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BRUCE
BURTON JOINS THE ITTF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
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Twillingate,
NL, native Bruce Burton is the newest member of the International Table Tennis
Federation's Executive Committee. International table tennis has experience a
dramatic make-over under the presidency of another Canadian, Adham Sharara. Mr.
Sharara moved on from his post as President of the ITTF to that of the newly
created ITTF Chair. The ITTF's BOD filled this vacancy with Mr. Sharara's long
time supporter, former table Tennis Canada president, Bruce Burton.
In
a recent interview, Burton commented on Adham Sharara's presidency and his
impact on table tennis on the international stage: "Adham has
professionalized our federation to the point that now we can realistically aim
for Top 5 status [among the Olympic summer sports.] The increase in activity, in
professional staff, and the growth in competitions and revenues generated speak
to the impact his vision has had."
Mr.
Burton has an impressive resumé when it comes to his involvement in table
tennis:
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President of the NL Table Tennis Association (12 years between 1974 - 1988)
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Treasurer of the Canadian Table Tennis Association (1979 - 1983)
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Chairman of the Board of the Canadian Table Tennis Association (1989 - 1994)
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President Table Tennis Canada (1994 - 2010)
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Member of the ITTF BOD (1995 - 2014)
•
North American Table Tennis Union President (1997 - 2014, with interruption)
•
Chairman of the Jury, London Olympic Games
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Member of the ITTF Executive Committee (as of September 1, 2014)
Returning
from a guest lecture at Beijing's Sport University, Mr. Burton laid out his
plans for his new position. Part of his responsibility will be to act as the
liaison to the North American Table Tennis in the ITTF Executive Committee; to
that end, he makes the promotion of table tennis in North America his priority:
"There is no doubt in my mind that our biggest contribution has to be in
the area of promotion. With the recent growth of table tennis in North America,
our continent has shown its potential as a huge market for table tennis. The
challenge is to break through the barriers posed by the major professional
sports that dominate television coverage as well as marketing
possibilities."
When
asked how he proposed to improve promotion in North America, Mr. Burton
elaborated, "We first must raise the level of the presentation of our
sport and to that end we are already working closely with the ITTF Marketing
Department to do exactly that for our major continental events."
"I
believe that we also need to host more high-level ITTF events and that will, in
part, provide our top athletes with the valuable exposure to elite table tennis
that they need. That, along with a serious proposal to start a North American
league will hopefully generate a talent pool that will make our marketing and
promotion efforts more attainable."
"We
are proud to have Bruce join the ITTF Executive Committee, and we will of
course invite him to our planning meetings whenever possible," commented
David Jackson, President of Table Tennis Canada, on his predecessor's rise to
the highest governing committee in the International Table Tennis Federation.
The
ITTF has 220 national member associations.
The
ITTF's main office is located in Lausanne, Switzerland.
website: www.ittf.com
For
additional information, please contact
media@ttcan.ca