Warehouse Centre, 7 Brook Road , Rayleigh, Essex , SS6 7UT

Friday Evenings 7.30pm – 9.30pm

  Southend and District Table Tennis League

Welcome Pack

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Welcome to Rawreth Juniors Table Tennis Club.

We offer table tennis coaching to girls and boys between 7 and 18 years old.

Our coaches and volunteers aim to teach the necessary skills for Juniors to be able to enjoy playing the game, have fun, and if they wish to, play in local leagues and local and national tournaments.

Included in this pack is all the information you need to know about the club.  Please read it thoroughly and complete any necessary forms and return them to the club on your next visit.

Look out for the  (document indicator symbol).  This is shown where there is a document that you need to sign ands return to us.

There is also a checklist at the back of the pack to help ensure you return all the necessary forms to us.

If you have any information on the club or the contents of this pack, please do ask.

We hope you find this information useful and very much look forward to you joining our club.

The lesson (coaching session) takes place on a Friday evening from 7.30pm – 9.30pm at the Warehouse Centre, 7 Brook Road Rayleigh, Essex , SS6 7UT . The venue boats 10 tables in our main room and 3 in our smaller room.

The session runs for two hours and costs £5.50 which is payable on the night.  Please ensure your Junior has the money with them and pays before the commencement of the lesson. 

The session will typically consist of some warm up exercises, concentration on specific stroke play/exercises and then conclude with some competitive match play and match scoring practice.

Dropping off and Collecting Juniors

Please ensure your Juniors are dropped off safely at the main hall.  The Warehouse Centre offers free car parking facilities.

Please also ensure that Juniors are collected by parents/guardians from the main hall at 9.30pm.  Their safety is our primary concern, but we cannot take responsibility for them if they are allowed to wander out of the hall at the end of the sessions into waiting cars.   

Conduct

We pride ourselves on the reputation we have for the conduct of our Juniors during table tennis matches and at tournaments.  Juniors will be encouraged to conduct themselves professionally.  We consider ourselves a team, therefore, for part of the session, abilities will be mixed.  Stronger players will be required to play with the less experienced players.  This helps to bring the less experienced players abilities up at a faster rate, it assists the stronger players with their feeding skills and consistency and encourages class interaction.    

We make the coaching sessions fun, informative and maximise the amount of table time they have.  We work hard to teach the Juniors the basics of the game and then build on those skills and improve their ability and matchplay. 

In return for this, we ask that the Juniors listen to the coaches, respect their knowledge and work hard during the session.  

In the event that a junior is disruptive to the coaching session or is behaving inappropriately, they will be spoken to during the session, or if necessary, we will discuss the behaviour with their parent/guardian.  We do reserve the right to ask a Junior to leave the club if their behaviour is inappropriate.

T-Shirts, Uniform/Kit

Once you have been with the club for 6 weeks, we feel that it’s an acceptable amount of time to ask that Juniors purchase a club shirt.  The t-shirts have an embroidered RJTTC logo.  They cost £12.00 (youth sizes 7 to 13-14) and then £15.50 (Adult sizes ‘Small’ and upwards).  Sample sizes are available to try on prior to you placing your order. 

 If you wish to place an order, please complete the club T-Shirt ordering form enclosed with this pack.

Along with your t-shirt there is a club kit.  All Junior’s should be wearing above knee navy shorts (or sports skirts for the girls if preferred), white socks and white trainers.  Please ensure that the trainers are light and suitable for indoor sporting activities.  Heavy clumpy ‘fashion trainers’ are not suitable as they restrict movement and can cause joint problems.  Tracksuit bottoms/tops of any colour may be worn for the warm up, but Junior’s will be asked to remove them for the coaching session.

There are specific companies who produce table tennis shoes and other clothing and equipment.  We strongly advise that you purchase correct footwear as they are designed specifically for table tennis.    There are often deals available on the different provider websites, so please refer to the Useful Links section of this pack for the providers’ details.

Emergency Contact Details

It is imperative that we have accurate emergency contact details for parent/guardians and details of any necessary allergies/medical information for the juniors in our care. 

 On your first session at the club, you will be given a Contact Information Form to complete.  Please ensure this is completed accurately, and updated should your Juniors emergency contact or medical information change. 

Player Registration (ETTA Connect)

The ETTA

In 2010, the ETTA (English Table Tennis Association) introduced Player Registration.  This means that if you are a member of an ETTA affiliated club (which Rawreth Juniors TTC is), you have to be registered with the ETTA to attend the coaching sessions.  Player Registration is required in the majority of sports, so table tennis was just catching up!  It costs approximately £4.00 per player and can be completed online. 

http://etta.tv/membership/

http://www.englishtabletennis.org.uk/

Or you can contact the ETTA and register over the telephone on 0845 0500 388.

Photography and Videography policies

 We have a videography and photography policy at RJTTC which we ask that parents/guardians sign when joining the club.  It gives the opportunity for parents/guardians to specify whether they allow or disallow their Juniors to have photographs/videography taken during the session.  It is quite rare for us to have these mediums in the sessions, but occasionally it is helpful for a Junior to see themselves on video if they are struggling to understand where they are going wrong with a particular shot and we take photographs of them at their annual presentation session in July.  The policy is reviewed annually to ensure it is inline with current legislation.

Fluids

During the session your Junior will get quite warm.  It is important that fluids are taken onboard during the evening.  Please ensure your Junior has a drink with them or money to purchase one from the vending machines in Warehouse Centre foyer.  There is a structured break during the session to have a drink, but breaks may be taken as required.

Vending machines and toilet facilities

As the vending machines are located outside the main hall, an adult will be present in the foyer area of the Warehouse Centre during the structured break.  We ask that if parents are providing their junior with money to use the vending machines that they do so during the structured break only.  We cannot be responsible for their safety if they use the machines outside of the structured break.

Please note that Juniors may not eat sweets/crisps etc whilst playing.

The toilet facilities are located outside of the main hall.  We ask that Juniors use the facilities during the structured break where possible.  However, if they need to use them during the session, they will watched from the door of the main hall to ensure they make it to and from the facility safely.

During the session your Junior will get quite warm, even with the airconditioing on.  It is important that fluids are taken onboard during the session.  Please ensure your Junior has a drink with them or money to purchase one from the vending machines in Warehouse Centre foyer.  There is a structured break during the session to have a drink, but you may take a break during the session if you need to.

Fire Safety

Classes are held in the Main Hall or the Youth Club of the Warehouse Centre at the above address.

In the event of a fire, an alarm will sound. 

Juniors and coaches should be asked to leave the hall at the fire exit to the rear of the hall and to meet at the fire assembly point located at the front of the building within the carpark.  In the event that this exits fails to open, they should leave the hall via the entrance which they enter the hall, down the corridor to the front of the building and make their way to the fire assembly point as mentioned above.

At the Fire Assembly point, Andy Nunn or Mel Jones (or the person designated to perform this role) should call an attendance register.  All Juniors and Coaches must remain at the Fire Assembly point until they are advised by the person calling the attendance register that they can either re-enter the buiding or leave. 

In the event that the building cannot be re-entered, parents/guardians will be contacted and asked to come and collect their Junior.  They should do so from the Fire Assembly point in the carpark at the front of the Warehouse Centre.  A member of RJTTC will remain with the group until all Juniors are safely collected.

First Aid

In the event of an accident/incident, First Aid will be provided by trained Warehouse Centre staff.

The incident and treatment will be logged on an Accident Report book on the Warehouse Centre reception.  Parents/Guardians will be informed of the accident/incident either when they collect their Junior or if necessary via telephone.  As necessary parents/guardians will be asked to come and collect their Junior.

In the event of a serious medical emergency, an ambulance will be called and a copy of their Emergency Contact Info form provided to paramedic/ambulance staff.  Parents/Guardians will be informed as soon as possible.

Communication

We try to offer as many routes for communication as possible.  If your Junior experiences any difficulty during the session, please let us know. 

The majority of the communication concerning the club is sent via email (in the form of a newsletter or bespoke email), or occasionally text messages, so please ensure that we always have your most up to date details. 

If you do not have an email account, please let us know and we will arrange for paper copies to be given out during the session.

We have an email is read every day, so please feel free to email us at rjttc@live.co.uk.

Each year we register teams into the Southend and District Table Tennis League (The SDTTL).  The SDTTL has two seasons, Winter (running from Sept to May) and Summer (running from June to July).  We also run friendly matches during the summer for those who are not strong enough for the League play, but who would benefit from building their confidence and who are looking towards competitive play.        

Matches are played in a two or three person team and sometimes include doubles matches.  Matches are usually played best of 5 sets, each set being played to 11 points.  They wukk be expected to score matches.  Further details will be given when your Junior is chosen to play League matches.

Home matches are played at the Warehouse on a Friday evening alongside the usual coaching session. Generally, Away matches are at venues in the Southend area (evenings may vary). Parents must take responsibility for their Junior at away matches.   If you are asked to play, you will be given a schedule and venue addresses in advance. 

Winter Season 2011, Juniors in Division 3 and 4 will play ALL matches at their HOME venue.

If you play a league match on a Friday evening, you will be asked to pay the usual £3.50 session fee for all matches played at home.  You do not have to pay for away matches.

  In order for Juniors to play in league matches we require parent/guardian consent.  Please complete the enclosed Consent form and return to us.

BATS

After approximately 6 weeks with us, parents/guardians should know whether their Junior wishes to continue to play table tennis.  At this time, we would ask that a bat is purchased for them.  Each Junior is different, so they may already have a good starter bat – please speak to one of the coaches to discuss this

Please do not just go to your local sports shop and buy one as the bats sold there are sub-standard for proper table tennis play and are a waste of your money. 

If you decide to purchase a new bat, please speak to one of the coaches first as there are many different types of bat rubbers and blades. 

A good starter bat is called the Tibhar Volcano Bat.  It is available from Table Tennis Direct.com  http://www.tabletennisdirect.com/products/info.aspx?product=tbvolcx

Website price (Aug 2011) £39.99.  If you contact Maria on 01304 369 996 or sales@tabletennisdirect.com, and mention our club name, she may be able to offer a small discount.

Additional Coaching

As there are very few places to attend table tennis coaching in the area, we try to offer as many opportunities to attend sessions as possible. 

If you would like to attend another club too, ask one of the coaches and they will give you details of other clubs locally available. 

As your play improves, County Coaching sessions offered by Hill Dowsett will be offered.  These are sessions offered on specific Saturday mornings through the year.  They are a three hour session run at the Coopers School in Upminster.  The cost of the session is £6.00.  During the sessions, Juniors pick up additional tips from different coaches.  They also offer further table time against players that you will not be used to playing against or training with, so well worth attending.  Dates will be issued out via email.

BAMGOFS

Juniors will hear the phrase BAMGOFS occasionally.  This stands for Bring A Mate Get One Free Session.  Simply introduce a friend that is interested in playing table tennis (and they must have a genuine interest) and you receive your training session that week free - your mate still pays though!  We have found this to be very successful in bringing new players into the club.

Session Attendance

We ask that once you have joined the club, you attend every week if possible.  We cannot stress enough the importance of attending regularly. Certain concepts/strokes are taught every few weeks, so if weeks are missed here and there, it may be some time before that concept is covered again.  We appreciate that it may not always be possible to attend every week, but it is so important to attend as often as possible. 

Our Committee

We do have a Rawreth Juniors TTC committee who manage the club and work on initiatives to continue to provide the Juniors with the most effective coaching possible.  If you are interested in joining the committee or finding out a little more about what we do, please do ask one of the Coaches.

Fundraising Events

Our coaching sessions are all volunteer led.  We do occasionally run fundraising events to generate profits into the club that are then ploughed back in again.  We use the money to purchase new equipment (bats, balls/nets/tables etc).  When we do arrange a fund raising event, we do ask that you come along and support us if you can.

  Tournaments

As your Junior improves, they will be given the opportunity to enter local league tournaments.  These include local one star tournaments and the annual Essex Assessment Trials, both held at the BATTS table tennis Centre in Harlow .  An email will be sent out inviting you to attend these. 

Tournaments are good fun, great experience and an opportunity to play against people that you haven’t done so before.

Useful Links

English Table Tennis Association   

www.englishtabletennis.org.uk

Bribar (table tennis equipment and clothing provider)

www.bribartt.co.uk

Thorntons (table tennis equipment and clothing provider)

thorntonstabletennis.co.uk

Table Tennis Direct (table tennis equipment and clothing provider)

www.tabletennisdirect.com

Southend and District Table Tennis League

www.sdttl.info

BATTS

www.batts.org.uk

Other bits to be included

SafeGuarding Children and a Child Protection policy – need clarity as to whether we need to se the ETTA’s one or whether we have to have our own policy and procedures relating to the club.

Physical contact

  Document Checklist

Please refer to this checklist to ensure you return all the necessary documents for your Junior.

q   T Shirt Ordering Form

q   Contact Information Form

q   League Match Consent Form

q   Photography and Videography Consent Form