2014 Learning Tree Summer Open (Team Tournament & Rating Events) When: September 20-21 Where: Sponsored by: After School Learning Tree, Stellangie, & EATT Where: After School Learning Tree 11525 Sorrento Valley Road, CA 92121 Tournament Format:

1. All matches are best of 5 games except for the Open Singles Semifinals & Finals. The Semis & Finals of the Open will be best of 7 games.
2. Must meet any age requirements by July 19^th .
3. No prizes will be awarded for splits, dumps, default losses, or no shows.
4. Tournament committee reserves the right to modify or cancel events if there are insufficient entries.
5. Players over 2400 have free entries.
6. The Olympic Team format will be used for this tournament. Teams are not allowed to use more or less than three players.

View the entry form by clicking here.

We are having a 50+, 55+,60+, 65+, etc. tournament at the Balboa Activity Center in Balboa Park on Saturday, September 20, 2014.   The registration fee will be $45 per athlete and $5 event fee for each event.  Registration will open June 1, 2014.  Novice Singles (beginners or non-1000+ rated), Singles 1000+ Rated, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.    For more details, please visit the tournament website by clicking here.

New Club Shirts from JOOLA will also go on sale now. The Board has decided to sell these great shirts at $20 a piece. A Friday Night inter-club Competition is going to begin between Sorrento Valley and BPAC. We will rotate venues. If you are interested in competing please contact me, James Kahn. Earl Alto and I will be forming commensurate teams. A variety of playing levels will be matched.

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

August 12th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

  This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA. Call to order 7:05pm by James. SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Borko Dragojlovic, Mark Adelman, James Kahn and Simon Lee. SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: None. SDTTA Member(s) Present: Angie Bengtsson and Earl Alto. Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes. After a few minor changes to last month’s Board meeting minutes, the motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for July 2014 by Mark and seconded by James. The Board carried the motion. Treasurer’s Report:  None. Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report. Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is. Equipment Report: Our current table count is at 30. Action Items:

1. Earl discussed getting the Juniors program up and running and to ensure it stays on track, that the progress of the kids be monitored and certain goals be set (ratings). Also discussed was investing in

your better players and one of the ways would be to sponsor these players to the National and 5 Star tournaments. Earl said that the “Learning Tree” has availability of equipment and people to assist us in any way possible, if we ever need them. An inter-club event was scheduled for September 6th, between SDTTA and the Learning Tree, to be played at the Sorrento Valley location.

1. Behnam did not approve last month’s Board meeting minutes because he would like a breakdown of how all members vote on any particular item. Behnam motioned to have it annotated in the minutes the results of how each Board member votes. James seconded the motion and it was passed by a 4-2-1 vote.
2. John resigned as Treasurer but wants to stay on the Board. The selection of a new Treasurer was tabled until the next Board meeting.
3. The new club shirts arrived with the SDTTA logo printed on the back. The shirts will be selling for $20 each.
4. The potluck picnic is scheduled for September 13th, along with the equipment swap meet. The event will go from 11:30am to 2:00pm.
5. It was brought up once again on how we can make Friday’s more exciting at the club. One idea was to have an inter-club competition with the Sorrento Valley (Learning Tree) club. The location of the event would rotate, between clubs, on a weekly basis. Both clubs will work out further details.
6. Bob brought up the idea of waiving the $5 fee for non-members who would like to play in the Thursday round-robin event. After much discussion, the idea was dropped.
7. We currently have 8 “new” Joola tables in storage at City College and need to go onsite and inspect the tables and release them from liability from any damage that may incur during storage.

The motion to adjourn was made by Mark and seconded by Borko at 8:30pm.   The next meeting is September 9th at 7:00pm.   Respectfully Submitted,   Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary

Our Joola tables are heavy and need 2 people to open (by pulling the chord and pulling the table down) and likewise 2 people to close it. They are heavy tables and need a little muscle to work with so please ask for help in setting up and taking down. Secondly, I want suggestions on how to make Friday nights more popular at the club. We have had league play in the past, doubles night or maybe some regular training sessions. It would be nice to get more women involved in table tennis, so perhaps ladies night free?? Talk to me or any other board member and let us fill the club with an enthusiastic crowd. James Kahn, Chairman SDTTA

Just in case you haven’t seen or heard about it, here’s a snippet of the Q&A provided by Paddle Palace: The introduction of the new plastic “Poly Ball” for table tennis has created a lot of excitement in the table tennis world. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions with answers direct from Paddle Palace: 1) What is the new ball rule? The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) passed a resolution that all ITTF events after July 1, 2014, must use non-celluloid plastic balls. This deadline has a few exceptions; for example, the upcoming Youth Olympic Games taking place in Nanjing, China, August 16-28, 2014, is using a celluloid ball. 2) Are celluloid balls no longer legal? Celluloid balls continue to be legal for the sport of table tennis. The ITTF continues to approve celluloid balls. All the of the 3-star balls available at Paddle Palace are legal for tournament play. 3) Which tournaments are affected by the ITTF resolution? ITTF Sanctioned tournaments only are included in the resolution. This includes the World Championships, the ITTF World Tour, ITTF Junior Circuit, and ITTF sanctioned continental events. 4) Are USA tournaments required to use the new ball? No. Domestic tournaments can choose to use any approved ball, eithercelluloid or non-celluloid. For more Q&A visit the Paddle Palace website by clicking here.

San Diego Table Tennis Association Board Meeting

July 8th, 2014

Balboa Park Activity Center

  This meeting is open to all members of the SDTTA. Call to order 7:20pm by John. SDTTA Board Members Present: Bob Koch, Behnam Kazemi, John Anderson, Borko Dragojlovic, Mark Adelman and James Kahn. SDTTA Board Member(s) absent: Simon Lee SDTTA Member(s) Present: None. Communications not on agenda have a limit of 3 minutes. The motion was made to approve the SDTTA Board Member minutes for June 2014 by John and seconded by James. The Board carried the motion. Treasurer’s Report:  John Anderson will email the Treasurer’s Report for June 2014 to all Board members. Webmaster Report/ Daryl Sterling: No report. Membership Report: Our current paid membership count is at 230. Equipment Report: Our current table count is at 32. Action Items:

1. Discussed coaching situation and how to proceed with getting the ball rolling. The idea was brought up that maybe we can subsidize a coach with a monthly fee to teach at the club.
2. James acquired 60 Olympic-style shirts from Andre  and a motion was made by Bob for the club to purchase these shirts from James for $10 each and to add the club logo to the shirts for an additional $4 a shirt. Mark seconded the motion and it was passed by the majority of the Board.
3. The club has the opportunity to purchase “tournaments used” Joola tables, from Andre, for the price of $500 a table. James will try to negotiate the price down and will get back to the Board members on his success.
4. The Baja team hasn’t been to the club for many months. We discussed ways to make it more attractive for them to participate in the Thursday Round Robin tournaments, but it was mentioned that one of the reasons they no longer attend was that our tournament no longer challenges their players.
5. We tabled the discussion on increasing membership dues and also who, if anyone, should be exempt from paying dues.

  The motion to adjourn was made by Bob and seconded by Mark at 8:15pm.   The next meeting is August 12th at 7:00pm.   Respectfully Submitted,   Bob Koch, SDTTA Secretary