Welcome to a new year. I hope everybody had a restful break and enjoyed a wonderful holiday period, especially with the 3rd phase of the re-opening happening on 28 December 2020!
The year 2020 has been an unfortunate year for the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At STTA, we, too, have encountered extreme challenges that have never happened in the almost 90 years of our existence! But STTA is coping with the COVID-19 pandemic as best as it can. STTA closed its office and suspended all its programmes in March 2020. We re-opened in Phase Two.
Our training, local and international tournaments have halted since February – March 2020, when travel was discouraged and subsequently banned altogether. Nonetheless, our team was committed to doing all we can to keep everyone safe. The management and staff acted swiftly on all advisories of our Government and proactively implemented a range of precautionary measures to keep our athletes, coaches and employees safe. I am pleased to share that with all prescribed safety measures in place, our training programmes are now back in full swing and our national athletes have stepped up their training and competing overseas.
The STTA brought back its first local tournament – The Crocodile Challenge Cup from 14 to 20 December 2020, as it was postponed due to the Government’s implementation of the COVID-19 measures earlier this year. The Crocodile Challenge Cup Finals was graced by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health and it received a record number of primary school entries. The STTA also organized several table tennis camps during the November/ December 2020 School Holidays to re-ignite the passion that was being suppressed for too long!
The STTA is confident that despite the crisis, the demand for table tennis events continues to soar. Thus, STTA hopes to resume more sporting events for the local table tennis fraternity in the near future.
Year 2021 will be a special year for STTA. We are excited about the deferred 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Our women’s team has qualified for the team event. In addition, Yu Mengyu and Feng Tianwei would be playing in the singles event.
As for our men players, they are looking forward to the 2021 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament and they are determined to win their chance to qualify for the Singles event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Our paddlers are resolutely looking forward to compete in the world’s epic event and we invite you to give your strong support to Team Singapore to achieve their Olympic dream!
The STTA will also be celebrating its 90th Anniversary in Year 2021. We have a 90th anniversary logo to accompany the celebrations that will take place throughout the year. This new logo, especially designed for the anniversary, reflects the theme “Coming Together’’.
We encourage everyone to join us in our upcoming celebrations. The 9 decades of our illustrious past will lead us towards renewing our objectives, implement new projects and meet new challenges. Let us all come together and embrace the new challenges ahead of us, particularly in a post COVID-19 pandemic world!
The STTA will kick start the 90th Anniversary Celebrations with a joint event with Mediacorp Radio Station Capital 95FM. We will be organizing a drive-through goodie bag give away on Saturday, 30th January 2021. We will share more details nearer to the event date. So, follow us on our social media platforms to get more instant updates.
Finally, I would like to thank our supporters, sponsors, athletes and their families for their continuous support. I also would like to thank my management committee and staff for their commitment and dedication in these unprecedented times.
As we embark on an exciting new year, I happily extend my very best wishes to everybody for good health, success and prosperity in 2021!
Thank you!
