by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor
Statistics regarding sport are always a source of interest whether enthusiast or member of the media; television commentators thrive on such information.
“ETTU is making history with this unique and easily accessible database. Although it is not fully finished yet, at this stage it is already possible to enjoy this brand-new service. Dimos and Igor have done a tremendous job. It provides a very efficient way to rapidly find data that many of us need or want to know. My congratulations!” Ronald Kramer, ETTU President.
A year-long project, the idea was first discussed when Dimosthenis Messinis and Igor Heller met at the 2016 European Youth Championships in Zagreb; now one year later, hard has produced a most valuable asset.
Results currently available are those from the European Championships dating back to 2008, the European Youth Championships to 2010, the recent European Under 21 Championships and the two most recent editions of the Europe Top 10.
“With a few clicks someone can find results of his or her favourite player or even make selective searches like head to head! We have a special section for the statistics where everyone is able to see how many participants we had per country, event and tournament in a very easy way. There is also a special section for presenting the rankings in an easier way than that we currently have on the ETTU website. With just few clicks someone will be able to see the ranking position and the ranking points of every ranked player in every age category on the same page and follow his or her progress during the year dynamically.” Dimosthenis Messinis
Long hours that involve searching for detail are now minimised.
“Our goal is to feed the system with more and more data. We are yet to upload the data from earlier years. Most is still on paper in written form, so we need to digitalize and transform everything before it can be used oin the system. This is only the beginning. The statistics offer endless opportunities and in time we will develop further this section.” Dimosthenis Messinis
A beginning; it is most certainly a very promising beginning, an invaluable asset.
European Table Tennis Union: Online Platform of Data and Results