This year’s Metropolitan Table Tennis Championships is shaping up to be a great weekend and will be the biggest Metro Championships in its 58 year history.

Being held across two venues, Croydon and Districts Table Tennis Association in Kilsyth and the Greater Dandenong Table Tennis Association, 60 teams will compete on Saturday 11 June for the title of Metro Champions while individuals will compete on Sunday 12 June. 

The Metropolitan Championships first commenced back in 1952, when Table Tennis Victoria (previously the Victorian Table Tennis Association) decided to split the inter-zone final into two separate events, thus a Country Championships and a Metropolitan Championships were born.

The Country Championships, also taking place this weekend at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, has always thrived with team number, whilst Metro has usually been much lower in team entries but this year’s number of entries shows times are changing.

The all time team entry record for Country Championships was set in 1976 with 147 teams with Metro Championships traditionally being much smaller however this year with 60 teams entered from 8 metro table tennis affiliates all previous records have been smashed.

There will be teams from Sunshine & LOOPS, to Coburg & Manningham, to Croydon & Dandenong, and more entered in the two-day event with teams spread out over 15 grades. Players will also play in an Individual Tournament.

The team format will consist of nine singles and two doubles matches and all matches are the best of five games. The Individual Tournament will include a standard group and knockout stage format in a variety of events.

Metro Championships Tournament Director and Table Tennis Victoria (TTV) Board Member Greg Bristowe is keen to see the tables at his home centre buzzing with action once again.

“This number of entries has been one of our goals for several years since reviving Metro Champs after a 10 year hiatus in 2013 to get more teams playing. We looked at how great the Country Championships has been for such a long time, and we knew there had to be a way metro affiliates could do something similar,” said Bristowe.

“With the help of the other metro affiliates over the last several year and as well as Table Tennis Victoria, we are hopeful that the Metro Championships can continue to grow in numbers in coming years.”

“The interesting aspect of these two Country and Metro Table Tennis events is that they were born out of the same decision made many years ago, and not many people would have realised this. It makes for such a great weekend on the Victorian landscape for all Victorian table tennis members.”