Dear USATT Members,
Welcome
to the 2003 USA Nationals!
After the problems of last year’s slippery floors, we are back in the hall from previous years, Hall C3, with the better floors. In addition, we’ve hired North American Table Tennis to run the Nationals, as they did an excellent job running the U.S. Open. We still oversee these tournaments – but we bring in the professionals to run them!
With 58 events to choose from, nearly all of the top USA players, and lots of display booths, you should have a great time playing, spectating and shopping. And, of course, there might be a few other things to do in your free time here in Las Vegas!
Besides the obvious spectator’s events – men’s and women’s singles & doubles – there are a number of other "feature" events. There are age events from under 10 to over 80; hardbat events; wheelchair and standing disabled events; and the USA junior (under 18) & cadet (under 16) team trials. (Junior girls’ trials were held separately in November, due to a scheduling conflict – during the USA Nationals, the USA Junior Girls’ Team will be at the World Junior Championships in Chile.) Many of the feature matches will be in the arena on Saturday night, starting around 5:00 PM.
During the feature matches, there will be a raffle, with table tennis prizes given out to winners. The prizes were donated by Martin-Kilpatrick, Table Tennis Pioneers, Paddle Palace, Newgy and Zeropong.
You might want to sign up for the Hall of Fame Banquet on Thursday night (Dec. 18) at the Stratosphere Hotel. Info on this is elsewhere in this program. This year’s inductees are players Eric Boggan and David Zhuang, and contributor Larry Hodges. Marty Reisman is getting the Mark Matthews’ Lifetime Achievement Award. The always colorful Tim Boggan will be Master of Ceremonies.
This year will end the long tradition of our great champion Gao Jun dominating women’s events. She’s won women’s singles & doubles for seven straight years. However, she is contracted to play in China during the Nationals, and so is unable to compete this year. But while it may be the "end" of an era (at least until next year?), it could be the beginning of a new one, as our top women – veterans and youth – battle it out for the title of USA women’s champ. Who will step forward this year?
In contrast to the women, men’s singles has been wide open in recent years, with a different champion each of the past four years – Cheng Yinghua, David Zhuang, Eric Owens and Ilija Lupulesku. All four are competing again, along with a number of pretty strong challengers. Who will step forward this year?
The tournament wouldn’t be possible without our sponsors: USATT sponsors Martin-Kilpatrick, Paddle Palace and Table Tennis Pioneers, and USA Nationals sponsors Butterfly, Nittaku, Stratosphere Hotel, and the Las Vegas Convention Center. They have stepped forward for us year after year!
We will both be around throughout much of the tournament, so feel free to see us if you have any questions or just want to talk. Feel free to step forward
Sincerely,
Sheri Pittman, USATT President
Doru Gheorghe, USATT Executive Director
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