World-class table tennis comes to Ringwood

by Susan Foreman
26th August 2022

THE ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) OCEANIA Senior and Youth Championships are coming to Ringwood on September 5 with the five-day tournament in Eastland Shopping Centre.
Vying for a spot at the 2023 Table Tennis World Championships in Durban, South Africa — more than a hundred athletes from countries in the Oceania region will eat, breathe, and live table tennis in the first ITTF Oceania tournament in its history to be hosted in an Australian shopping centre.
Greg Balmforth, General Manager at Eastland said his team was honoured to host this tournament.

“We are thrilled to be staging the 2022 Oceania Senior and Youth Championships next month at such a unique location in Eastland Shopping Centre.
“We have a long-standing relationship with many sporting associations and leagues in the east [of Melbourne] and we are thrilled to extend this to Table Tennis.
“It’s our top priority to provide a safe and inclusive place to enable everyone at any age to have a positive experience, and with ITTF manta of ‘Table Tennis For All For Life’, it felt like a natural fit to work together.
“Hosting an international event marks the start of something new, not just for Eastland but Ringwood too.
“Together with the support of our community partners, we hope to make Eastland a true Town Centre,” said Mr Balmforth.

After a two-year hiatus, the return of our Oceania Championship is being welcomed by table tennis federations across the Oceania region with at least eight countries set to compete.
The winners of the Oceania Championships will secure a spot at the ITTF Youth World Championships in Tunisia later this year and the ITTF World Championship Finals in South Africa in 2023 and the competition will be fierce.
Construction has already commenced at Eastland, transforming a 2,000 square metre space on Level 2 into a world-class table tennis championship arena.
The draws for the Team and Individual events are set on September 3, and 5, respectively and the Diary will update this story as the tournament progresses.