IDEAL Asia

1-Necessity of the development in Asia

Apparently Asia looks to be a very strong and developed Continent in table tennis as wins most world events. Asia gained 11 out of 12 medals at the Athens Olympic Games and 14 out of 16 medals at the 2005 WTTC in Shanghai. But is this success result of a unique development?

Let’s also have a quick comparison on share of Europe and Asia in top world 60 teams (ITTF Team Ranking – 2005):

MT	1-20 Teams	21-40 Teams	41-60 Teams	Total Percentage
Europe	15	11	10	%58
Asia	5	4	5	%23

WT	1-20 Teams	21-40 Teams	41-60 Teams	Total Percentage
Europe	10	14	9	%55
Asia	8	2	4	%23

The truth is all of Asia’s medals and world titles belong to few East Asian associations and there is a very wide gap between the level of table tennis in Far East and other parts of the Asia. In fact if we separate China and few other East Asian associations from the continent, the rest is quite undeveloped and weak in world table tennis stage.

ATTU is first formed continental federation and has lot of advantages such as reach background, very strong teams, very knowledgeable administrators and coaches etc.

All we need to do is to use what we have and to step forward for a unique development in all over the continent, therefore: Development is necessary

2- Main Objectives

The ATTU Development Plan is named “IDEAL Asia” and the objectives of this plan consist of five main directions. The summary of the plan and it’s objectives are as follow:

IDEAL Asia

Improvement (for national teams)

To improve the results of Asian associations in world events and to decrease the gap between the level of table tennis in Far East and other regions of the continent.

Development (for public)

To increase the popularity of our sport and to promote table tennis within the continent in general.

Economy (finance for the plan)

To find different solutions for financing the plan.

Administration (for smaller associations)

To help the smaller association to organize their own table tennis association, train their stuffs and to hold tournaments.

Link (among all members)

To make a proper link among all member associations, to keep them updated about the news and activities in different regions and to help them for better presence in ATTU and ITTF meetings.

3- Services offered in 2006-2008

3.1- ITTF Development Projects: The ITTF and ATTU will support up to 11 ITTF Development Projects during each of the years 2006, 2007 and 2008 in Asia. This will be based on all countries being offered a course on a needs and rotating basis over a number of years according to the ITTF course database.

ITTF Development Projects aim to leave the maximum possible legacy in each country and may include any or several of the following activities as per the needs and requests of the country and the skills of the Expert: Coach Education, Coach Education Course Presenter Training, Training Camps, Tournament Directors Courses, School Teacher In-services, Schools Clinics, assistance with Development Plans, liaising with NOC’s and Government Sports bodies on behalf of the country visited, assistance with Olympic Solidarity applications.

3.2- URC Courses: The ITTF/ATTU also offer two umpire courses per year for developing countries bellow the IU level (International Umpire level).

3.3- Equipment Assistance: The ITTF and ATTU will provide free table tennis equipment for up to 6 associations from developing countries in each of the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.

A plan will be put in place by ATTU to ensure all developing Asian countries have access to equipment assistance over a fixed number of years, and taking into consideration previous equipment assistance.

Also 20 ITTF Level 1 coaching manual will be provided for each of the ITTF-ATTU Development Projects and Olympic Solidarity Courses for free.

3.4- ITTF/ATTU Junior Scholarships: ITTF/ATTU will provide 8 Junior Scholarships annually. The scholarships will be provided to one boy and one girl from each region of Asia (excluding East Asia).

Selections will be based on the Asian Junior Championships and Regional Junior Championships.

The scholarships will be based on minimum of 30 days stay in China and include accommodation, meals, training and airfare subsidy.

3.5- World Cadet Challenge: ITTF provides up to $16,500. for the Asian team participating in World Cadet Challenge. This is based on the full participation of 11 team members (8 players, two coaches and one manager).