Five Nationwide Tournaments Will Crown Regional Champions and Serve as a Pathway for Free Entry into the 2023 US National Championships, as well as a Introduce New US National Team Championship

(Colorado Springs, CO – January 27, 2023) – USA Table Tennis (“USATT”) the national governing body for the sport of table tennis, which is celebrating its historic Ninetieth Anniversary in 2023, today announced that that the organization will open up bidding for USATT Member Clubs to host the US Regional Championships, which will provides an opportunity for participants to claim a Regional Title, as well as provide a pathway for free participation in the 2023 US National Table Tennis Championships. The US Regional Championships will also introduce a brand-new Team Event that will culminate with a US Team Championship at Nationals this July.

“We’re excited to offer a new and restructured Regional Championship event to our Affiliated Member Clubs this year,” said Chief Executive Officer Virginia Sung. “The 2023 US Regional Championships will not only offer a Regional Championship Title to the individuals who participate in the tournament but also will provide a pathway for the winners in each event to earn free entry into that same event at our National Championships in July. We’re also extremely excited to introduce a new Team Event where USATT will crown a five-member group representing one of our Member Clubs as the US National Team Champion.”

One USATT Member Club in each of five Regions will be selected to host the US Regional Championship Tournament. The United States will be divided into the following five Regions:

Northeast Region: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont;
Southeast Region: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia;
Southwest Region: Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah;
Midwest Region: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin; and
Pacific Region: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

Member Clubs in each Region are encouraged to submit their application to host the US Regional Championship as soon as possible. The deadline for application is Monday, February 20, 2023. The application for Member Clubs seeking to host a USATT Regional Championship Tournament can be found here: 2023 Regional Championships RFP.

The potential event offering for the US Regional Championships will be identical to the event offering in the Prospectus for the 2023 US Nationals. However, as with the Regional Qualifying Tournaments held over the past two years, each host club will be permitted to select and customize the events that are actually offered in their particular Region depending on the level of participation. The champion for each event that has six or more competitors at the Regionals will receive free entry into the US Nationals for that particular event. There is no limit on the number of events that a person can enter and win at the Regional level in order to receive free entry for that event into the 2023 US Nationals.

For the first time ever, the US Regional Championships will also introduce an event for teams representing USATT Affiliated Member Clubs that will ultimately lead to crowning a US National Team Champion. USATT Affiliated Member Clubs can enter a team (or teams) comprised of five persons, each of whom must list the Affiliated Member Club as their home club. The Team Event will be played in the best-of-five Olympic Teams System (ABC v XYZ). There is no limit on the number of teams that an Affiliated Member Club can enter into the Teams Event at the Regional Championships.

The Regional Team Champion from each Region will receive free entry into the Team Event at the US Nationals in July, and teams coming in second and third place at their respective Regionals will also be invited to participate the Team Event at Nationals. USATT also intends to invite to Nationals several “wild card” teams who participated in the Regional Teams Event but do not finish in the top three teams for their Region. At the Nationals, only those five players listed on a Team’s Roster for Regionals will be permitted to play for the US National Team Championship.

USATT will host a ZOOM Teleconference on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at 8:00 pm (US Central Time) to discuss both the (previously announced) 2023 USATT State Championships and the 2023 US Regional Championships: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86424295302?pwd=M1BTNkR6ZythSzZ3am5YNTV2U1RPZz09. The Meeting ID is: 864 2429 5302; and the Passcode is: 903467.

The US Regional Championship will be designated a 4-Star Event, and USATT is seeking to partner with host clubs that have the best possible tournament playing conditions and are willing and able to offer the greatest amount prize money for participants. USATT will provide marketing support to ensure the largest amount of participation possible in each state. The Regional Tournaments must be completed no later than June 1, 2023.

Questions regarding the USATT Regional Championship Tournaments can be sent to admin@usatt.org.

End.23 01-27a

USATT Opens Applications to Host Regional Championships

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