Table Tennis Australia and Table Tennis New Zealand Sign National Championships Agreement

TTA and TTNZ are pleased to announce that after fruitful negotiations, the Boards of both organisations have unanimously endorsed an Agreement that will enable reciprocal rights to compete in each other’s national championship events. Although access to compete in the National Veterans Championships and National Para Championships has been available for multiple years in an informal capacity, the Agreement now includes the National Senior & Youth Championships and the National Junior Championships, thereby formalising the relationship across all events in both countries.

Upon signing the Agreement TTA CEO Scott Houston commented, ‘TTA is very pleased with this outcome. We are looking for innovative ways to provide international experience for our athletes and coaches in a cost-effective fashion, the Agreement provides access to this at home and abroad. Plus of course there is a strong historical link with our Trans-Tasman neighbours, so collaboration makes sense from every perspective’.

TTNZ Executive Director John Lea was equally pleased, 'This Trans-Tasman Agreement creates important opportunities for the players and coaches of New Zealand and Australia to assist each other in improving standards and developing the experience needed to compete successfully on the global stage as individuals, for country and for Oceania. It is a great way for us to address the twin challenges of our relative isolation and the costs required to develop players able to perform well on the global circuit and at global events'.

The following aspects highlight the Agreement:
- Australian athletes can enter the teams and individual events in the New Zealand National Junior Championships, National Senior & Youth Championships, National Para Championships and National Veterans Championships, and vice versa. 
- There should be a development element to all players/teams competing. Teams/squads are not to consist of elite/national team players only.
- All athletes are eligible to win medals and national titles in any event they enter. 
- TTA must approve any New Zealand players/teams that enter any Australian National Championships, and vice versa. TTA must approve teams/athletes to enter any New Zealand National Championships, and vice versa.
- Only one team per gender/age group will be accepted into a National Championships. This may only be relaxed at the discretion of the Host Association. 

The National Championships in Australian and New Zealand have been scheduled as follows for 2019: