The iconic sports fashion label has teamed up with the ETTA for a second year.
What is it?
The Fred Perry Urban Cup is a nationwide team event aimed at a grass roots level of participation within inner city areas. Fred Perry, in conjunction with the ETTA and Clubs for Young People, has scoured the youth clubs of Warwickshire, Birmingham, Greater Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Bristol, Wales, Scotland and London to source the most promising table tennis talent. Each area now has a team of boys and girls aged between 12 and 16 years which will compete against teams from seven other major areas of the UK at the Urban Cup finals to be held in London on December 13th 2008. The winning area will be crowned Fred Perry Table Tennis Urban Cup Champions 2008.
Where is It?
This year the finals for the Urban cup are moving away from Bricklane and into the legendary boxing venue at York Hall, Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PJ.
"In my youth table tennis was the sport which perhaps gave me the greatest pleasure. I hated
school assignments more than anything else and, to the consternation of my parents, spent all my time playing a peculiar version of table tennis." Fred Perry, World Table Tennis Champion 1929.
Why Table Tennis?
Richard Martin, Fred Perry Brand Manager explains why table tennis makes sense “Any explanation of brand entry into the UK table tennis market begins with the unique sporting and cultural heritage of Fred Perry. Fred attended Ealing County School, London, where he fell in love with table tennis. He practised the game every night; his effort and determination eventually paid off - in 1929 he won the singles title World Table Tennis Champion. He then went on to become a legend of British tennis. The
brand's roots in working class culture, plus Fred's own success in the sport, fully support and credibly justify brand entry into the UK table tennis market today.” Seen as one of the rising stars of British table tennis, Darius Knight has been the face of the Urban Cup. As an inspirational figure to many, Knight’s rise to prominences has striking similarities to that of Perry, making him the ideal figurehead to this exciting new initiative. Let’s just hope he can go on to replicate Fred Perry’s World success.
The supporting acts
Along with the ETTA and Fred Perry, the Urban Cup is being supported by Clubs for Young People.
The National Association of Clubs for Young People is a UK registered charity (reg. no. 306065). It is a UK wide organisation representing 3,500 youth clubs and projects, working with 400,000 young men and women and 30,000 volunteers in communities across the UK. The Duke of Gloucester has been president since 1974, with his father previously holding the role since Clubs for Young People's creation (then as the National Association of Boys’ Clubs) in1926. The charity is privileged to have also been awarded a royal charter. The organisation provides opportunities on a local, regional, national and international basis, and provides accredited training programmes and advocacy for all its members.
For all further enquiries, please e-mail admin@etta.co.uk / tel: 01424 722525.
English Table Tennis Association Ltd. Queensbury House (Third Floor), Havelock Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1HF www.etta.co.uk
