As 2024 comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on a year of incredible growth, competition, and community engagement for Table Tennis Victoria (TTV). Here’s a month-by-month highlight reel of the year that was.  

January 

The year kicked off with a bang as juniors from across the State descended on Croydon Table Tennis Association for the 2024 Hopes Week & Challenge and Pathways. Led by National Head Coach Ricardo Oliveira, it was an incredible training camp for all the juniors that took part. January also saw Andrew Weiss step into the role of CEO with Gen Dohrmann going on Parental leave for the majority of 2024. 

February 

February saw the first State Tournament Circuit event of the year take place, with the Geelong Open. Dillon Chambers defeated Sanish Ambekar in the Men’s Open Singles with Yueyuan Yang defeating Connie Psihogios in a 6-set thriller to claim the Women’s Open. TTV also had an incredible time partnering with Pongo at the Frankston Waterfront Festival in February, bringing table tennis to over 45,000 people! 

March 

The 2023 Top 10 Rankings were released in March, celebrating some of the best Victorian athletes from 2023. In the season of festivals, TTV also joined Pongo at the Hello Sunshine music festival to bring some table tennis fun to the 15,000 festivalgoers. To round out March, the Croydon Masters Open took place over the long weekend with some incredible action hitting the tables. 

April 

The Victorian Open Championship returned, drawing athletes from across Australia and beyond. The event saw thrilling matches, with a highlight being the victory of Melissa Tapper and Yonis Yihang Xu to claim their respective Open titles.  April also saw the 2023 AGM & Annual Awards take place at Infosys Living Labs. Closing out the month, the 2024 Victorian State Team was announced with the Junior, Youth, Senior & Para teams selected for the National Championships in Mandurah. 

May 

May kicked off with the Bendigo Open, with 281 participants taking part across the weekend. The Albury/Wodonga Junior/Senior Open also took place in May with some incredible matches going to the maximum number of games. Following the Bendigo & Albury/Wodonga Open, table tennis superstars from across Australia descended on Ballarat for the Australian Olympic Qualifying tournament.  

June 

June is always a busy month for table tennis in Victoria, with the Country & Metropolitan Championships taking place on the King’s Birthday Weekend. Both tournaments saw exceptional play and marked an incredible weekend for all who attended. June saw TTV host its first Corporate Cup for the year with 16 teams entered and over 80 participants from businesses across Victoria take it to the table. Rounding out the month, the Ballarat Open took place with Finn Luu winning the Men’s Open and Cherry Li taking out the Women’s Open. 

July 

Always a big highlight for the year is the National Championships, with our Junior, Senior, Para & Youth squads representing our state in Mandurah from July 7th – 14th. Overall, Team Victoria won 42 Gold medals, 33 Silver and 38 Bronze medals. An absolutely incredible feat that all team members contributed to! July also saw host to the Victorian Closed Veterans Championships along with the announcement of the Veterans State Team.  

August 

August began with the 2024 Dandenong Open tournament with over 200 players taking part. Another major highlight took place in August with our Victorian Stars taking on the world at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The success of Nicholas Lum, Finn Luu, Melissa Tapper and Aditya Sareen is a testament to the strength and resilience of Victorian table tennis. On August 18th Croydon hosted the Mooroolbark Community Bank Veterans Open, with the month concluding at the Yarrawonga Junior/Senior Open. 

September 

The Mornington Frankston Open took place in September, which was an incredibly well run tournament. September also closed out the Paris Paralympics, with our table tennis superstars scoring medals in multiple events. A massive congratulations to Qian Yang, Lina Lei and Lin Ma for their incredible success in Paris, along with all of our other amazing Paralympians. Rounding out September saw Team Victoria off to Launceston for the 2024 Veterans National Championships earning a medal in nearly all Teams events! 

October 

October saw the return of the Hamilton “Mid-Western” Junior/Senior Open, which was fantastic to have the stadium buzzing with high quality table tennis. October also featured the launch of the TTV Junior Leaders Program, with 6 Juniors taking part in the steps to becoming the future leaders of our sport. The Victorian Closed Junior/Senior/Para took place from October 19-20 at Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre with over 230 players participating. TTV CEO Gen Dohrmann also came back to her role towards the end of October with Andrew Weiss having fulfilled his interim CEO contract.  

November 

The Shepparton Open took place on November 3rd which was a great tournament hosted by Shepparton TTA. Jennifer Pitson joined the TTV staff in early November as the new Chief of Operations (COO), working with Gen as part of a job share arrangement and bringing over 25 years of experience in the sports sector. TTV also hosted the final Corporate Cup for the year in November, with CSIRO reclaiming their title as champions. To close out the month Albury/Wodonga hosted their Veterans Open, with Albert Park also hosting the Jingle Pong Open to round out the State Tournament Circuit for 2024. 

December 

The year concluded with Croydon hosting a 24-hour Pingpongathon and raising over $3000 to fight modern day slavery and human trafficking across Asia and Australia. TTV also announced the 2025 Sub-Committees in December, and it was the end of an era for Melissa Tapper who called time on her remarkable career.  

Looking Ahead 

2024 has been an exceptional year for Table Tennis Victoria, marked by growth, innovation, and community spirit. As we look forward to 2025, TTV remains committed to making table tennis accessible, inclusive, and inspiring for all Victorians.  

Let’s rally together for another fantastic year!