Commonwealth Games date for top referee Karen
HALTON will be represented at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this summer with the appointment of Karen Tonge MBE as table tennis referee.
She brings a wealth of experience to the role, including having served as competition manager when the Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester in 2002.
Karen will be officiating in both the standard and para table tennis events.
Alongside Halton Table Tennis Club chairwoman Karen, 18 English umpires will officiate at the games, joining another 18 from around the Commonwealth.
Cllr Mark Dennett (corporate services) said: “This is yet another feather in Karen’s cap. It is a fantastic honour and nobody deserves it more.”
Among the English umpires to have been selected is Dan Bullen, who will become the first ever wheelchair user to umpire at the table tennis and para table tennis competition.
Chris Newton, who has been co-ordinating the umpire training and selection process for Table Tennis England, said: “This is for sure our most diverse umpiring team at a major games.
“Table Tennis England has been working very closely with the Technical Officials’ Committee over the past three years getting this team qualified to the correct standard and then offering them sufficient ongoing CPD support to be ready and competent to deliver at the Games.
“I would like to thank all those established umpires and referees who have given their time to support our new batch of umpires on this journey and I look forward to seeing them perform in Birmingham this summer.”
Halton Table Tennis Club is based at the DCBL Stadium on Peel House Lane in Widnes.