#TableTennisUnited, the fundraising campaign powered by ITTF Foundation and sponsored by ITTF and WTT has extended its support to the Ukrainian table tennis community, ensuring the training opportunity and sponsoring players to participate in international tournaments.
“It is at the heart of the ITTF Group to leave no one behind and the table tennis community will stand with those facing crises. We want to reassure the worldwide table tennis family, especially those going through tough circumstances that they have our full support.” – Petra Sörling, ITTF and ITTF Foundation President.
The ITTF Foundation has launched a new video to promote #TableTennisUnited Fund:
Originally created as an emergency response to Covid-19, #TableTennisUnited Fund has been supporting those affected since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war. So far, #TableTennisUnited Fund has been used to:
- sponsor four Ukrainian players to participate in WTT Star Contender Doha.
- support 10 para table tennis players to participate in the ITTF Slovenia Para Open 2022.
- Bring Ukraine to WTT Youth Contender, including eight players in Linz (Austria), eight in Wladyslawowo (Poland) and several in Berlin (Germany), Platja D´Aro (Spain) and Havirov (Czech Republic) tournaments.
- ensure the training opportunity and living standard of Ukrainian para players and their families taking refuge in the Slovak Republic. They currently train at the Prievidza Table Tennis for ALL Training Centre.
- aid Ukraine Table Tennis Association in bringing players to the WTT events and ITTF World Championships.
“We are very grateful for the support offered by the ITTF Foundation and Leutzscher Füchse, a local club in Leipzig, Germany who welcomed us with friendship and opportunities. In difficult times like these we call for worldwide solidarity to support other members of the table tennis community affected by the conflict between Russian and Ukraine.” – Larysa Starikova, Ukrainian Deaf National player, a refugee in Leipzig, Germany.
ITTF Foundation has appointed Galia Dvorak as Goodwill Ambassador to support the activities of the ITTF Foundation and to facilitate communication with the Ukrainian table tennis community. Born in Kyiv before moving to Spain at the age of two, Galia Dvorak is a four-time Olympian, Deputy Chair of the ITTF Athletes Commission and the ETTU Special Project Operations Manager.
“Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th. Since then, a lot of people have been displaced from their homes. Many had to flee from the country and among them, there are a lot of table tennis players. #TableTennisUnited Fund will support those players to do what they do best: playing table tennis. This is a message of resilience and determination, that our sport will continue to be the anchor for those going through chaos and hardships.” – Galia Dvorak, ITTF Foundation Goodwill Ambassador.
In addition to those affected by the Russo-Ukrainian war, #TableTennisUnited Fund will continue to provide support to those that have fallen victim to the global pandemic, while remaining flexible to react to future humanitarian needs.
“We seek to bring hope and resilience to the worldwide table tennis community by extending the support of #TableTennisUnited Fund. Table tennis had proven itself not only as a sport but a powerful tool to unite people. We want to make sure the players could continue with their training and take part in international tournaments despite the current ordeal.” – Steve Dainton, ITTF Group CEO.
Donate now: https://www.tabletennisunited.org/