The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) have decided to set up a working group to study the structure and format of the ITTF’s future major events.
The decision was made at the ITTF Board of Directors (BoD) meeting held during the Perfect 2016 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Board of Directors also decided that the ‘Planning and Promotiom’ group will have to come up with a proposal to the Executive Committee by the end of this year on the concept and direction the ITTF wishes to take.
Following the creating of the working group, ITTF’s CEO Judit Farago stated: “During the 2016 World Championships, it became more apparent that the ITTF needs to take a look at it’s major events to ensure they arestructuredin a way to ensure the maximumcommercialand promotional benefits to the ITTF and international table tennis.”
Based on the Swedish 2018 World Team Championships organizers’ latest update report on the conditions in Halmstad, the Board decided that a maximum of 72 Men’s and 72 Women’s teams will participate at the 2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships.
At the same time, the Board did not exclude further changes if the working group comes to such conclusion within its mandate.
At the meeting, the Board confirmed the allocation of several upcoming major junior events:
- 2016 World Cadet Challenge allocated to Shanghai, China
- 2017 World Cadet Challenge allocated to Suva, Fiji
- 2018 World Junior Championships allocated to Riva del Garda, Italy
The Board of Directors also gave the mandate to the Executive Committee to approve the ITTF Code of Ethics and Code of Prevention of Manipulation of Competitions documents, and to add them to the ITTF Handbook with effect of 1st September 2016.
