By Vanessa Petroj
NCTTA Media Relations Committee

Walking in at any tournament is always the same - players warming up every muscle and practicing each shot hundreds of times before the competition starts. However, if you walk in at an NCTTA tournament during the competition, you will find a different atmosphere. You will see a rainbow made of cultures and languages held together by the sport we've devoted most of our lives to.  When the competition starts, the cheers and "cho"s take you on a world tour in a matter of seconds.

Walter Alomar Jimenez

It was discovered by our friend and fellow table tennis fanatic, Adam Bobrow.  Another "Vamos!" in a slightly different accent and I look over the horizon just to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer overseeing Rio de Janeiro, where two lovebirds are watching the sun kiss the ocean.  Speaking of love birds, Karin Fukushima and Fernando Yamazato are a constant reminder of how strong and heartfelt table tennis in Brazil is.  They are our star couple, young, beautiful, and talented, always defending the strong tradition that Lindenwood University holds in this sport.

The exciting multi-colorful carnival suddenly disappears when I hear "Swee la!" which flies me across the Pacific Ocean, all the way to Taiwan.  Ason Chiang, a Cell and Developmental Biology grad student from University of Michigan, tells me it means "beautiful ball".  He and his friends worked hard in promoting this sport and in this way managed to create a table tennis club in Ann Arbor, MI.  All of the sudden, I hear a loud "Chak de!" I turn around for any clue - and I see the majestic Taj Mahal and my friend Keyur Karandikar.  He tells me this means "go for it" in Hindi.  Keyur is an MA student in Mechanical Engineering at the UCSD.  Though the Golden State offers many exciting outdoorsy activities, Keyur still prefers going indoors to play some pong.

Another switch and I hear "Nkunim" shouted by Nicholas Poku in his native language Akan, one of the many languages spoken in Ghana.  He came to the States determined to study at a university that knows the true value of table tennis - so, naturally, Google led him to Lindenwood. He's now studying Graphic Design while competing in national and state championships.

I hear words that sound awfully familiar.  A female voice yells "To, bre" - "that's it, yo", and a male voice saying "Ajde!" - "come on".  Now I'm breathing Europe, I'm breathing Yugoslavia.  Brana Vlasic from Serbia and Jurica Bulovic from Croatia are playing each other and they keep the score in Serbo-Croatian.  It's as if I'm 13 and home again!  Brana, our sweet and daring fighter, moved to California years ago and started playing in the NCTTA tournaments when she enrolled as a junior at UCSD, majoring in Political Science.  She made California and Serbia proud at the Nationals in 2013 by coming in second place.  Juri, a mathematician from Brown, is among the best players in the Northeastern region.  He came to the States to study, only to find out that Brown also has a table tennis team!  Another familiar "Sho, haide!" echoes in my ears and . . . wait!  I know this language too!  I look to the East and I see the grand Carpathians spreading across the neighboring country of Romania.  Ciprian Romonti, a student at the University of South Florida, returned to his favorite sport after his competitive spirit awakened from a 7-year-long hibernation.  Though his team only made Top 12 at the last nationals, just by looking at them, it's obvious that they are close friends who can do some serious cheering.

Truong Tu

Switching from loud cheers to silence disturbed only by shoe squeaking and the fast exchange of loops, I hear a loud "Cho, cố l�n".  Oh, it's my friend Truong Tu!  His extraordinary focus gives me a glimpse of the palms moving silently on the wind while his fierce play makes me understand why one of the main symbols of Vietnam is the dragon.  It's no wonder he's always among Top 10 players in the NCTTA.  Truong did both his undergraduate and MBA studies at SJSU.  His team made the Top 4 at the last two nationals and is known as a strong, united, and dangerous team to face.

Hard work and the thirst for being the best is certainly seen in Sally's game.  Both Sally and Jiaqi come from the Mecca of table tennis - China - and as I'm watching them play I am literally hypnotized.  I see fireworks!  Dragons!  Busy cities and world class players right there in front of me!  When Jiaqi executes her signature forehand hit with 99.99% accuracy you realize: she knows her target, she works for it and she gets the job done.  She's our unbeatable NCTTA champion and players worldwide know her name.

Watching these two dragon ladies exchanging hits, someone nudges me and says: "Yo, Vanessa, stop messin' around and let's hit some!" My friend, Danny Dulkin, an Economics major at Oakland State University and a true American who lives in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. This guy knows more about table tennis than any European I've ever met!  Seeing Danny's passion and love for this sport, watching his flawless technique and the persistence in his journey towards becoming a champion makes me have faith in the future of table tennis in this country.  He nudges me again and brings me back to reality.

But the reality is not bad at all!  Here I am, in the United States of America, playing with talents from every corner of the world, yet I know - I am among friends.  Friends who have had the same childhood as me because all of us are connected by a special bond that started the moment we entered our first practice years ago.  Danny is on the other side of the table, he serves, and I know unforgettable times are about to happen.

 By: Kenneth Lim 

NCTTA Media Relations Committee

The 2012-2013 season was one of the most fiercely contested in NCTTA history.  Although Texas Wesleyan University continued their dominance in the team competition, winning both men's/co-ed and women's titles, the rest of the competition were closer behind the champions than ever before. There were 40 male and 13 female players rated above 2000.  Former and present USA National Team members also played in the tournament.  These included NCTTA first-timers USC's Grant Li, UC Berkeley's Peter Li and NYU's Michael Landers, who competed alongside other international players.

And with the level of competition increasing every year, the upcoming 2013-2014 season looks set to match if not better the intensity of this year's tournament.  As part of our ongoing season preview, we speak to Lindenwood University's Gabriel Skolnick, University of Ottawa's Shannon Zheng, University of Maryland, College Park's Charlie Sun and New York University's Janice Ho to find out what they're looking forward to in Fall 2013 and beyond.

Could you introduce yourself? How long have you been playing for your school team?

Gabriel

Shannon

: Shannon Zheng, University of Ottawa, 2nd year I have been playing on my school's team for 2 years.

Charlie

Janice

How did your team do at this year's nationals? How did you feel about your team's performance?

Gabriel

Shannon

Charlie

Janice

Do you expect big changes in your team's lineup this season?

Gabriel

Shannon

Charlie

Janice

Have you heard anything new about the rest of teams in division/region?  If so, how do you feel about the competition this year?

Gabriel

Shannon

Charlie

Janice

What do you hope to achieve in this coming season?

Gabriel

Shannon

Charlie

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Relations Chairman

Spending several days at the CONNECT conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in late August put NCTTA's leadership team face to face with officials from 80 cities from all over the United States and Puerto Rico.

"The CONNECT conference allows for sports groups like us to meet with cities and sports commissions interested in bringing table tennis and other athletic events to their communities," said NCTTA President Willy Leparulo.

The format was interesting and fast-paced at the marathon of meetings in America's Dairy State. "We had seven minutes of allotted time with each city and then it would move forward like speed dating," Leparulo said.

Others on the NCTTA leadership team, including Vice President Joseph Wells and board member Kagin Lee, who was also on hand for USA Table Tennis, were part of the busy three-day scene in Milwaukee.

They learned that cities like Milwaukee, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, cities in Pennsylvania, Knoxville, Tennessee, Daytona Beach, Florida, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Puerto Rico expressed interest in hosting the NCTTA's championship games in 2015.

The event annually attracts more than 250 of the best collegiate table tennis players in North America in addition to coaches, referees, fans, and others in the NCTTA family.  The 2014 championships will be played in Monroeville, PA near Pittsburgh.

It's the fourth year in a row that NCTTA officials have traveled to the CONNECT conference that helps kick off the process to select the championship site.

Things really get rolling when requests for proposals are released in December.  Those are the detailed documents that spell out everything that the NCTTA requires from a city or host.  Early in 2014, NCTTA leaders will hear from cities submitting bids that will specify what they offer in terms of sports facilities, food, volunteers, hotels, transportation, entertainment, hospitality, and much more.

The NCTTA will get feedback from its membership and likely will make a final decision on the proposals and pick a 2015 championship site in mid-March, Leparulo said.

The CONNECT conference, he said, "is a good investment in our championship location's future."

To get an idea on what it takes to host a championship, peruse...

• Championships Bidding Guidelines
• Championships Bid Applications 

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Relations Chairman

With more than 40,000 students, the University of Ottawa is the largest English French bilingual university in the world.  Canada's university since 1848, Ottawa is an impressive institution with more than 180,000 alumni around the globe.  

One of the alums making a difference is 24-year-old Sam Huang, the president of the University of Ottawa Table Tennis Club the past four years.  Now working on a master's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto this Fall, Huang is wearing another hat as the new chairman of the NCTTA's marketing committee.

The main duty of the marketing committee is to look for and create new sponsorship opportunities for the NCTTA that oversees collegiate table tennis in the USA and Canada.

Sam is smart, obviously knows the Olympic sport rather well and comes from a stellar table tennis program at Ottawa.

He graduated from the University of Ottawa with a double major in biochemistry and chemical engineering.  Born in Beijing, China, Xian Meng "Sam'' Huang and his family immigrated to Canada in 2000. His main hobbies growing up were table tennis and billiards.

He played on an Ottawa table tennis team that was top-notch.  During the past four years, the school's coed team came in third place twice at the NCTTA championships and the women finished in 2nd place at the games in Rockford, Illinois in April 2013.  Many outstanding Canadian National Team table tennis players went to Ottawa such as Pierre-Luc Hinse, Sara Yuen, Derek Wong, and Shannon Zheng.

While the University of Ottawa didn't provide much financial support, Sam Huang reached out to the community for support. He raised money by selling shirts and equipment to other clubs in Ottawa, contacted various sources for sponsorship opportunities and helped host fundraising tournaments.

"My communication and organizational skills were greatly improved through my efforts to try funding our team,'' Huang said.

In addition, he's a YouTube Partner who has a channel where he's uploaded table tennis tutorials.  Sam recently teamed up with North American champ Pierre Luc Hinse to crank out more videos.

Huang brings valuable skills to the table to the NCTTA's marketing committee, but he could use a little more help.  People interested in joining the marketing team should contact Sam Huang or NCTTA President Willy Leparulo.

Another newcomer in NCTTA leadership ranks is Jay Lu, the new Upper New England Division director.  An energetic 24-year-old, Jay was born in China, but grew up in the United States.  Over the years, he's moved quite a bit.  He attended three primary schools (two of which were in China), two middle schools, and three high schools.

"Growing up as a nomad was certainly stimulating to say the least, and the one thing that accompanied me through these challenging times was table tennis,'' Jay said.  He's presently working as an operations analyst for a co-op.  "I find big data analysis to be interesting and that's where I'm headed after I graduate.''

After finishing his six-month full-time stint at the co-op, Jay Lu will return for another semester at Northeastern University in Boston and earn his degree in business administration.

"I have no doubt that college table tennis will only get bigger in the future and I'm just thrilled to be part of it,'' said the new director of the NCTTA's Upper New England Division.

At NCTTA headquarters, we wish much success to Huang and Lu and believe they will make progress to move collegiate table tennis ahead in North America.

By Andy Kanengiser

NCTTA Media Relations Chairman

The 59-year-old Blacksburg, Virginia resident teaches management, entrepreneurship, and consulting at Radford University nestled in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.  Hobbies like bicycling, kayaking, and Contra dancing are near the top of his list of favorite things to do in his spare time, right up there with table tennis.

This Fall, Clelland is stepping things up a few notches as director of the NCTTA's Virginia Division.

His interest in table tennis began as a high school student decades ago, but really took off when he joined the Blacksburg (VA) Table Tennis Club.  Soon, Clelland was practicing with the nationally ranked Virginia Tech table tennis team and became friends with Hokie players.

Before long, Clelland picked up a tremendous amount about the riveting Olympic sport from VT players and learned what it takes to compete at the collegiate tournament level.  In doing so, he said he "found it was also a great way to develop an international community around a sport.''

As Virginia director he wants to give back to the VT team and the NCTTA, while enhancing the game for students at other colleges in the region.

Clelland also brings international roots to the table.  His parents emigrated from the United Kingdom to San Diego, California when he was a five-year boy.  And they played quite a bit of table tennis over the years.  It was when the teen made it to high school that his dad purchased a table and "so began four years of fun competition.  It took Iain a year to finally win a game, but he ruled the garage after that.''

College and career took over after that until he rediscovered the game as a professor in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  In another NCTTA neighborhood, in Michigan, there's a new director running the show in that Midwestern state.  Tim Rowley got involved with the Central Michigan University Table Tennis Club after playing the game with friends at a local activity center a few seasons ago.  He's been involved ever since.  He's a welcome addition to the NCTTA family as Michigan's division director.

"What I like about table tennis is being able to individually work on improving and work on goals at your own pace,'' he said.  "I still enjoy practicing and slowly getting better.''  Rowley is also a longtime volunteer in leadership organizations such as 4-H and Future Farmers of America.  As the Michigan chief, he's hoping to get more involved in table tennis communities around the state, whether it's at schools like Michigan State in East Lansing, Michigan in Ann Arbor, or smaller institutions.  "The few that I have been a part of have been a very pleasant experience.''

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