As 2024 comes to a close, it’s important to look back and reflect on a year that will be remembered as laying the foundations for a bright future for ITTF-Oceania.
In January 2024 we bid farewell to Barry Griffiths, who ended his time as CEO after more than five years service. After an extensive recruitment process led by ITTF, we welcomed Scott Houston, who commenced as CEO at the end of June 2024.
Also in June 2024, the ITTF-Oceania AGM was held with this year serving as an election year. I was re-elected unopposed as President, existing Management Committee members Sarah Sandley, Carolyn Li and James Ji Jr. were also re-elected, and Benoit Coquelet was elected to the Management Committee for the first time. I thank all outgoing Management Committee members whose tenures expired at the AGM; your contribution was greatly appreciated.
Over the past six months, Scott and our new Management Committee have hit the ground running with multiple key projects finalised, setting up ITTF-Oceania for a bright future in the years ahead.
A summary of the achievements include, but are not limited to:
- A new landmark 2025-2028 Strategic Quadrennial Agreement was signed with ITTF, providing an increase in funding and further strengthening our relationship with ITTF.
- A new 2025-2028 Strategic Plan was finalised, which aligns with the ITTF Strategic Plan, but maintains elements suited to Oceania’s unique needs and circumstances.
- The Oceania Development Program will be relaunched to better service our Member Associations, with recruitment currently underway to employ up to three Oceania Development Officers.
- The process to implement a new ITTF-Oceania Constitution is well underway and it’s anticipated that we will seek Member Association support to approve the new Constitution in early 2025 at a Special General Meeting.
- The 2024 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were played, with athletes from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu competing.
- Our 2025 budget has been developed and approved, which provides the financial blueprint to implement our Strategic Plan.
- The 2025 ITTF-Oceania Events Calendar was published early, providing our Member Associations sufficient time to prepare their players and finances to participate.
- Event Regulations have been updated for the ITTF-Oceania Cup and ITTF-Oceania Championships, which strengthens all events and provides more meaningful competition opportunities for Member Associations.
- Meetings have been held with a majority of Member Associations to establish contact and identify ways in which ITTF-Oceania can assist.
- A full suite of Continental events were conducted, most of which were implemented in extraordinarily short timeframes. Importantly, however, all Oceania quota positions for the Olympic Games and ITTF World Championships events were able to be determined.
- Our Smash Down Barriers Program continued to operate, with ongoing programs running in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
- Many administrative tasks were undertaken which will streamline our operations, such as implementing a new suite of policies, changing banking provider, establishing proper IT infrastructure and cleaning up equipment storage.
I offer my sincere thanks to ITTF under the leadership of President Petra Sörling, CEO Steve Dainton and Secretary General Raul Calin. Their ongoing support has been invaluable and their belief in the direction we are taking is truly appreciated. I have had the good fortune to represent Oceania at a number of important forums including the ITTF Continental Council meetings as well as the Oceania National Olympic Committee’s Annual General Assembly. I look forward to Oceania continuing to contribute on the global stage.
Thank you also to the Australian Government’s TeamUp staff led by Andrew Lepani for their support of our Smash Down Barriers Program. We appreciate that our programs are recognised as high performing and we’re looking forward to their continuation in 2025 and beyond. A special thanks to our own Cherry Harvey for her dedication and passion for this program; we appreciate your hard work.
Also, praise must be given to our 24 Member Associations and the army of volunteers and staff members who keep everything running at national level. Your dedication is both acknowledged and appreciated.
Thank you once again to everyone for your contribution to our great game throughout 2024. Here’s to another successful year in 2025.
Anthony Moore
President
ITTF-Oceania