A century ago, the United Kingdom controlled a quarter of the earth's land area. The British Empire was thus dubbed "the empire on which the sun never sets." While the British no longer hold sway over so much of the world, one vestige of their culture can be found in every inhabited continent. Table tennis, a British brainchild, is thriving the world over. This is thanks in no small part to the ITTF's High Performance and Development program. A few recent examples illustrate this phenomenon. In Tunisia, legendary player and coach Massimo Constantini recently led an eight-day training camp for African players under the age of 15. "I was able to monitor the quality of the sessions, which I have to say were at a very high level," said the venerable instructor. "Intensity, rhythm, speed, spin, placement, footwork, backhand, forehand, backhand transitions are the ingredients of a perfect table tennis cocktail.” In Kyrgyzstan,the Middle Asia Regional Hopes Week and Challenge recently saw nineteen children from five countries complete a six-day training program. Thai coach Parinya Nonsagate detailed the curriculum: "How to service and how to return services, push, half long, and backspin. We also practised how to return fast attacking play." Meanwhile, over in Jamaica, the ITTF and Jamaica Table Tennis Association have just concluded both an ITTF Level Two Course and Level Two Course Conductor Training. This development will empower the island nation to develop its own table tennis infrastructure, thereby promoting the development of the next generation. These grassroots development programs will always be remembered by those who were lucky enough to attend, and similar developments around the world will keep our sport expanding to new territories. Truly, the sun never sets on the table tennis empire.

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