Howard Table Tennis Centre, Olympic Trai...

Table Tennis

The Howard Table Tennis Centre in Medway is a £1million government-funded, purpose-built facility dedicated to table tennis.

The self-contained centre is located on the site of The Howard School Specialist Sports College. It operates independently of the school and can be made available to any visiting team 24 hours a day. We are affiliated to the English and Kent Table Tennis Associations and endorsed by Bribar, the British table tennis equipment supplier and located 30 minutes from the Olympic Park.

Since opening in 2005, the Howard has established itself as a centre of excellence for Table Tennis in the south east of England. Howard has a full-time manager, responsible for the day-to-day operation of the centre. All visitors are ensured a warm welcome from Steve Waud, who has experience of staging tournaments from community events to national Grand Prix competitions.

The centre is home to the Howard Table Tennis Club, which has developed good relationships with clubs across Europe and hosted four-day competitions involving European visitors. Four junior international players are members of the Howard Club and train at the centre, alongside a number of other top players who represent the county and the region.

The purpose-built centre, which has red multi-sport, plastic top-flooring on a sprung wooden base, has an extensive supply of the latest tables.

Other on-site facilities include changing rooms and showers, as well as a kitchen, a large lounge with a viewing gallery, a public address system and audio-visual playback equipment. Car parking is also available.

We are located 6.5km from Medway Park, the physical conditioning and sports science/therapy base for visiting athletes.
Teams training at the Howard Table Tennis Centre will be accommodated at the Universities at Medway. The campus is located 6.5km from the Howard Table Tennis Centre and will provide individual en suite rooms for all athletes and officials.

The universities also have a wide range of meeting and seminar rooms with integrated information, communications, video and audio technology. There is also a fully equipped restaurant, plus additional catering facilities within the accommodation.

Hosting experience
The Howard Table Tennis Centre is primarily a purpose-built training facility, which is also used extensively as a tournament venue.
The centre, used by the Kent County Table Tennis Association for county fixtures, regularly hosts the biggest tournaments in the region with more than 100 competitors.

The English Table Tennis Association is working with the centre to stage national level two tournaments at the centre.

The Howard Table Tennis Centre has hosted several two-day master classes led by John Hilton, former European Champion and world number five, and has welcomed visiting teams from European countries including the Czech Republic.

Sport facility specifications
Olympic sports
Table Tennis
Maximum lighting level : 500lux
Number of 14m x 7m play areas : 3
Number of ITTF approved tables : 18
Walls
Wall Colour: Blue
Wall Covering: Paint
Wooden Sprung FloorBack to top
General facilities
Sports Hall 1
Length of Sports Hall: 22m
Width of Sports Hall: 18m
Clear Height: 8.5m
Internal area of Sports Hall: 396m²