"The future cannot be predicted," wrote Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dennis Gabor in 1963, "but futures can be invented." One such forward-thing inventor got her start some time in the past, in what is now called Slovakia. A standout table tennis player from a young age, Luba Sadovska played for the Slovak national junior team. Eventually, life took Sadovska west, crossing continents and an ocean before settling at the intersection of the second continent and a second ocean. Six years ago, Sadovska founded the North Shore Table Tennis Club (NSTTC) in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. Her club is noted for promoting accessibility and inclusion. "I coach many table tennis programs in our club, from kids to youth, seniors classes, wheelchair table tennis classes, Happy Hands Adapted Table Tennis program, to women and girls in table tennis programs," explains Sadovska. "Table tennis has numerous benefits for the mind, body and soul." Indeed, the club prioritizes both equity and equality. The NSTTC website features a page about "Gender Equ(al)ity TT," explaining the distinction as follows: "equality = the end goal, equity = how we get there." Sadovska's students have flourished in a wide range of events, from juniors gaining national exposure to seniors bringing home hardware from the provincial games. Now, Sadovska's efforts have been recognized at the viaSport Coach of the Year awards, emerging from over 100 nominations to be named B.C.’s Community Coach of the Year. "I’m a passionate promoter of the sport of table tennis," said Sadovska. "The sport is my passion and my job that I absolutely love." Through her passionate commitment to equity and equality through table tennis, Luba Sadovska has substantiated Gabor's hypothesis by inventing the future she wanted to see.

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