"Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance," said author and "inclusion strategist" Vernā Myers. Currently, the world of table tennis is developing its own inclusion strategies. At the world level, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has declared every April 6th to be World Table Tennis Day, sponsoring fun and games involving hundreds of thousands of people around the world. The ITTF has also gone "all in" on its new global marketing plan, World Table Tennis (WTT). The aim of WTT is explicitly commercial, seeking to get as many eyeballs as possible glued to their screens of choice around the world. By expanding their audience, the ITTF hopes not only to increase its revenue but also to attract new players from underrepresented regions of the globe (i.e. everywhere that is not Europe or East Asia). To its credit, the ITTF has long worked toward diversity and inclusion around the world through a variety of humanitarian missions. In 2018, the ITTF Foundation was created "to promote and use table tennis for purposes of development and peace," said ITTF President Thomas Weikert, adding that "social responsibility and recreation are linked by the passion for table tennis." While the ITTF works to expand the big tent, many of its 226 constituent member nations are actively campaigning to attract more people inside. In the Netherlands, for instance, the Dutch Table Tennis Association (NTTB) is launching "Heel Holland Tafeltennist!" ("The Great Dutch Table Tennis Drive," just in case your Dutch is a tad rusty). According to Marthijn van der Wal, head of sports participation for the NTTB, "We will help the clubs find those ping pong players. The trick is to offer not just a table, but to make ping pong players feel welcome and at home." Meanwhile, across the pond, USA Table Tennis (USATT) is making similarly spirited strides toward inclusiveness. On January 1st, USATT added a "Basic" yearly membership for $25 (compared to $75 for the Pro Plan) to attract more recreational players. While the discounted membership may get more people in the door, there still remains the issue of making people feel at home once inside. Toward this end, the USATT has just announced today the creation of a six-member "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee." Those interested in serving on the committee may express their interest via the link below. Despite the challenges we have all endured in the last year, the table tennis tent continues to expand. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy, the Olympics and the first-ever World Championships in the Western Hemisphere (Houston, more specifically), all scheduled for 2021, we must make the most of the opportunity to invite as many people as possible to the party. Now, who wants to dance?

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