The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Foundation has launched the #TableTennisUnited fundraising campaign for athletes, coaches, umpires, national associations and projects affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Powered by the ITTF Foundation, the donation campaign is supported by the ITTF and World Table Tennis (WTT), with both organisations donating more than $250,000 (£199,000/€222,000) to the fund.
It is set to help in a number of key areas following the suspension of sport due to the coronavirus outbreak.
This includes aiding the distribution of basic emergency needs related to the crisis, supporting the provision of materials and products on site, and supporting medical treatments for athletes, teams, coaches and other ITTF members.
The campaign will also be raising awareness by providing official information about suitable protective measures against COVID-19 through manuals and instructions.
A social media campaign has been launched to support #TableTennisUnited, which encourages ambassadors to record messages asking others to #PassTheBallOn.
A compilation video of the ambassadors’ messages is currently on the ITTF and ITTF Foundation social platforms.
ITTF World
@ittfworld
#TableTennisUnited
Olympic champion Ding Ning 🇨🇳 invites you to join our fundraising campaign #TableTennisUnited to help members of the table tennis family during the #covid19 pandemic.#PassTheBallOn ➡️ http://tabletennisunited.org
China’s three-time world champion Ding Ning is one such player to be a campaign ambassador and has pledged her backing for the initiative.
“As long as I can remember playing table tennis, we have never faced such a global challenge in the world of sports,” she said.
“I am firmly convinced that we can only overcome this crisis together as a team.
“I support our campaign #TableTennisUnited to do my part to help where our aid is most needed right now.
“Join us with your donation!”
The pandemic has wreaked havoc on this year’s ITTF calendar, with the World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan postponed three times.
It is hoped that “full open international events” can be held in the last quarter of 2020.
By Nancy Gillen-InsideTheGames
