Representatives of the city, the region, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports ,and of course the management of the Czech Table Tennis Association were invited to the grand opening. 

Athletes have been training at the new National Table Tennis Training Center from the end of June 2020, mainly using the indoor sports ground under strict hygienic conditions. In July, the women’s national teams from Poland and Hungary, as well as the men’s team from Austria, joined everyone else at the center.

The first tournament to take place in this new hall was in August when Natalia Partyka from Poland, Maria Migot from France and Neven Cegnar, Development manager of European Table Tennis Union were all spotted getting involved.

Complete facility in Czech Republic

The management of the association has been talking about the construction of the National Training Center for many years. This had become a necessity for further improvement of the training of athletes – not only of the Havířov club, but especially for national team camps of all categories.

“We have assembled a team of experienced coaches, most of whom work for the Czech national team. Players regularly train under the leadership of Josef Plachý, Petr Nedoma, Renáta Štrbíková, Marek Klásek, Kamil Koutný, Ján Medvecký or Marek Číhák. And fitness coach Patrik Kaizar is also available.”Nikolas Endal, Vice President of the Czech Table Tennis Association & Vice President of ETTU

In addition, the center offers the possibility of sports for the public. It has a regular floorball court, alongside there being the opportunity to play tennis, badminton and many other indoor sports. The complete area of sports facilities is 2000 square meters and it is possible to place up to thirty-two tables simultaneously. The ground offers area of 1500 square meters. 

The sports hall is built on a green field. It is the largest specialized table tennis hall in the Czech Republic.

I dare to say that not only in the Czech Republic. Its parameters are among the five largest and most modern sports facilities for national table tennis centers in Europe. The construction cost over 4.5 million euros and the costs were paid through subsidies from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the state, from the Statutory City of Havířov, the Moravian – Silesian Region and the SKST Havířov club itself.” Nikolas Endal

Furthermore, the complex includes accommodation for athletes, a bistro for athletes, a rehabilitation line, a gym, a video analysis room, and office space for employees of the Czech Table Tennis Association.

A lifelong dream

Mr. Endal also admitted that the intention to build a modern stand for table tennis has always been his dream.

I have been working as a manager of the Havířov table tennis club for twenty years. All this time I had a big dream to create a specialized hall for this sport in Havířov. A hall that matches its parameters with similar centers in Europe. I believe it will become a popular training center, not only for Czech players, but also that foreign clubs and national teams will come to us. The first weeks have shown that everyone likes the hall and appreciates its quality, equipment and, above all, its dimensions. There is no such thing in the Czech Republic.” Nikolas Endal

Several modern sports grounds not only in the Czech Republic, but also in the Moravian-Silesian Region, have grown in recent years. The National Table Tennis Training Center is certainly set to be one of them. Table tennis has a huge tradition in this region and with the construction of the National Table Tennis Training Center it has gained a unique sports ground that can be envied throughout the Czech Republic.