1) Get your team mates or a friend to enter with you
When you haven’t played a tournament before it’s always better to have a more experienced team mate or group of team mates to go with you. This way they will not only be able to keep you company, but they will also be able to support/coach you in matches. In general though being part of a team at a tournament always adds to the memories and the overall experience, and perhaps more importantly provides you with a shoulder to cry on if things don’t go your way.
2) Make sure you know where the venue is before you leave the house.
Table tennis tournaments, especially smaller ones, are notorious for being in awkward and hard to find venues. This is why before you leave you should always know as much as possible about the venue and its location.
3) Bring enough food and drink
Not all tournament have food you like on sale and sometimes don’t have any at all. This is why you must have all the food and drink you could possibly need with you, this way you can’t go wrong. If you can try and find out from the tournament organiser beforehand what food and drink will be available even better, but still pack your own food just in case.
4) Make sure you have everything with you
Imagine turning up to your first tournament only to realise that you haven’t packed your bat and it’s still at your house which is hours away from the venue. You then have all the pressure of playing your first tournament coupled with the fact you’ve had to borrow a bat you have never used before. Even if you forget something less important like your water bottle this is still added stress that you didn’t need in an already stressful situation.
5) Sign yourself in straight away
Most tournaments will require you to go to the organisers table to inform the tournament referee’s that you have arrived. They will also be able to provide you with plenty of other information and also handle any questions or queries you may have as soon as you arrive.
6) Find out when and where you are playing straight away
Once you’ve signed in its always important to find out when and where your matches are going to be. This information can normally be found in a tournament programme handed to you when you sign in or on a wall with all of the days match information.
7) Find a seat and set up camp
Once you are signed in and know where your first matches are find a chair and space in a central location to leave all of your belongings. It’s always good to have a smaller bag that you can take with you to your match table all of your essentials, bat, water bottle, towel, etc…
8) Don’t do things you haven’t done before.
Many people make this mistake at a tournament, even experienced players. It’s very easy to get caught up in the moment, think you’re Timo Boll and then start playing shots you have never even attempted before. This is a sure-fire way to lose to players that you really shouldn’t be losing to. The opposite can always happen as well, if you play too negatively you will give your opponent the opportunity to dictate the game and dominate you. This is why you must do your best to implement your game whilst still making the adjustments needed to beat your opponent.
9) Enjoy yourself, no one is expecting you to win your first tournament
This is your first table tennis tournament, don’t put too much pressure on yourself or expect too much. The two most important things you should be looking to gain from your first tournament is experience and enjoyment. Experience will help you in your next tournament and enjoyment will make you actually want to take part in one again. Of course you want to play as well as possible and win but in your first tournament these two outcomes are not as important as they will be a few tournaments down the line.
10) If you can stick around and watch the top players play
An often-overlooked reason as to why it is great to take part in your first table tennis tournament is the fact that there will almost certainly be players far better than you are competing. This gives you the perfect opportunity to see how they play, conduct and carry themselves etc… So, if you can stay behind after you are finished playing your matches and take in some higher-level table tennis. Chances are these players will have started in a very similar position to one you are in now so are the perfect people to learn from.
