Women and Girls in Table Tennis

Table Tennis Australia sets out to encourage and inspire more women and girls to play our sport. With the vision of achieving gender equity in table tennis, TTA is determined to not only address barriers to women and girls' access to our sport, but also increase opportunities for them to participate and progress.

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Our Commitment

Results from the TTA National Participation Census data over the last few years show that despite a consistent growth in participation and achieving record numbers in 2022, Table Tennis in Australia has evolved into a male-dominated arena with women comprising of only about ~21% of the community. These figures are true for most domains including coaching, membership, officiating, para and high performance.

For a sport that, in it's inherent nature, allows to cater to people of all genders, ages and abilities, we acknowledge that this is a significant gender gap that needs to be addressed. As such, TTA is committed to investing the time, resources and energy towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for women and girls.

TTA 2023 - 2025 Strategic Plan recognises the importance of gender balance across all levels of the sport and purports to address it through a key focus on engaging more women and girls. This is indicative of a crucial step forward and sets us on the right path to to achieving inclusive participation across all areas of the sport.

Women and Girls in Table Tennis Working Group

Table Tennis Australia in conjunction with Table Tennis Victoria, have put together a working group to ensure that growing the number of females in the sport remains a priority. Our intention is to use this platform to represent the voice of women and girls in the table tennis community and develop an inspirational network of female coaches, administrators, officials, athletes and volunteers.

The group aims to achieve set objectives and make informed decisions around female participation. If you would like to be a part of the process, please reach out to us at anshul@tabletennis.org.au.

Join the Women and Girls in Table Tennis community on Facebook!

We have set up a Facebook group - a safe space to build a community of people who help us in creating and promoting meaningful opportunities for women and girls, by sharing ideas, experiences and/or resources.

JOIN W&G IN TABLE TENNIS FACEBOOK GROUP

ASC Women Leaders In Sport Executive Program

TTA is excited to participate in the 2023 WLIS Executive Program led by the Australian Sports Commission. Participation in the WLIS Executive Program presents an opportunity for TTA and the entire table tennis community to increase our knowledge and capability around gender diversity and implement equitable practices that positively impact the experiences of women and girls in our sport.

As part of the program, TTA will undertake training and consultation with the ASC in the form of a gender equity audit and workshops aimed at inclusive hiring and participation. The workshop(s) will cover how to advertise opportunities to attract and engage more women, therefore beneficial to anyone who is involved in a leadership/management capacity, is on the board or executive committees, or has to do with recruiting or engaging people into the sport across local, state and national level.

For more information visit the WLIS Program Website.

Programs and Impact

Girls Spinneroos

TTA's entry level program Spinneroos allows kids to develop their table tennis skills, make new friends and most importantly have FUN! The girls only program emphasises on creating an emotionally safe environment and level playing field in which girls can push themselves physically and mentally to develop their skill and self-confidence

Share your W&G story

We know that there are clubs/associations, coaches and volunteers out there already pioneering this space and we would love to hear from you about your own experiences with any women & girls only programs, challenges you've faced in achieving a gender balance at the club or current female participation strategies.

Please share your stories with us below and we will be in touch!

Supporting documentation, photos and videos are more than welcome :)

SHARE YOUR STORY!