ITTF Foundation Launches "TT4Health Festival", Building Upon Successful World Parkinson's Championships

New festival will incorporate World Alzheimer’s Championships along with other events promoting healthy lifestyles.

The ITTF Foundation announced today at the ITTF Summit the creation of the inaugural TT4Heatlh Festival, an expansion of the already successful World Parkinson’s Championships.

The first edition of the TT4Health Festival will be held on the island of Crete, Greece, the stage of the already announced 2023 World Parkinson’s Championships.

In creating this expanded event, the ITTF Foundation explained it wanted to build upon the growing enthusiasm the World Parkinson’s Championships generated to include more people who would benefit from therapy playing table tennis provides. In addition to staging the World Parkinson’s Championships, the TT4Health Festival will – for the first time – include a World Alzheimer’s Championships along with other events promoting healthy lifestyles.

The TT4Health Festival will showcase table tennis's benefits to these communities and how scientific research shows regular table tennis practice improves all players’ social, mental, and physical well-being. Specifically, the sport has beneficial effects on people affected by cognitive disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, with the appropriate levels of physical and mental demands to help cope with the degenerative effects of their condition.

“The success of the World Parkinson’s Championships over the past few years shows how important table tennis is to these communities,” Leandro Olvech, ITTF Foundation Director. “Expanding the 2023 edition to include Alzheimer’s patients to create a full fledge health-centred festival is the perfect mission for the ITTF Foundation. We cannot wait to showcase these amazing athletes and bring broader community values of a health-centred approach to the island of Crete.”
The two World Championships will be the festival's centrepiece, but not the only part. TT4Health will be catered to various events that show how people of all ages and abilities can incorporate table tennis into their daily routines to benefit their health.

As the world moves on from the COVID-19 pandemic, table tennis has a unique opportunity to use its vast reach to promote how to position itself as a sport for all as the world adjusts to its new normal. Showcasing how beneficial table tennis is for those with impairments and those looking for a healthy lifestyle change will be a huge factor in the first-ever TT4Health Festival.

“Along with World Table Tennis Day 2023, the TT4Health Festival is just another way the ITTF Foundation continues to prioritize the general populace in incorporating the sport we love in their lifestyles,” Olvech added. “2023 is proving to be an important year for the growth of table tennis, not just from a sporting perspective, but from a humanistic one as well. We hope the lessons learned and participation from the festival extend to all member associations for future editions.”