This weekend in Akron, Ohio at the University of Akron, the NCTTA will host the 2017 Great Lakes Regional Championships. The NCTTA Great Lakes region is an interesting region in that it includes a vast geographical boundary including both the United States and Canada. NCTTA has had a long storied history with its Canadian brothers and sisters from its earliest participation in NCTTA in the 1990’s.

The Canadian schools don’t have their own College Table Tennis Association so we (NCTTA) invite them to take part in our association (NCTTA). The union has been working for over twenty years. The addition of the Great Lakes Regional brought in some interesting logistics as it brings once every other year Americans into Canada and Canadians into the United States. This year it is the USA’s turn to host this competitive event.

Great Lakes Regional Director, Keith Lam says, “The host city for Great Lakes have been on a rotation between Toronto and Akron - to balance out the travel between USA/CAN players. This year it will be at Akron.”

This weekend will feature 12 men’s/coed teams and almost a full capacity women’s teams (which is a record) and a plethora of eager men and women student athletes for the singles events. These American and Canadian student athletes will be partaking for titles in men’s/women’s singles and men’s/coed and women’s teams.

College Table Tennis National Championship qualification is on the line for every event. Watch for Lester Lee, from the University of Michigan as a favorite to lead his team but also for the men’s singles event. Lam tells us about the men’s/coed team competition, “I am expecting good matches between old rivalries McGill, Toronto, Michigan. Binghamton and Ottawa are new to Regional this year (they did not participate last year) and both boost competitive rosters that should prove to be a challenge for the big three. “  

One school, however, that hasn’t been talked about too much is Cornell University and they come in with the highest team rating and with a secret weapon to tote. Tune in to see how they and others do as we love to see great competitors rise to the occasion!

Check out the live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohEBkJoO3Go

Pictured here: Trophies from a past Great Lakes Regional Championships (Good that Table Tennis is an indoor sport!)