NCTTA Newsletter
July 2010

While your chillin' during the college table tennis offseason, we're still bringing you all the latest NCTTA news. This month, find out about the ongoing search for a site for the 2011 Championships and the NCTTA scholarship program. Plus, NCTTA has adopted a new code of conduct and has put out its preseason rankings survey.

Read on for all this and more ...

Search Continues for 2011 Championships Site

NCTTA leaders say they expect to make a decision in mid-August on the site selection for the 2011 championships. That’s the bottom line in a lengthy process that ran into recent roadblocks and just got extended into late summer.

In late June, the NCTTA and Georgia Tech couldn’t reach an agreement on a couple of key contract items regarding the 2011 championship site on the Atlanta campus. As a result, the NCTTA board was forced to reopen the bidding process for the games.

The good news is we are confident we can secure an excellent championship site for April 2011. Be patient, folks. We want a top-notch site and believe we will get it in the long run. Here’s the way the process will work now – NCTTA will re-advertise its 2011 championship bid documents via the website. We hope to get sports commissions, schools and convention visitors bureaus interested and will put out the bids for a month. We want your feedback.

“Sometimes unexpected things do occur,” says NCTTA President Willy Leparulo about problems with the Georgia Tech bid in recent weeks. “As they say, ’ya gotta roll with the punches. This is one of those times.”

We had excellent tournaments in Rochester, Minnesota in 2008 and 2009 and that was also true of the action near Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2010. We expect the same will hold for the NCTTA championship site in 2011 despite a few snags along the way. The NCTTA wants its athletes and division directors to get involved as the new bidding process moves forward over the next couple of months.

We will keep you posted on key developments as they happen.

NCTTA Scholarship Deadline Approaching - Aug. 15

Scholarship money! It’s there for the asking. But to have a chance at it, you have to apply for the scholarship program sponsored by the NCTTA and Newgy Industries.

In case you missed it during this sweltering summer, the scholarship application deadline is August 15 and time is running out. Recipients will be picked September 1.

The scholarship panel looks at such things as table tennis skills, academic performance in college classrooms, essays and financial needs of applicants. The 2009-2010 winners were Stephanie Chow of UCLA, Judy Hugh of Rutgers, David Llona of the University of Central Florida and Wenwen Zhang of Central Michigan.

In short, the Newgy-NCTTA Scholarship Program is a terrific thing. With college costs rising and the USA economy still stuck in a recession, table tennis players can always use a little extra cash on campus. We will publish the list of the winners in the September newsletter.

We also encourage folks to give to this vital scholarship fund. Gifts are tax deductible.

Questions? Email us at info@nctta.org

NCTTA Welcomes Two New Division Directors
Florida and Minnesota divisions identify new leaders for upcoming 2010-2011 season

With the 2010-2011 season just around the corner, NCTTA leaders have named two new division directors in Minnesota and Florida.

Mark Stanchfield, an instructor in business administration technology at Rochester Community and Technical College, was tapped to lead the Minnesota Division. He helps run the table tennis club at his school in Rochester. Mark also provided a helping hand when his hometown hosted the 2009 Championships. The city is best known as the home of the famed Mayo Clinic.

Stanchfield will replace Seemant Teotia, a Virginia Tech alumnus, who played the key role in the formation of the Minnesota division in 2007. Seemant served as division director since the division began three years ago.

In another collegiate table tennis move, NCTTA officials have found a replacement to fill the shoes of Frankie Beaulieu of the University of South Florida in Tampa. Beaulieu served for one year as Florida division director.

Stepping up to fill the slot is New York native Billy Karalius. A 19-year-old junior at Florida State with a double major in accounting and finance, he served as vice president of FSU Table Tennis in 2009-2010.

“I have great respect for the collegiate table tennis community, especially the players who work so hard to represent their school at such a high competitive level,” said the Tampa resident. Billy has been involved in table tennis at FSU in Tallahassee since 2008. “I will give 110 percent to support the Florida division,” Karalius said in his application to the NCTTA.

Outstanding Rookies Spark Lindenwood
Livia Mizobuchi and Jose Barbosa lead title contender Lindenwood heading into 2011 season

Over the summer, we’ve been blitzed with stories about NBA superstar LeBron James. If you missed the news, the ex-Cleveland Cavs great from Akron will join Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat next season.

At the NCTTA, we believe we have plenty of outstanding athletes who are rising stars when it comes to collegiate table tennis. They deserve their day in the spotlight, so we want to profile some of the top rookies of the past season. We expect they will be getting even better in the next few seasons.

To start things off, we want to highlight two superb athletes at Lindenwood University. Livia Mizobuchi and Jose Barbosa are both 19-year-olds hailing from Brazil. They came to the school in Missouri in large part because they wanted to join other top players from their country already helping Lindenwood’s rise to the upper echelon of collegiate table tennis.

Read more ...

NCTTA Adopts Code of Conduct

Nobody’s perfect. Not in sports, politics, medicine, the business community, or any other profession around the planet. Doing what’s right doesn’t always happen.

NCTTA leaders believed it was time to adopt a Code of Conduct that is fitting for our great sport and will help us do the right thing. We did some checking first by taking a look at policies used by the NCAA, the NAIA, and professional sports leagues.

“It helps if the student-athletes, the coaches, and volunteers of collegiate table tennis are all working from the same set of principles and expectations throughout the country,” says David Del Vecchio, an NCTTA board member. While there have been some cases of unsportsmanlike conduct rearing its ugly head from time to time, “collegiate table tennis has been remarkable clean,” he added.

In a nutshell, the NCTTA “is committed to promoting the principles of honesty, integrity, respect, ethical conduct and team work among student-athletes and member clubs,” the code states. As recently adopted by the NCTTA board, the code lays out a few guidelines for those involved in college table tennis:

1. Respect the game and play fairly and within the bounds of the rules and regulations
2. Show respect for officials of the game such as umpires and referees and of the league, including division directors and other NCTTA officers and volunteers
3. Demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during, and after competition

In addition, NCTTA participants must NOT:

1. Act in a way that is dishonest, unprofessional, or in violation of any laws
2. Engage in activities or actions that may discredit the NCTTA or act in a way that reflects negatively on the NCTTA or college table tennis

The one-page code also includes definitions for sportsmanship and NCTTA participant and explains what happens in response to any violations of the principles mentioned. Read the full NCTTA Code of Conduct for details.

There was no single incident that caused NCTTA leaders to take action. “We came to realize in collegiate table tennis we could do a better job of spelling out just what kind of conduct and behavior was acceptable,” Del Vecchio said.

Sponsor Corner
Special thanks to our sponsors, Newgy and Killerspin!

NCTTA, would like to thank Killerspin for its support of college table tennis. Killerspin is the exclusive NCTTA League and Championship Equipment sponsor through 2011. Member schools just need to fill out the Killerspin Premium Membership Program Application to receive phenomenal equipment discounts in the online Killerspin store.

Also, special thanks to NEWGY Industries, for its continued support of college table tennisincluding the Newgy-NCTTA Scholarship Program

Newgy offers a great way to fundraise for your club by signing up and participating in their Newgy Robo Pong Affiliate Program.

Get Involved in NCTTA!
Volunteers needed for NCTTA committee and division director positions - deadline July 25

NCTTA is looking for an "A-Team" of talented volunteers to step up and give back to collegiate table tennis. Opportunities are almost unlimited for men and women with a passion for this Olympic sport.

Division Directors
NCTTA is looking for folks to fill slots as division directors in the following regions:

• Northern California
• Ohio/Michigan

We're looking for people who know the ins and outs of the sport, can organize and run tournaments in their area and promptly check and return emails. Division directors cannot be a competing player in NCTTA competition.

There are some rewards for the hard work. The NCTTA will supply part of the financial help so division directors can attend the 2011 national championships. Plus an NCTTA polo shirt, USATT membership, and free umpire certification. You say you feel you don’t have exactly what it takes? NCTTA leaders will supply the training.

How to apply: We want to know a little about your background and experience in table tennis and a brief bio would help. Send us an short statement of no more than 500 words about why you want to fill these shoes. Send it by July 25 to info@nctta.org.

Division Director Representative

This is a one year position to represent division directors on the NCTTA board. The National Division Director Representative should be a current or former NCTTA divsion director and will work closely with the various division directors throughout the year. The Division Director Representative is elected by a vote of the division directors.

How to apply: Send us an short statement of intent (one page maximum) to info@nctta.org by July 25 if you're interested in this position.

Committees
If division director jobs are not your thing, there are other options. With the start of the 2010-2011 season not far away on campuses around the USA and Canada, we need good people to staff 11 different committees:

• Marketing
• Women’s
• Alumni Development
• Recruiting
• Web Development
  
• Coaching
• Eligibility
  
• Disabled Athletes
  
• Championships
  
• Media Relations
  
• Audit/Rules

How to apply: Just email us a brief statement about why you want to help out. Send it to info@nctta.org by July 25.

Serving on one of these committees would look great on your resume, and it’s bound to open doors to meet some of the top people on the planet! Plus, it’s a way to build leadership skills as you build collegiate table tennis.

We would love to hear from you! Get involved and make a difference!

Preseason Ranking Survey
Answer a few quick questions about your team to be included in the preseason rankings

Every year NCTTA publishes Preseason Rankings as a preview of teams to look out for in the upcoming season. But we need your help to get it done. Each active NCTTA team just needs to answer the survey questions below to help us put together the most accurate possible Preseason Rankings. 

Teams that do not reply to this survey will NOT be included in the Preseason Rankings.

1. Which players that competed for your team in the 2009-2010 season will be returning to compete in the upcoming 2010-2011 season?
2. Do you know of any new players that will be joining your team and participating in the upcoming season? If so, what are their estimated ratings?
3. What is your projected team roster for the upcoming season?
4. Do you currently have or do you plan on recruiting a coach for the upcoming season?
5. How many non-NCTTA tournaments does your team plan to attend during the upcoming year?
6. In terms of practice space and time for the 2010-2011 season, do you anticipate having more, less or the same amount as in years past?