2015 is set to be a landmark year for the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), with a record amount of prize money, exposure, participation levels, as well as development and training programs reaching new heights.
The overall prize money at ITTF events in 2015 hits US$3,570,000, which is the most in the history in a calendar year for the ITTF.
The GAC Group 2015 World Tour, which will see the world's best players travel to 22 stops around the world, including new events at North Korea and Bulgaria, will reach a record prize money pool of US$3,000,000. The rest of the massive prize pool will come from the World Team Cup held in January this year, Women's World Cup and the LIEBHERR Men's World Cup, which will both be held in October.
The QOROS 2015 World Table Tennis Championships, to be held in Suzhou, China on 26 April - 3 May, will be the most watched table tennis event of all time, with a record TV distribution and online streaming presence expected to see the 150 national associations compete.
The ITTF is set to become only the third International Federation to pass 1,000,000 social media fans, with only 20,000 more fans across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Weibo needed to reach the milestone.
ITTF's Development and Education program, which has gone from strength to strength, is set to go to new heights with the inaugural World Table Tennis Day being launched on 6 April 2015 at Mt Everest.
At the 2015 AGM, the ITTF is lined up to become the number one International Sports Federation in terms of membership reaching 221 with the addition of Sao Tome Principe. This goes a long way achieving one of the ITTF Development Program's key guiding principles - to have table tennis played in every corner of the world.
The tension amongst the players will be high in 2015, as the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games starts! The first event the players can earn their golden ticket to Rio is the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan in June.
All these exciting factors, plus many more surprises to come makes 2015 definitely a year to get excited about!
For any other questions or queries, please contact ITTF's Promotion Manager Matt Pound at mpound@ittfmail.com.
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