Dear Players, Staff & Volunteers,

Welcome to Ft. Lauderdale and the 2005 Liebherr U.S. Open Major ITTF Pro Tour. With $100,000 in prize money, many or most of the best players in the world are competing.

There are 63 events in this year’s U.S. Open, so there are events for everyone. This will give you a weekend of playing, spectating, shopping at the equipment booths, and maybe, just maybe … some time at the Ft. Lauderdale beaches, or at least the hotel swimming pool.

Some players may wonder what the relationship is between USATT, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), Liebherr, North American Table Tennis (NATT), and the sponsors. USATT is the organizing body for table tennis in the U.S., and is ultimately in charge of the Open. The ITTF Pro Tour is part of the ITTF’s professional circuit. NATT was hired by USATT to help run the U.S. Open. Liebherr is the ITTF title sponsor. Other sponsors include Butterfly/Martin-Kilpatrick, the official table sponsor; Nittaku/Paddle Palace, the official ball sponsor; and Table Tennis Pioneers, the official USATT Team clothing sponsor. A big thank you goes out to these sponsors for your generosity!  Thank you also to Ft. Lauderdale Marina Marriott hotel and the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center.

Special thanks goes to the volunteers and staff who work so hard to run the tournament. It takes a huge number of people and endless hours to put such an event together. Please take the time to browse the Staff & Sponsor listing elsewhere in this program and to thank the many volunteers for their contributions.

When the tournament’s over, or during the tournament if you have Internet access, you can browse the results and see the write-ups and photos that go online daily at the U.S. Open website, www.usatt.org/events/2005usopen.

We hope you have an enjoyable stay here in Ft. Lauderdale. If you have any questions, feel free to stop by the USATT table (at registration) to talk to us or other USATT representatives. As always, we appreciate receiving any feedback that will help us to improve this event.

Sincerely,

Sheri Pittman, USATT President

Doru Gheorghe, USATT Executive Director