by Ian Marshall, ITTF Publications Editor

A total of 50 Referees from Asia, Europe and Oceania attended the three-day Conference, guided by Graeme Ireland and Werner Thury with the support of Ronald Wee and Petr Bohumsky.

Locally matters were splendidly organised by Zhang Yingqiu and her colleagues from the Beijing Sports University; the support given by the educational organisation was appreciated by all.

Pertinently, a main focus was directed towards the public draw where the tradition is that players perform the task in the full view of colleagues, coaches, officials and members of the media. Videos of such occasions were shown with former Chinese international Wang Hao, the 2009 World champion, present alongside Chen Bin, Chinese National Team Coach, to provide their views .

“The co-operation and communication between players, coaches and match officials is essential for the good presentation and success of our sport. We really appreciated that Wang Hao and Chen Bin from the Chinese National Team attended our Conference and we could discuss the view of players, coaches and match officials. It was good to see again that both parties have the same objectives. Everyone wants to present our sport in a good way.” Werner Thury

A positive reaction was received from all; a most worthwhile initiative was completed.