USA Table Tennis(USATT) has joined with the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) in an agreement to sanction the National Senior Games and Senior State and Regional games and tournaments

“Playing for Life”

For Senior Table Tennis players 50 years and above:

who may or may not be USATT members
who enjoy playing table tennis recreationally
who are not interested in earning ratings
who like competition
who like playing in smaller age- range categories
who like winning medals
who would like to compete in the elite USATT championship meets of the US Open and US Nationals without concern for ratings

Elite USATT Open and Nationals’ Recreational Masters Events:

Starting with, and included in the 2007 USATT Open Championship in July, 2007, there will be a non-rated Senior Masters table tennis event.
The events will be Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles events
Ten age divisions will be offered: 50-54;55-59;60-64; 65-69;70-74;75-79;80-84;
85-89;90-94;95-99+
The entry fee will be $30 with an additional charge of $8.00 per event
Players do not need to be USA Table Tennis members
Players need to be legal residents of USA.
Players need not be USA Citizens

USATT Sanctioned, Recreational Senior Tournaments: To expand recreational, senior players’ opportunities, USATT will be offering the new USATT non-rated sanction classification opportunity to

· The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) and to Master Senior State and Regional recreational tournaments associated with NSGA.

· The USATT Affiliated Clubs’ Tournaments

· USATT will post USATT sanctioned Master Senior Table Tennis events on the USATT website’s Event Calendar.

· USATT will post sanctioned Master Senior tournament results of First through Third place winners on the USATT website. Visit Senior Masters Tournament Results

Tournament Guidelines:

USATT will charge $25 for the USATT recreational sanction fee.

USATT does require a Tournament Sanction Request form to be filled out on line or printed out and mailed with the $25 sanction fee to USATT, attention Felisa, 1 Olympic Plaza, Colorado Springs, CO 80909. Tournament Sanction Request Form.
The Tournament Sanction Request Form can be filled out and submitted anytime prior to the event.
The new USATT Masters sanction category requires the National Senior Games Association’s (NSGA) State and Regional tournaments to follow USATT’s- The Laws of Table Tennis.
USATT will sanction, but not run, NSGA national, state or regional tournaments.
USATT membership is not required for participation
USATT certified referees or umpires will not be required to officiate.
USATT “over 50” membership mailing labels are available upon request from the USATT Tournament Coordination Director.
Tournament Directors may submit without cost a brief event article for the USATT website.

USATT Affiliated Clubs:

USATT recommends that the Senior Masters State and Regional Tournament Directors contact local USATT Affiliated Clubs for help needed in

Conducting the Tournament
Tapping into USATT qualified officials, who know the Rules of Table Tennis
Assistance in submitting non-rated results

USATT Affiliated Clubs are listed by state at www.usatt.org under the heading, “Clubs”.
USATT Affiliated Clubs are also encouraged to check the National Senior Games Association website, www.nsga.com, under the heading “State Games,” for listings of regional and state recreational Masters’ tournaments in your area. For USATT members over 50, recreational tournaments are not only fun, but USATT recommends that the USATT Clubs initiate contact with the organizers of these events to let them know of the new USATT non-rated sanction and to offer assistance in running the event.
USATT Affiliated Clubs are encouraged to get to know organizers of NSGA events and to invite participants of NSGA tournaments to the USATT non-rated sanctioned tournaments with USATT members and recreational players. The more interaction among the two organizations, the more participants, more financial revenue and organizational numbers for both groups.

We at USATT are excited about this new recreational component. USATT is in the process of working out ways USATT Clubs can take advantage of and benefit from this new senior recreational component. The Senior Masters Program is only the beginning of the development of a full range of recreational programs to be designed and implemented by USATT with the purpose of bringing more participants from the 14 million table tennis players in the United States into USATT activities.

For more information regarding the USATT non-rated tournament sanction, you can contact:

Felisa Huggins, Tournament Coordination Director, 719-855-4583 x 5, ratings@usatt.org

For general information about the Senior Masters Program, please contact:

Dana Schnell, Programs Director, 719-866-4583 x 6, programs@usatt.org