NEWS

An iconic venue, a splendid initiative was taken in Northern Territories, Canada to celebrate World Table Tennis Day on Thursday 6th April.

by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

Organized by Thorsten Gohl, the man charged with promoting table tennis in the region, situated next to the Mackenzie River in Fort Simpson, the largest tepee in the world was the home for proceedings.

An iconic venue, a splendid initiative was taken in Northern Territories,c Canada to celebrate World Table Tennis Day on Thursday 6th April.

Organized by Thorsten Gohl, the man charged with promoting table tennis in the region, situated next to the Mackenzie River in Fort Simpson, the largest tepee in the world was the home for proceedings.

Check out the FULL ARTICLE.

“Back from my trip this week and people at each of the three venues I competed at could not have been friendlier or more helpful. As expected, I lost most games to better and more experienced players. Still, I had fun and gained valuable experience competing against players with many different styles, serves and racket types.“

Paul Devitt is on the way to improving his game over the last couple of years enjoying regular practices at home and at the Yellowknife Table Tennis Club.  Last year he also trained for two weeks in Hungary and is continuing to take lessons from expert coaches when traveling to southern Canada. This time he travelled to Alberta and Manitoba to participate in some of their local tournaments.

“Also, nice to hear from several Winnipeg players that my game has noticeably improved since I participated in the February Golden Boy” says Paul.

In Edmonton Paul played with team mate Lewis Cheung in the Team A U1500 category as well as the Doubles U2500 event. To his surprise and everyone else’s (including Lewis) they finished second in both events.

“Also no surprise, that I lost to the eventual winner Brian Ho in the first round of the Open Singles event (Brian is the best player in Alberta and finished second at a recent 2017 Butterfly Canada Cup Final).  However, I had fun as Brian was a great sport and at my request during one game told me in advance the spin he would use for each serve.”

It is so great seeing Athletes from the NWT participating in tournaments outside the NWT. It is not so easy to gain experience in a small Territory like ours, so competing where ever possible is the best way to learn.

Congratulations Paul!

The Yukon and the Northwest Territories came together in Whitehorse to discuss the continued future of Table Tennis in the North.

It all started with NWT Coach Thor Gohl, Yukon Coach Kevin Murphy and Aerobic Table Tennis’s Steve Rowe working together to give a total of seven Table Tennis Clinics in just one week. This included the Territorial Team, as well as three schools in Whitehorse. With Aerobic Table Tennis being the main focus, there was a lot of excitement and joy in the faces of the children and youth.  Over 1,000 students played, bringing them closer to the sport of Table Tennis, and having fun as they engaged in the physical activities. 

“We are small, but we are take the opportunities and possibilities that we have. Sometimes you have to think outside the box, and that is what we are doing here, trying to bring in programs like Aerobic Table Tennis and getting kids moving in a fun activity. A bonus is they are exposed to our sport and will maybe take it on. WIN WIN” Thor says with a smile.

Steve adds, “It’s always great to see the kids smiling, and more important huge territories coming together for a common goal. What an amazing week it has been!”

Here are some images from the clinics in Whitehorse. I think you will agree that Table Tennis can bring a lot fun into our lives. 

Dusk til Dawn Purple Paisley Ping Pong Pajama Party Fundraiser  April 21, 2017

Prince inspired me to play Ping Pong again …and to raise money for Autism Society NWT! I’ve always loved the music of Prince and would have loved to see him live in concert, but living in the far north, I never got the chance. When he died suddenly last year on April 21^st, I was devastated. So I made the pilgrimage to the tribute concert in Minneapolis last October and went to visit his recording studios at Paisley Park. Right there in the middle of the studio was his ping pong table! I packed up a racket and played table tennis for the first time in forty years!

When I came back to Fort Smith, I kept playing and promoting the game. Over the winter I got the idea to do a tribute to Prince on the anniversary of his death. He was all about music, dusk ‘til dawn dance parties, …and ping pong! He was also a quiet philanthropist who anonymously gave money to many charitable causes. One of the rare public charitable activities he did was to play several benefit concerts for Autism Rocks, a UK based foundation. So what better way to pay tribute to Prince than a Dusk til Dawn Ping Pong Pajama Party Fundraiser in support of our northern Autism Society NWT!

I’m so excited about the response from the community! People love the idea! It’s going to be rocking, with music, ping pong, and a celebration of the differences and the unique potential of all members of our community. The money we raise will stay in the north and go to support individuals and families living with autism spectrum disorder. Prince is loving it!

Lesley Paulette

Lesley_paulette@northwestel.net
Or text or phone at 867-872-0956

What a great event and an amazing idea. Check out the for more information!!!

All donations will go to NWT Autism Society.

Table Tennis North is getting ready for the 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games, what better way then facilitating a coaching and officials clinic.

March 20th 2017
This will be a NCCP Level 1 course to introduce you to Table Tennis. How to learn the basics of the Sport and teach it in your community.

March 21st 2017
The Head Official for the 2018 Arctic Winter Games will be coming to host a club umpire course. Learn the basics of Table Tennis and the role of an umpire.

Anything else to get your ready for the 2018 Arctic Winter Games? This is definitely a great start!

Check out the POSTER as well and/or print and/or share it. Let’s get the excitement of the 2018 South Slave Arctic Winter Games started!

Table Tennis will be featured at the Snowking Castle!!!

Come by on March 19th from 1-3pm and say “Hi”. Come out and have fun playing Table Tennis on Great Slave Lake, challenge your friends, family to a match of Table Tennis.

Here we are again, another successful Table Tennis session on the South Slave Tour. We had 2 days at DJSS school in Hay River and another 2 days at Deninu School in Fort Resolution. We also did a night of Table Tennis with the Community in Hay River and one night with the community in Fort Resolution (about 12 people showed up). 

Kate Powell, Principal Deninu School Fort Resolution: “Our students from K-12 were fully engaged in all of the Table Tennis lessons. Thor and Steve delivered a dynamic program which developed skills in a fun way, incorporated lots of cardiovascular work and built towards being able to play a game. Often students do not want to engage in skill development, but the music, movement and drills kept everyone engaged 100% of the time. These lessons built a great foundation and introduction to the sport of Table Tennis. Fantastic facilitation!”

Steve Rowe, Aerobic Table Tennis: “My time in The North West Territories has got off to a great start, our visits to Hay River and Fort Resolution could not have gone any better. Smiling faces and everyone having fun taking part in Aerobic Table Tennis. It’s always great to see the kids keeping fit and learning about the great sport of table tennis. Table Tennis North is doing a fantastic job in NWT and i am so pleased to be part of it.”

Thorsten Gohl, Executive Director Table Tennis North: “A huge thank you to Peter Daniels from MACA in having us on the South Slave Youth Tour. We are very fortunate to have Steve and Aerobic Table Tennis back in the Northwest Territories. This is such a great introduction to our Sport, actually any sport really. Music, movement and a lot of smiles, what can go wrong!?”

Table Tennis North was on the road to Kakisa on January 25th 2017 to bring Aerobic Table Tennis​ to Kakisa Lake School.

BUT, both Executive Director Thor and Aerobic Table Tennis Steve​ decided to first have a coffee in Hay River at She Takes The Cake Café. “We love the coffee here and thought it is definitely worth while taking a little detour.” It was great and definitely made our day.

Executive Director Thor “If people ask why we ended up in Hay River, we just say that we missed the Kakisa exit.”

A huge thank you to Ian Marshall and the International Table Tennis Federation for putting Table Tennis North and Team NWT on the World map. A great article on the many things we are doing in the Northwest Territories.

http://www.ittf.com/2016/12/21/raising-temperature-table-tennis-rocks-north-west-territories/

Deh Gah School in Fort Providence hosted the 2017 Territorial Table Tennis Championships. A two day event featuring different age groups, singles and double events from January 27th to 28th.

“This was an amazing event, a huge success! We are a very young Territorial Sports Organization still and competing with sports like Hockey, Volleyball, Soccer and Basketball in the Northwest Territories. BUT, we are getting out there, one day at a time and one kid at a time. Really, this was amazing!!!” says Executive Director Thor Gohl. He continous with a smile on his face “Even when there was no matches to be played or umpired, the kids found a free table to play. That says it all!!”

The tournament is definitely growing. From three Regions and four communities, to four regions and seven communities. Participants came from Yellowknife, N’Dilo, Fort Resolution, Hay River, Fort Providence, Fort Simpson and Tulita. We also split the School Championships from the Open Championships, so we have two tournaments a year in two different communities.  

A huge thank you to all our sponsors and partners, without you, this would not be possible. Therefore, a big MAHSI CHO to the Mackenzie Recreation Association, Aerobic Table Tennis, Rowe’s Group of Companies, Butterfly North America and Deh Gah School. 

All awards received a Mackenzie Recreation Association package with  backpack, hat, and t-shirt. They also received t-shirts from Olympic Team Canada and professional Table Tennis rackets from Steve Rowe’s Aerobic Table Tennis.

A great weekend of play and competitions!!

Here are the results:

Men’s Open: 1. Jeremy Kielstra (N’Dilo) 2. Mike Mathison (Yellowknife) 3. Robert Heath (Fort Resolution)

Women’s Open: 1. Shirley Zhang (Yellowknife) 2. Teresa Vandell (Fort Providence) 3. Slavica Jovic (Yellowknife)

Open Double: 1. David Sangris / Jeremy Kielstra (both N’Dilo) 2. Riis Schaub (Hay River)  / Christopher Canadien (Fort Providence) 3. Zachary Mathison / Shirley Zhang (both Yellowknife)

Girls Junior (U18): 1. Tamara Jovic (Yellowknife) 2. Aurora Fraser (Yellowknife) 3. Shannon Bonnetrouge (Fort Providence)

Boys Junior (U18): 1. Brian Liang (Yellowknife) 2. Riis Schaub (Hay River) 3. Zack Horton (Hay River)

Girls Cadet (U15): 1. Aurora Fraser (Yellowknife) 2. Shannon Bonnetrouge (Fort Providence) 3. Starr MacLean (Fort Resolution)

Boys Cadet (U15): 1. Zachary Mathison (Yellowknife) 2. David Sangris (N’Dilo) 3. Isaac Bonnetrouge (Fort Providence)

Hopes Girls (U13): 1. Taneisha Franki (N’Dilo)

Hopes Boys (U13): 1. Zachary Mathison (Yellowknife) 2. Jude Simon (Fort Resolution)

Junior Doubles: 1. Jude Simon (Fort Resolution) / Zack Horton (Hay River) 2. Riis Schaub (Hay River) / Chase Yakeleya (Tulita) 3. Adam Nadli (Fort Providence) / Zachary Mathison (Yellowknife)

Zack Horton (Hay River) received the Fair Play award for his amazing attitude. Winning or not winning he was always cheerful. When someone else made an amazing point, he would cheer for them and tell others about it. When there was a free table he would want to play with all different players. Very great to have that kind of energy around.

David Sangris (N’Dilo) received the Most Improved Player award with winning a Silver Medal in the Cadet Boys category and a Gold Medal in the Open Doubles. We have seen much improvement, just during the tournament. He is a dedicated player, coming with the school to Table Tennis clinics and tournaments.

Starr MacLean (Fort Resolution) received the Most Improved Player award and bronze in Cadet Girls category. We were in Fort Resolution recently and we can see fast improvement. When she was not playing in the competition, she was looking for others to play with.