Three New National Referees

TTA is pleased to advise that three Australian Officials have progressed to become National Referees. 

Congratulations to the following Officials:

Kameron Chan (VIC)
Since first qualifying as a State Umpire in 2016, Kameron has continued to reach progress as an Official. In addition to becoming a National Referee, he is also an International Blue Badge in Progress Umpire after passing the ARE at the WTT Youth Contender in Darwin, in 2022. At only 25 years of age, this makes Kameron Australia’s youngest National Referee to date, and we look forward to many years of officiating from him.

Gary Warnest (VIC)
A stalwart among Officials in Australia, Gary is a well-known face as both an Umpire and Referee. This year Gary officiated at the ITTF-Oceania Championships at Eastland as an Umpire and was a Deputy Referee at the National Veteran’s Championships in Darwin. When not officiating, he has been an active participant in the table tennis community as he has also been President of Bendigo & District Table Tennis Association. Thank you Gary for your service to table tennis so far.

Greg Bungey (SA)
Last year Greg was crowned as The Bev & Brian James Trophy winner as the National Volunteer of the Year. This year Greg attained his National Referee accreditation alongside Kameron and Gary. While mostly officiating at State events, Greg has been an ardent contributor as a table tennis Administrator - having been Deputy President and Membership Director of Table Tennis South Australia, as well as President of the South Australia Table Tennis Officiating Council. SA is very lucky to have someone like Greg among their ranks.

Officiating is one of the best ways to be involved in table tennis. While you see Umpires having the best seat in the house, Referees are meticulously working hard behind the scenes to ensure tournaments run smoothly. Being accredited as a National Referee demonstrates one’s ability to not only know the rules but work with the players, coaches, tournament directors, and competition managers. Hence, we congratulate Kameron, Gary, and Greg on being able to reach this level as part of their progression.

What this also demonstrates is that there is a genuine pathway available for people to officiate from the grassroots right through to the Olympic/Paralympic Games, and you can make some fantastic friendships along the way. If you’re interested in becoming an official, keep a look out for Upcoming Courses on our website to start your journey!