ITTF Foundation Calls on Clubs to Share World Table Tennis Day Moments

The ITTF Foundation is asking clubs, schools, community groups and national associations to treat World Table Tennis Day as more than a one-day celebration: register the event, film it, photograph it and upload the best moments so the sport’s everyday energy can travel beyond the hall. World Table Tennis Day falls on 23 April, and organisers have until 23 May 2026 to send raw footage and images that could be used in the official report, on the Foundation’s website and social channels, and in the highlight video.

World Table Tennis Day has been marked every April since 2015, with 23 April chosen to honour Ivor Montagu, the organiser of the first World Table Tennis Championships in 1926 and the founder and first president of the ITTF. The 2026-2027 theme is Health & Well-Being, a shift that fits the Foundation’s push to show table tennis as a social habit, not just a competition. The timing also lands in the ITTF’s centenary year, marking 100 years since the federation was founded and since the first world championships in London in 1926.

The Foundation’s message to organisers is practical. Capture the real stuff: friendly tournaments, inclusive sessions, creative activities, the crowd reactions, the quick high-fives and the moments when a newcomer finally lands a rally. For a club trying to recruit juniors, land local recognition or give a sponsor a reason to back the next session, that is the material most likely to move beyond the sport. The submission request is just as specific, asking for authentic files without music, filters or graphics so the people and the atmosphere stay front and centre.

Last year’s numbers show why that matters. World Table Tennis Day 2025 produced 845 celebrations worldwide and 102,324 participants, with activity stretching across 146 countries and territories in one report and 143 in another. Four countries joined for the first time: Benin, Dominica W.I., Equatorial Guinea and Gambia. The main celebration in Nairobi, Kenya, at Nairobi City Hall with Vision Changers Kenya brought together an inclusive mixed doubles tournament, cultural performances and a panel with Petra Sörling, Andrew Mudibo, John Baraza, Titus Oketch and Habib Omar.

For 2026, the headline celebration is heading to Kapadwanj, Gujarat, India, with Kapadwanj Kelavani Mandal and the Dani Sports Foundation. The Foundation says KKM is leading Smash Barriers: Every Table is a Playground as a TT4Change project tied to UN SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities, while the wider promoter network includes 34 Promoters from 24 countries and territories. A separate fundraising drive says the Foundation has already supported 36 Promoters from the same spread and wants to fund 10 more by 23 April 2026, with every €700 raising the chance for one more local WTTD initiative to come to life. Good documentation is now part of the event itself, because the best local stories can become the sport’s global record.