Mark Smith Table Tennis

12/03/2026

2022 Alkmaar team champions Kring Primary School are still showing strong TT skills and a positive competitive nature!

Thankyou Ruby, their brilliant role model sports teacher and also Ping Pong Alkmaar for partnership financing.

De Kring are strong contenders again in the upcoming 2026 team competition, as well as De Fontein school, also very competitive players.

Lots more primary schools also have a chance. It just takes 4 kids who love TT and can play on the table in their own school yard!

10/03/2026

Top TT activities day at Jac P Thijs School this morning. Thank you Agustin from Ping Pong Alkmaar for doing a great job on the forehand top spin demo. 🥳

14/11/2025

Brilliant trip to Bradford recently to support the re-emerging Bradford Fastbats Table Tennis Club. A joint venture with Colin Li, Owen Li, David Adams and myself Mark Smith.

We took a trip up to Middlesbrough also with Colin and Alfie (young coach at Keighley TT centre) to see Ormesby TTC in action! It was amazing! Head coach Carole Moore as inspiring as ever with her high intensity training and top junior players!

A quick training visit also to Pudsey Table Tennis Club in Leeds to train with legend coach Peter Thompson and upcoming his top junior Luke Speight.

The trip was topped off perfectly with being able to coach the new young players at Dixons Acedemy and bringing them into fastbats TTC.

It was their first ever schools match against Oakbank and Bradford Forster Academy and they finished drawing joint top with Bradford Forster Academy! Great result boys!

05/10/2025

Fun training down at TSTZ Haarlem today! Those players are getting fitter, faster and more spinny!

30/09/2025

Brilliant week together with Colin and Alfie giving taster sessions in schools in Keighley and Bradford.

The pupils (and their teachers) loved it and wanted to test their skills in matches against other schools.

This is right now being arranged!

A big thanks to Keighley Table Tennis Centre for supporting this project to introduce more junior players to the centre.

With Colin and Alfie’s knowledge and enthusiasm for coaching you guys are in good hands! 🙌

It was fantastic also to re-launch Bradford Fast Bats at Colin and my old school Dixons (Rhodesway) Allerton, Bradford.

Looking forward to giving a day of training to new players from Dixons as well as keen junior players across Keighley and Bradford.

24/06/2025

After many years of hearing how brilliant the Veterans World and European Championships are it was wonderful to go to Novi Sad, Serbia to experience playing in my first European Championships representing Holland.

As well as catching up with my junior doubles partner Andy Wilkinson it was also great to catch up with many players I haven’t seen for 20 + years.

Novo Sad is a vibrant small city, very friendly local folk.

It felt like yesterday I last played doubles with Andy, our game clicked instantly. Reaching the quarterfinals was very nice, next time it would be awesome to get to the final day where the spectators made it fever pitch!

In the singles event I progressed beating players from Portugal, Germany and Sweden and who should I play in the first round Andy Wilkinson! After a nervy game I managed to scrape through to then get knocked out by a very strong Polish chap apparently the number 2 seed.

The next euros is in 2 years in Riga, Latvia, that sounds like a great plan!

08/04/2025

Great few days at Brighton Table Tennis club running the marathon for the Sanctuary runners, very inspiring group of people! It was super also to run with William Mattingley, former Ping Pong Alkmaar junior player now at Brighton University.

It was the perfect weekend with being able to watch a brilliant British Premier League match between Brighton TTC and Batts TTC. It was played in a stunning venue ‘The Corn Exchange’ after the marathon.

Thank you very much everyone at BTTC, Sanctuary runners. Also a big thanks to Linsey and Harry Fairchild who last Thursday came across to The Iffley Academy School, Oxford, to help give a day of table tennis.

My nephew Amos and all the students really enjoyed a trying out the game, and the school are now interested to have a few more tables, great news!!

13/03/2025

Everyone welcome to come along to my new community table tennis training at the Stek basisschool, Overdie, Alkmaar.

Age range - 2 to 102 years young!

26/02/2025

26/02/2025

Bedankt Thomas, Maria, Maartje and the Regenboog basisschool voor een geweldige dag lessen gisteren.

15/01/2025

Very enjoyable training session for the pupils of de Viaan special school, Alkmaar.
Thanks to SportZ charity who provide sporting activities for vulnerable groups of people, for organising these table tennis trainings.