Local Schools Vying for Table Tennis Supremacy at Upcoming Regional Play-Offs

This Friday the Rockhampton Table Tennis Association’s playing centre will be the busiest it’s been in a while as the local club hosts CQ’s regional play-offs of the Queensland School Championships for 2026.

The regional qualifiers of this tournament are being played earlier in the year compared to past editions and the state finals at Moreton Bay are being staged during the last week of the state school third term - on Monday 14 September - where the better performers at the various qualifiers will face off.

Record entries have been received at the Rocky event with a total of 32 teams across the three divisions needing to play-off a series of matches on the six courts available at the local club. Now that the entry has been finalised the club has put out a call for any members who can be of any assistance on the day, as all help would be appreciated.

The open division will have a total of thirteen teams to play-off in groups early in proceedings. Heights College has provided six of these outfits while Rocky High’s five sides and the two from Gladstone’s Faith Baptist Christian School should make way for a high-class and very interesting competition.

Heights College and Faith Baptist have entered equal-shares in the twelve-team total in the junior division while Faith Baptist have the lions-share of entrants in the hopes section that caters for the younger participants. Whilst not much is known about the Gladstone visitors in this category, the sides from both Heights College and The Rockhampton Grammar School boast youngsters who take part in the local club’s junior coaching program and lately most of these have been hitting the ball fairly well.

On the topic of busy competitions, only seven days after the Q-Schools the club is hosting its major annual carnival in the Rockhampton Open Championships that will be played out over the weekend of Friday evening 19^th June to Sunday afternoon 21^st June.

Some locals have been quite active in registering their interest and others are reminded that entries are closing next Monday. Intending participants from other clubs both from the north and south of the city have been getting in quite early with their nominations. To-date very good numbers have been received from Mackay and players from Bundaberg, who traditionally are very good supporters of this carnival, are steadily submitting their paper-work. A few from clubs in the south-eastern part of the state have also entered with more expected to follow.

This is promising to be a very good event on the state’s tournament calendar and the city’s supporters will be hoping that local hopes in the Chauvel Industrial Services open and ratings events will appear at business end of many of the draws across singles and doubles events. The Bolsover Radiology age events that have been advertised for events from Under 11 through to Over 80, with many in-between, again promise to produce some exciting table tennis. Details are available at the local club where entries can be lodged in person or alternatively intending participants can lodge their nominations on-line.