Cast your votes now for the August 2010 USOC Male, Female and Team of the Month!  Polls close September 7 at 5pm MT – 3 Paralympian table tennis athletes are in the run!  Show your support!

As the result of the participation of the U.S. Paralympic Table Tennis Team in the 1^st Copa Costa Rica, August 10-15, 2010, the following Paralympian athletes have been nominated for the USOC Male, Female and Team of the Month of August 2010:

FEMALE: Pamela Fontaine – Gold medal, Singles Class SF2-3

MALE: James Segrest – Bronze medal, Singles Class SM1-2

TEAM: James Segrest & Michael Godfrey – Gold medal, Team event Class TM1-2

To cast your votes go to the following USOC Twitter links:

1)     Cast your vote now for the August USOC Male Athlete of the Month! Poll closes Sept. 7 at 5pm MT! http://twtpoll.com/slu2og

2)     Cast your vote now for the August USOC Female Athlete of the Month! Poll closes Sept. 7 at 5pm MT! http://twtpoll.com/4cqfum

3)     Cast your vote now for the August USOC Team of the Month! Poll closes Sept. 7 at 5pm MT! http://twtpoll.com/70tpd3

Each National Governing Body may nominate up to but no more than one female, one male and one team per discipline. The winners are then voted on from that pool of nominees.

SUMMARY OF THE TOURNAMENT – COPA COSTA RICA 2010:

More than 70 athletes from 15 different countries competed in the 1^st Copa Costa Rica International Paralympic Table Tennis Tournament.

Team USA was present and won 6 medals total – 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze.

USA’s Pamela Fontaine won the gold medal in the Women Singles Class 2-3 event.  In addition, Noga Nir-Kistler won the silver medal in the Women Singles Class 4-5 event and with Paralympic Gold Medalist Jennifer Johnson won bronze medal in Women Team Class 2-5 event.  On the men’s side James Segrest won bronze in Men Singles Class 1-2 and  the gold medal with Michael Godfrey in Men Team Class 1-2.  Also, Doyle Harbaugh won bronze in Men Singles Class 4-5.  Other USA Team members Tara Profit, Matthew McManus, Daryl Sterling and Samuel Huang had a good tournament as well.  Segrest and Fontaine are finalizing their preparatory training to the upcoming World Championship in Oct-Nov in Korea.

So, let’s show your support to the Paralympian Table Tennis athletes nominated for the month of August!  Remember you have until September 7 at 5pm MT to cast your vote, before the polls close.

About USA Table Tennis: USATT is the national organizing body for table tennis in the United States. Created in 1933 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo. Its staff serves the 9,000-plus members and nearly 300 clubs that are affiliated with USATT. It oversees a wide variety of membership services, the national teams, rules of the game and numerous online instructional and historical articles. USATT is governed and run by the nine-member board of directors, committees and professional staff. USATT is affiliated with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the world governing body for table tennis, as well as the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

In 2010 Paralympic and Parapan American Table Tennis have just been brought under the aegis of USATT.  Paralympic table tennis is separated into 10 classes depending on player’s disability.  Classes 1 to 5 are for players seated on wheelchairs while classes 6 to 10 are for standing competitors. The smaller the number is in the class, the more severe their disabilities are.  For more information on U.S. Para Table Tennis please visit www.usatt.org.