rewarding parts of the program wasn’t just the improvements participants made in developing their skills, but also their growth in self-confidence.

“I think one of the most rewarding things was seeing the girls be happy and proud of their achievements because one of the most important parts of this program is that they feel they have a place where they feel they’re part of something,” said Kuboi.

“I think as their confidence improved, their engagement improved as well because they felt more comfortable in the environment that they were improving in and they could see that,” added Townsville TTA coach Caitlin Woods.

“Every single player grew in both confidence and skill, and some quite astoundingly so,” Christa Foulis of Port Sorell TTC said. “It was something I didn’t expect, just how rewarding I found it to see the development in these girls.”

However, the program was about more than just seeing the development and growth of participants but also what the coaches learnt as well. Whether that was finding different ways of teaching players new skills or growing in confidence themselves. 

“I think what I’ve learnt about myself through the program is everyone has their strengths,” Jasmine Fung from Adelaide TTC said. “So I have been flexible in doing the activities and trying to make it engaging for everyone,” she added.

While the four-week program concluded in December, the lasting success of the program is evident as some players have gone on to join their club junior program, while some of the parents have also decided to get involved and sign up too.

Find out more about the Spinneroos and Girls Spinneroos programs and how you can join here.