Prospective International Umpires Hope For Gold

By Filipe

The weekend of the 12 and 13 April saw 33 International Umpire wannabes join the fray in the hope of passing the 2008 ITTF set International Umpires exam. The Pavilion in Germiston, played gracious host to the various table tennis enthusiasts from as far a field as Botswana, Lesotho, Kimberly, Free State and Gauteng.

Saturday kicked off with a revision of the most recent ITTF Rules & Regulations. A task that kept the 3 facilitators on their toes, for the questions flying about, made for interesting debate. The evening was concluded with the writing of Provincial and National exams by certain members of the entourage who had not formerly written or had failed these exams on a previous occasion.

Sunday morning was spent on the discussion of Knotty Problems and the application of the Rules & Regulations; a fitting precursor to the main event. The ensuing ITTF International Exam paper delivered the usual fare of taxing questions and rule-bending scenarios, where umpiring know-how is tested to the full. A mission that kept the incumbents engrossed for 50 intense minutes. The tasty lunch came none too soon.

Similar exams where held in KZN and Cape Town.