Table Tennis Australia Announce 2025 Volunteer and Coach Awards

Table Tennis Australia are delighted to announce the winners of our volunteer and coach awards for 2025.

Following another year of progress and dedication throughout the nation in the aim of making Table Tennis accessible for all Australians, we are proud to honour seven individuals who make our sport great, as well as highlighting the work of clubs in the Australian communities.

Volunteer and Administrator of the year: Don Smith (TAS)

Don Smith, from the Northern Suburbs Tennis League in Glenorchy, Tasmania, has been deservedly recognised with two awards, as both Table Tennis Australia’s Volunteer and Administrator of the Year, following his substantial dedication to the sport in Tasmania.

Don has been a mainstay in his club since its creation, including a role of Treasurer, along with organising the weekly Veterans pennant.

Don continues to go above and beyond for his club, often being the first to arrive and the last to leave. Don also organises the finances of the club, and spends considerable time chasing subs and fill-ins to ensure the club can run as smoothly as possible.

No task is too much for Don, and he is consistently one of those people who puts his hand up to help with any activation, including spending the whole day situated at the famous Bunnings Sausage Sizzle!

Don’s dedication to the community runs deep, running a weekly senior social morning, and he also played a huge part in Table Tennis Australia and Village Cinemas Marty Supreme activation.

Table Tennis is part of Don, and his love for the sport, along with his positive attitude and friendly nature, means that he is an extremely well-deserved recipient of these two special awards.

Official of the Year: Shahram Aminzadeh (VIC)

Shahram Aminzadeh, one of Victoria’s most decorated Table Tennis umpires, has been named Table Tennis Australia’s Official of the year, for his wonderful efforts throughout the sport over the year.

This year, Shahram achieved the substantial milestone of becoming an International Blue Badge Umpire, joining just a handful of Australians to have achieved such a ranking.

As well as Shahram’s Blue Badge accomplishments, he has also served as a State Referee and mentor, whilst also officiating at international and national events.

Shahram has continued to give back to the Table Tennis community throughout his umpiring journey, a trend which has continued through his work in the TTV Umpires’ League, where he is helping develop the next generation of Officials, whilst raising the standard of umpiring in Victoria, and therefore, Australia.

Shahram’s relentless enthusiasm for Table Tennis and the umpiring of the sport is second to none, and this accolade is very richly deserved.

Club of the Year: Max Table Tennis Club (NSW)

Max Table Tennis Club in New South Wales has made a significant contribution its local community throughout 2025, and as such, are recognised as Table Tennis Australia’s Club of the Year.

A new table tennis club formed in 2025, Max was largely created by younger organisers and established a membership of over 70 patrons in its first full year of operations.

The club has used new, innovative ideas to create a circle of interest to grow table tennis in their local area. Many coaches from the club itself have attended, and continue to attend, national coaching courses, in order to provide the best possible service for their members. Four of their coaches have attended all Table Tennis New South Wales tournaments in 2025 and have also attended Table Tennis New South Wales squad training.

The community-focused club is dedicated to supporting the talented players in their pathways, as they look to nurture their skills in their pursuits of Table Tennis excellence, whilst also offering free access to the training venue and professional coaching for all players rated over 1700.

With the sport of Table Tennis undoubtedly on an upward curve, the work of Max Table Tennis Club in New South Wales deserves a lot of praise, and they are more than worthy of this recognition.

High Performance Coach of the Year: Zhengcun Pei (NSW)

Zhengcun Pei, of Chatswood Table Tennis Club, New South Wales, has delivered outstanding coaching throughout 2025 and is therefore named our High Performance Coach of the Year.

Zhengcun’s dedication to his athletes goes above and beyond, with some remarkable results coming from Chatswood Table Tennis Club’s members in 2025.

His team of Won Bae, Clarenece Cheng, Chulong Nie and Jeffery Guo all still remain as juniors, but during the New South Wales Open, they provided some incredible victories.

Bae defeated Yinning Wang, Men’s A Team and Open Singles Champion, whilst Cheng triumphed over Men’s A Team’s Kane Townsend. Bae and Nie both secured gold, in the U19 and U21 Singles tournaments, respectively.

Zhengcun provides tournament coaching for Chatswood’s junior players, whilst also coaching individual elite players. Para players from Zhengcun’s guidance have reached National Squads, and Zhengcun also attends Team New South Wales training camps.

Zhengcun’s influence on countless players cannot be underestimated, as he is deservedly named Table Tennis Australia’s High Performance Coach of the Year.

Community Coach of the Year: Sakiko Fukano (QLD)

Over the past 12 months, Sakiko has been transformative for Table Tennis Queensland, leading the Spin Sisters programme throughout the state.

Sakiko has developed the Spin Sisters programme and pushed it to new heights, with the programme’s goal of increasing female participation in Table Tennis. The programme has created a dedicated and welcoming environment for girls and women, with her leadership skills allowing the number of young girls in the programme to increase massively, enriching the club’s diversity whilst building a sustainable foundation for female participation and success at the Brisbane Table Tennis Association.

Beyond her new program, Sakiko has stepped up to take on a significantly larger and more integral role within the core coaching structure, coaching in the club in some capacity seven days a week on most weeks. She has become a key and reliable leader in our junior development pathway.

Sakiko brings a unique blend of high-level technical knowledge and an incredibly positive, energetic coaching style - taken from her experience as a high-level player and coach in Japan, including assisting with coaching in the Japanese professional T-League. She has proven her ability to connect with and inspire players of all ages, from young juniors to our high-performance squads.

Sakiko’s acknowledgement with this award is highly deserved, and we thank her for her continued hard work in the sport of Table Tennis.

25 Years Service: Lyndon Gordon (SA)

Lyndon first joined the Northern Yorke Peninsula Table Tennis Association in 1986, from Clare.

Lyndon has been on the committee of the club since 1986, from committee member to treasurer in 1988 until 1992 and took the secretary position in 1992. He continued the secretary role until 1993, before taking on the role of president from 1994-1998, stayed on the committee before a year as President in 2008, and then jumped back into the role of treasurer again from 2009-2019. Lyndon has been doing all affiliation forms since the club’s affiliation with TTSA. Lyndon was inducted as a life member in 2005.

Lyndon has seen a lot of changes to the club over the years, such as name changes, moving premises, watching children succeed and the loss of some close friends. Lyndon has always been there for every person who has walked in the door, and still doing fundraising efforts for the club.

From raffles in the local hotel, to helping with fundraising and running bars for other club shows, and even working in a canteen for the local dirt cart club.

In 2021, Lyndon’s club held the Regional Masters Games; Lyndon and Owen Prior were the contacts and co-ordinators for that event, but Lyndon did all the organising and even contacted every player personally before the event.Every year, the club has an internal competition between Clare and Minlaton, and Lyndon organises the players and dates with those clubs every year.

Lyndon has been described as “The member that any club would love to have represent them, and he has done that very well for our club, and a great ambassador for Table Tennis in this state.”

He is a longstanding and valued member who has given valuable service to the Copper Coast Table Tennis Association in South Australia, and this award is mightily deserved for Lyndon.

50 Years Service: Charlie Braunack (SA)

Charlie Braunack’s dedication to Table Tennis will struggle to be rivalled by many, as his now fifty years of service to the sport continues to change the lives of plenty of people.

This year, Charlie was appointed the first ever Life Member for the Barossa & Light Table Tennis Association, which is a fitting honour for a remarkable man. Charlie’s appointment was based on his outstanding years of service and commitment to not only the association, but to the sport of Table Tennis as a whole.

Charlie’s involvement started an incredible 57 years ago, as he began playing Table Tennis in 1968, and he has seen a massive amount of progress and change during these years.

Charlie went a massive eight consecutive years without missing a single week at Barossa & Light, and throughout the last 30 years, he has totalled a 100% attendance at club events. It’s a milestone and dedication that not many could commit to, and for that, we salute you, Charlie.

In his time with Barossa & Light, Charlie has held multiple different roles throughout the club, and he has maintained the prominence of Table Tennis throughout the region, making a difference to so many.

Charlie has been involved in coaching junior Table Tennis, coordinating sponsorship, and has played an integral role in fundraising for a plethora of special causes.

Charlie has also been the Association Secretary for 33 years, and maintains his role as delegate to the Table Tennis South Australia meetings each year.

Fifty years is an extraordinary amount of time and dedication, and Charlie epitomises what Table Tennis is all about in this country, and we are proud to recognise his service.