QIC’s Eastland Shopping Centre is playing host to the 2022 International Table Tennis Federation Oceania Senior and Youth Championships this month – the first time in International Table Tennis Federation Oceania history that the tournament will take place in an Australian shopping centre.
The five-day tournament launching on September 5th at Eastland features more than 100 professional Senior and Youth Table Tennis players competing to win a spot at the World Championships taking place in South Africa next year.
Athletes from more than ten countries have travelled to Eastland Shopping Centre to compete in the tournament, including championship teams from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Vanuatu and PNG. Throughout the duration of the tournament, it is estimated that 150 athletes and officials will travel to Melbourne, spending their competition days at the Ringwood Town Centre.
Greg Balmforth, General Manager at Eastland said: “We are honoured to be hosting the first ever International Table Tennis Federation Oceanian Championship to be held in a shopping centre. We have long-standing relationship with many sporting associations and leagues in the east and we are thrilled to extend this to Table Tennis.”
“It’s our top priority to provide a safe and inclusive place to enable everyone at any age to have a positive experience and with the ITTF mantra of ‘Table Tennis For All For Life’ it felt like a natural fit to work together.
“Hosting an international event marks the start of something new, not just for Eastland but Ringwood too. Together with the support of our community partners, we hope to make Eastland a true Town Centre,” said Balmforth.
The 2,000m2 table tennis championship arena is situated on level 2 of the centre. Patrons wanting to watch the tournament will be granted entry free of charge for the competition period.
Barry Griffiths, CEO at ITTF-Oceania said: “We are thrilled to be staging the 2022 Oceania Senior and Youth Championships at such a unique location in Eastland Shopping Centre. After a two-year hiatus, the return of our Oceania Championship is being welcomed by table tennis federations across the Oceania region with at least eight countries set to compete.
“We thank the team at Eastland Shopping Centre for embracing our vision to showcase our sport to the many visitors to this amazing destination.
“The winners of our Oceania Championships will secure a spot at the ITTF Youth World Championships in Tunisia later this year and the ITTF World Championship Finals in South Africa in 2023 and the competition will be fierce. If you haven’t seen world-class table tennis live, be sure to come to Eastland and watch our Oceania athletes compete at this prestigious event,” said Griffiths.
In a first for the International Table Tennis Federation Oceania, a broadcast partnership with live and on-demand sports streaming network, Clutch TV, will launch, allowing the tournament to be live-streamed globally.
This will be the first time in International Table Tennis Federation Oceania history that the tournament will take place in an Australian shopping centre, highlighting how truly unique a partnership of this nature is.
Eastland is also playing an active role in supporting the International Table Tennis Federation Oceania Senior and Youth Championship, coordinating an array of engaging events and activities giving visitors the chance to win a share of $20,000 in prizes.
