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NCTTA welcomes "iSET Network Development", as the new title sponsor of the NCTTA finals. iSET is a new startup Canadian company involved in sport entertainment technology development. |
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NCTTA welcomes Double Happiness as the official table sponsor of the iSET College Table Tennis Championships. |
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NCTTA welcomes Double Fish as the official ball sponsor of NCTTA competitions. |
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Student Interns Help NCTTA Operations |
By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Chair
Want to write profiles on college table tennis teams or tournaments from California to Texas? The NCTTA Media Committee is looking for talented writers.
Do you have social media or video editing skills? The NCTTA’s Marketing Committee is looking for a few good men and women to serve as interns.
The NCTTA’s Tech Committee is on the lookout for software engineering, UI, and graphics interns. The Grassroots Committee is searching for interns, too.
“The work starts this summer and we welcome interns to join our dedicated family of volunteers,’’ says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo.
“We know there are plenty of college students with valuable skills. We value our volunteers and take the same approach with interns. We believe it will be a win-win situation for interns and our non-profit organization,’’ Leparulo added.
Application deadlines to media, grassroots, tech and marketing committees will be May 15.
Click here for the list of internships
Our internship program coordinator Jenna Kiyasu really got the idea rolling several months ago. As a graduating senior, she personally knows internships are worth every minute spent and wants to help other students gain the experience they need to thrive in the workforce. “As a past NCTTA software engineering intern, the experience I gained helped land me a full-time software engineering role at DoorDash in San Francisco.’’
She believes internships will be just as valuable for college students assisting with NCTTA activities.
Jenna brings enthusiasm and plenty of smarts to the table. Kiyasu, 21, is a computer science major at the University of California-Berkeley.
Kiyasu joins NCTTA leaders tossing out the welcome mat to prospective interns with ties to more than 150 college table tennis teams in the USA and Canada. Things will get busier in a few months with college tournaments on track to resume in the fall. Claiming three million lives worldwide, the COVID pandemic cancelled the 2020-21 collegiate table tennis season in North America.
With more than three million COVID shots getting in the arms of Americans daily, college officials are more hopeful things will eventually return to normal – if that’s possible – for activities on campuses this fall.
“Do you want to gain real-world skills while helping your favorite sport?,’’ Jenna Kiyasu asked in her pitch to prospective NCTTA interns.
Internships give individuals an avenue to get invaluable experience and build their resumes. It’s an opportunity for interns, Jenna said, to “get to know awesome mentors, and make a real impact that they can show off to their table tennis friends.’’
Asked to sum up the value of an internship, the San Francisco resident says it will teach students to “be self-directed and learn by doing. It can be challenging to stay focused during a remote internship, but you get what you put into it.’’ Check out her medium article on it!
For more information, contact Jenna Kiyasu at jenna.kiyasu@nctta.org or reach out to NCTTA President Willy Leparulo at president@nctta.org.
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Every month we take a moment to look at one of our NCTTA ALUMS. Check out what grad Tahl Leibovitz (New York University & Queens College) is up to!
Name: Tahl Leibovitz
College:
Queens College & New York University
Major: Sociology/Philosophy/Masters: Urban Studies & Social Work
Year Graduated: June 2011 (Queens College) & May 2015 (NYU)
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work
I work as a consultant for the New York City Department of Mental Health & Hygiene as a Clinical Social Worker running group therapies. I also work for a private practice in Park Slope Brooklyn providing Psychotherapy and another agency in Manhattan providing counseling to home bound seniors.
What do you most enjoy about your profession?
The flexibility is really good with the profession of social work. Getting to know about different peoples lives can be interesting. Helping people is enjoyable. To me, it does not feel like work. It’s similar to playing table tennis. Lots of problem solving.
What else are you up to?
I still play table tennis. Getting ready for the 2021 Paralympic Games.
Any wise words for the future crop of college athletes
Have fun playing table tennis with your team. You will meet life long friends.
Favorite NCTTA memory/memories?
Participating at my first collegiate championship. I got to meet so many new people and I am still friends with many of them today.
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World University Games Cancelled |
By Andy Kanengiser
NCTTA Media Chair
Producing more than 2.96 million deaths worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the lives of so many people.
Major events keep getting cancelled during the global health emergency that began in March 2020. That includes the World University Games for 2021. The next time the World Games will be scheduled is 2022.
The 2021 World University Games (summer edition) was to be held in Chengdu, China.
But because of the global COVID-19 crisis and international travel restrictions, organizers say the event attracting thousands of athletes will be postponed for a year. Leaders with FISU, the governing body for global university sports, including the World University Games, recently made the announcement.
As was the case with the “Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,’’ the name “Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games’’ will still reference the original date even though the event will be in 2022. This marks the second time the event in China was rescheduled.
The World University Games is an immense multi-sport event including summer and winter editions. The Games attracted as many as 12,885 athletes in 2015.
The decision impacts many athletic activities, including the Olympic sport of table tennis.
Longtime NCTTA leader Brandon Lawrence, who recently joined the USATT board, issued a statement in April following the decision.
As a member of the NCTTA board of directors, Lawrence joins the table tennis community that’s disappointed, but in full support of the action to cancel the 2021 World University Games.
“While it is unfortunate the World University Games were postponed, the NCTTA understands that the safety and well-being of the athlete always comes first,’’ Lawrence said. “We are looking forward to the 2022 Games, and we will be announcing selection procedures in the near future.’’
The COVID pandemic has resulted in more than 563,000 deaths across the USA. With cases rising, NCTTA officials cancelled its 2020-21 season. Table tennis players on more than 150 college teams across the USA and Canada plan to return to action in Fall 2021.
Millions of COVID vaccines are getting in the arms of people daily. And it’s led to fewer COVID-related restrictions in most states. Colleges are again hosting in-person graduations, concerts, sports activities and other events this spring.
However, wearing masks, social distancing and other health protocols continue to be practiced to mitigate the spread of the virus worldwide.
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NCTTA World University Games Committee--new members! |
NCTTA is making World University Games more of a staple in its programming and adding a new committee, World University Games committee. This committee will help serve to organize the trials and everything and anything else surrounding this program.
To apply for this committee fill out this link here
Below is the 2011 World University Games Team #blastfromthepast.
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Renewing Amazon Smile--check it out |
By Shelly Huang Leparulo
Hi all,
I figured out that you may have to turn on Amazon Smile to give back to NCTTA. Check out these steps here to see what I mean.
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AGTTA Table Tennis Clinic to Showcase NCTTA Talent |
By Michael Reff
The Atlanta Georgia Table Tennis Association (AGTTA) based in Norcross, GA is hosting a high caliber clinic towards the end of May.
The International Olympic Table Tennis Clinic, on 5/21-5/23, features two stellar Olympians from different countries- former Swedish top ranked player Matilda Ekholm, and USA’s Yue Wu, who is 2020 USA Women’s Table Tennis Team Captain, NCTTA Women’s Singles Champ, and NCTTA Women’s player of the year-will be imparting their expertise and unique training regimens to aspiring table tennis athletes.
Brian Crisp, president of AGTTA, is thrilled to host these two top notch players.
Regarding Wu, he notes that NCTTA has been promoting elite table tennis as several athletes return to or attend college for the first time to gain education along with earning college champs accolades. “One only has to watch over the years players from the NCTTA, like Yue Wu, Lily Zhang, Tom Feng, etc., the high level players who come from the NCTTA!,” Crisp remarks. “The NCTTA experience produces many high level players every year, and some, like Yue gain high level world rankings!”
According to Crisp, the idea for having a clinic such as this one had been in the woodworks for quite some time, due to the fact that Olympian Tom Feng had helped coach at AGTTA several years back. The turning point was when Crisp and USATT Board member Thomas Hu were “talking about various USATT issues and Thomas suggested this particular event with Yue and Matilda.” And now the great idea is coming to fruition!
Crisp says that the table tennis community has expressed a great desire to attend the clinic.
“The interest is strong, with many players booking two sessions, since the morning and afternoon sessions are quite different. I am looking forward to seeing the growth of all these players after the clinic.”
Be sure to check this clinic out along with other events hosted by the AGTTA, which according to Mr. Crisp are “all listed on Omnipong for planning pleasure!”
We appreciate our NCTTA alums taking part in great things: go Yue Wu!
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By Michael Reff
As the world picks up the pace with COVID-19 vaccines and things returning slowly to a pre pandemic normal, one day is a shining beacon for our amazing Olympic sport. World Table Tennis Day, established in 2015 and occurring on April 6, is, according to ittfoundation.org, a “day to be socially inclusive and use it as an excuse to celebrate our sport for one day. The ultimate aim is to keep as many people as possible involved with table tennis.”
Whether you are a NCTTA student athlete, alum, or volunteer, we all know that table tennis can be honored as a physically and intellectually stimulating sport every day, however, it’s always nice to set aside a special time to spread the ponging gospel.
That being said, our very own Andy Nguyen, Marketing Committee Chair extraordinaire, put together a small clip that was posted during World Table Tennis Day.
Covid-19 has put a long damper on live table tennis tourneys, so Nguyen acknowledged that “Without events, we've had to tap deep into the barrel of content.”
Nguyen says that the clip was created using 2019 NCTTA Champ’s footage which took place in Greensboro, NC that year. The clip evokes nostalgia for the past stellar accomplishments of NCTTA member schools, and also demonstrates the professional setup that NCTTA strives to create at the champs without fail.
Overall, World Table Tennis Day for NCTTA was a win, with the organization’s eyes set on hyping up for a tentative 2022 Champs in Round Rock, TX. Kudos to Andy Nguyen and we hope to see and hear more of his excellent clips set to great music for future events once the pandemic is cleared.
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MISSING OUT ON SOCIAL MEDIA? |
Catch up on social media with Twinesocial where it is all in one place.
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