As his Deputy Chairman candidate,   I have been asked by Alan Ransome to comment on some of the other points made by Alex Murdoch.

 My first theme is  Development  as it is a cause of great importance to me  both locally as a volunteer Development Officer at   Premier Club , League and County level and nationally as a member of National Development Committee as representative of British Universities ..

1  Alex  Murdoch states   “12 new facilities  or upgrades  over last six years and further investment sums have been awarded”
 If facilities are a priority, then why did  Management Committee decide that the full time post of National Facilities Officer should deliberately remain vacant over the past year since the regretted  departure of Paul Baker  with  the only cover apparently  being a consultant. There are many opportunities working with  partnerships  arising from government initiatives but these need  fostering .If the professional  full time permanent  help is not available , what kind of message does this convey ?   I am left wondering what was Management Committee’s  higher priority ?

 2   Alex Murdoch states “ 9  Regional Development Officers   are in place “   
This system  was the product of a major initiative led by Alan in 1992 which was one of the forerunners for all sports . However   do the RDO ‘s  now have the right focus ?   Do they get to see the Leagues enough?   Could the local table tennis community benefit more ?

The comparison with Badminton is extremely  illuminating ; in my county , they have a  part time county development officer working to a regional manager.  For table tennis , our Regional  Development Officer has to cover 26 leagues in 5 counties over massive distances and there are far larger regions in terms of  players and distances than ours. This places so much of the development effort on volunteers ;  as a   voluntary  County Development Officer , I have been blessed with   great co-operation from a dedicated  small band of  colleagues and much has been achieved -  but it is inevitably  fragile.  Should there be such a difference between the 2 sports? Why are not Assistant Regional Development Officers  being considered for at least some areas ?

3   What  about the important issue of working with partners locally?
 It is crucial  for development  officers to work with the  various local  Partnerships  in schools , colleges and communities. The relationship between local authorities , schools and national governing bodies is vital  . To seek out and deliver within the programmes on the government agenda requires  local initiative and where it happens- as I have seen locally-   it can bring many rewards.   This year our county schools championships had an entry  double last year at over 110. These programmes should of course be linked  into  clubs and leagues  to ensure an appropriate pathway.  My work on and with the County Sports Partnership shows the importance of professional input at this level.

Mike Smith           
Deputy Chairman candidate in support of Alan Ransome