ITTF Foundation Handbook Aims to Strengthen Table Tennis Health Initiatives Worldwide

The ITTF Foundation has positioned health and well-being at the core of its global table tennis agenda, commissioning a practical step-by-step handbook designed to help everyone from club coaches to health professionals use the sport as a vehicle for healthier, more inclusive communities.

The "Table Tennis for Health & Well-Being Handbook" sits at the center of the Foundation's declared central theme for 2026–2027 and is intended to reach a broad spectrum of the table tennis world: ITTF Member Associations, Continental Federations, World Table Tennis Day Promoters, coaches, clubs, and sport for development actors worldwide. The Foundation describes its ambition in direct terms: "This global resource will be designed to inspire, guide, and empower everyone to use table tennis as a tool for healthier, more active, and more inclusive living."

The handbook is planned for a two-phase launch, with the Foundation having anticipated a budget of €7,000–10,000 to cover both phases. To produce it, the ITTF Foundation issued a call for proposals from experienced consultants, setting a submission deadline of 27 September 2025 at 17:00 CEST, with proposals directed to info@foundation.ittf.com. The selected consultant was to work from a detailed timeline covering draft submissions, reviews, and graphic design cycles, jointly agreed upon with the Foundation. One source also references collaboration with academic partners, though that detail was not confirmed in the Foundation's procurement materials.

The philosophical foundation underpinning the project is clear from the Foundation's own language: "Health and Well-Being are universal human rights and essential for building resilient, inclusive communities."

On the ground, momentum for the initiative has been building through the Foundation's promoter network. The ITTF Foundation Health Team recently led the second WTTD 2026 Promoters Workshop, which brought together 37 Promoters from around the world. The session focused on translating the global Health & Well-Being theme into concrete local event programming, with participants exploring ways to integrate physical activity, mental well-being, brain health, nutrition awareness, and social connection into their World Table Tennis Day celebrations.

World Table Tennis Day falls on 23 April, with the 2026 edition shaping up as a focal point for the health initiative. The Foundation has been rallying its promoter community ahead of that date, describing the combined effect of the handbook and workshop program as making "World Table Tennis Day 2026 healthier and more impactful than ever."

The scope of the handbook's intended reach underscores how seriously the Foundation is treating this as infrastructure, not just messaging. By building a resource that serves national associations, federation-level bodies, individual coaches, community event organisers, and health professionals simultaneously, the Foundation is attempting to create a shared framework that can scale from a local club session to a national member association program. Whether that ambition is fully realized will depend on the rollout of both phases and how deeply the promoter network integrates the handbook's guidance into their 23 April events and beyond.

The ITTF Foundation is headquartered at Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 04109 Leipzig, Germany, and can be contacted at info@foundation.ittf.com.