ETTU Webinar Empowers Female Umpires With Career Advice, Networking

The second female-only webinar for umpires drew more than 50 active participants and put a hard question at the center of European table tennis officiating: how do women move from learning the craft to earning the biggest assignments? Organized by the ETTU Umpires and Referees Committee, the session brought together four umpires, including two highly experienced officials and two Gold Badge umpires, to talk through careers that stretched from local events to the Olympic Games.

What made the format land was its mix of practical detail and lived experience. Participants shared real-life examples, career reflections and advice that younger umpires could use immediately, especially in a role that often feels solitary once the match starts. The strongest takeaway was not just the panel itself, but the room around it. The networking element gave women a place to speak openly about the pressures and opportunities that shape officiating, and ETTU vice presidents described the conversation as open, candid and inspiring. The positive comments during the webinar, as well as the feedback received afterward, showed that female umpires truly value having a space for networking and sharing their stories and challenges.

The event also fits into a clear ETTU timeline. The first women-only webinar was announced on May 8, 2025 and held on June 8, 2025, lasting 60 minutes. That session opened with remarks from ETTU Deputy General Secretary Galia Dvorak and featured Celeste Araújo of Portugal, a Gold Badge Umpire who has officiated at the Olympic Games, Jovana Miljković Vlaški of Serbia, described by ETTU as a Blue Badge Umpire, and Emma Persson of the ETTU Gender Equality Committee, who introduced the Women in Table Tennis project. It was built to support women who were already in umpiring and those curious about entering it, and it created a safe space for questions about balancing travel, family, work and personal life.

ETTU had already tested that model before. Its 2023 female match officials webinar featured Kerstin Duchatz, Klara Duskova, Patricia Maiz Calle and Milena Uchmanowicz, while a December 2021 session drew 65 participants from 26 countries, including China, Singapore and Iran, with Ina Jozepsone, Rebecca Bergfeldt, Kerstin Duchatz and Elena Semenova on the panel. Those earlier events stressed a familiar theme in officiating: role models matter, and confidence grows when less experienced officials can see a path forward.

That is why this webinar matters beyond one afternoon on Zoom. ETTU created its Gender Equality Committee in 2020 and has said women remain underrepresented across the sport. With 58 member associations across Europe, the union has a wide reach, and the women-only umpiring sessions suggest a practical talent pipeline, not just symbolic inclusion. The real test now is whether more women take the leap into Blue Badge and Gold Badge tracks, and whether Europe’s biggest tables keep seeing more female officials on the biggest stages.