Initiatives pay off for table tennis boss
Table Tennis president Anna King has been recognised for leadership. <em>Photo: Supplied.</em>
When table tennis player Anna King took over as president of the Nelson sports code this year, she set out to foster inclusivity and community engagement.
Anna did it so well that just eight months later she has been presented with the annual Leadership Award by Table Tennis NZ.
While the Te Whatu Ora physiotherapist was surprised at the acknowledgement, her predecessor wasn’t.
“It was very well deserved, Anna works hard,” declares former Table Tennis Nelson president Mark Nalder.
A busy year included taking a team to success at the first ever Ping Pong Parkinson national tournament in September and staging the New Zealand Table Tennis Championships at the Nelson indoor netball complex a month later.
Getting high school students, with intellectual impairments, to have a go at table tennis was another highlight.
“Through the Special Olympics group, we had 16 or 17 kids from Nayland College and they loved it. Especially the social side”, enthuses Anna, who devotes Thursdays and Friday to her table tennis commitments at the Saxton Field base where she heads a band of volunteers. And after 28 years, she hasn’t lost her passion for playing the game.
“It is a sport you can just dip in and out of and play forever.”