ITTF No.4 (Jan) Final (2023_01_12)

OCEANIA
Out of the Box Thinking
Eastland Shopping Centre
Seizing the bull by the horns,
in 2022 one international
tournament endorsed the
value of different thinking,
taking brave decisions, being
positive; the setting was not
the traditional sports hall,
nor a convention complex or
a spanking brand-new multisport
conglomeration, the
venue was a shopping centre.
Staged from Monday 5th to
Saturday 10th September, the
2022 ITTF-Oceania Senior and
Youth Championships were
held in the Eastland Shopping
Centre; the premises situated
in Ringwood on the outskirts
of Melbourne, very much
regarded as Australia’s sports
city.
Holding an international
event in such a location is not
new; in recent years Fashion
Island in Bangkok has been the
home for international events
organised by the Thailand
Table Tennis Association. Turn
the clock back to 1979, the
Norwich Union Masters was
played in a similar venue
in Milton Keynes, England;
in fact, at the time, parts
of the development were
still being built! Directed by
Mike Lawless, he had time to
prepare; the decision to stage
the tournament, won by the
late Dragutin Surbek, had been
taken over one year earlier. It
was very different for Barry
Griffiths, the Chief Executive
Officer for the Oceania Table
Tennis Federation and Event
Director.
Originally it was planned
to host the ITTF-Oceania
Championships in the
premises of the Croydon
and Districts Table Tennis
Association; the organisation
being located in Kilsyth,
likewise a Melbourne suburb.
“Post pandemic, I had the
opportunity to attend the
ONOC (Oceania National
Olympic Committee) General
Assembly in Fiji, where
I met Edwina Ricci, who
asked about what upcoming
events we had”, said Barry
Griffiths. “When I mentioned
the venue for the Oceania
Championships, she said this
was in her backyard and that
she may be able to help us;
Edwina then introduced me and
our President, Anthony Moore,
to the Eastland Shopping
Centre Community Relations
Manager, Jodie Murphy. We
eventually signed a deal with
Eastland to host with less than
three months until the event
start date.”
A brave decision, the onus
resting on the shoulders of
Barry Griffiths and his righthand
man, Ryan Wiegand;
he fulfilled the role of Events
Manager. They faced a
prodigious task.
“There were huge problems,
the floor wasn’t suitable, we
did not have access to sports
flooring; Eastland ground and
polished the floor, we were
then able to secure sports
flooring on loan from Enlio
out of China, it arrived in the
nick of time”, reflected Barry
Griffiths. “The back walls were
too light a colour, Eastland
painted all the walls black at
considerable expense, using
around 230 litres of paint,
the lighting did not meet
international requirements.
Eastland installed new lighting
to international standards with
guidance from Ryan Wiegand.”
Additionally, such items
as rooms, spectator seating
and data cabling had to be
installed.
Barry Griffiths
In Numbers
1.2 million reach across metro and community radio
6.3 million impressions across Google
8.3 per cent increase in centre traffic when
compared with 2019
21 countries broadcast live streaming
143 per cent increase on website visitors when
compared with last year
3,700 students took part in school demonstrations
12,561 seated spectators in the venue
16,332 devices streamed the event
171,095 minutes were watched
Players Supportive
Hats off to Barry Griffiths and
Ryan Wiegand, they delivered
the goods. The tournament
showcased the highest level
of table tennis in the region
to a new audience; it proved
an unmitigated success, one
significant reason being the
contribution of the players
themselves.
“We were able to open up
the front area to be visible
to shopping centre visitors”,
continued Barry Griffiths. “This
slightly impacted the players
in terms of lighting, they
were consulted; the players
were supportive and really
appreciated the opportunity
to show a larger and newer
audience what they could
do, they had put in hours of
hard work to prepare for the
event. In fact, many players
commented that they felt
like they were overseas at
an international event and
commented on how great the
experience was.”
Quite simply, everyone was
of one accord; the task was
to raise the profile of table
tennis in every respect. A
record equalling nine member
associations competed, over
12,000 spectators attended,
a training camp preceded the
event.
“The atmosphere was
incredible, many spectators
had never seen table tennis
played like this before;
Eastland provided players
with food vouchers to use at
the shopping centre, this was
well received by the players”,
stressed Barry Griffiths. “Live
streaming and live scoring
was completed on two tables
throughout the event, the main
table having two commentators
throughout; Channel 7+
broadcast the men’s and
women’s team finals as well as
the men’s and women’s singles
finals.
A successful six days
and there was a legacy,
following the tournament the
Eastland Shopping Centre
held a schools’ programme,
generously they invested
AUD$151,000 (approx:
US$101,000) into the event.
Now the task is to evaluate;
high on the Barry Griffiths
agenda is staffing, funding,
marketing, social media,
liaising with local schools,
establishing a partner
hotel, connecting with local
embassies and the Chinese
population.
“In future, there is the
possibility of having a show
court in the middle of the
shopping centre, which
would increase exposure of
the event; this would have
challenges with noise and
lighting, so would need to be
planned with care”, added
Barry Griffiths. “We need to
connect with local embassies
and Chinese communities;
our awards ceremony was far
too long; I think we need to
separate this and have awards
at the end of each age group.
The event scheduling was too
tight, we may need an extra
day.”
Appraising matters, Barry
Griffiths was most realistic
as he reflected on an
exhausting experience but
one in which the positives far
outweighed the negatives,
both the Oceania Table Tennis
Federation and the Eastland
Shopping Centre were
delighted with the outcome
Thinking differently, out
of the box, Oceania moved
forward.
42-ITTF Magazine
ITTF Magazine- 43