2024 events

BTT excelled at 26th Joola natt

by BTT

The Joola 26th Annual North American Team Championships (NATT) took place at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, DC over this Thanksgiving weekend. A total of 912 table tennis players from 226 teams around the world participated, including players from the U.S.A., Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Jamaica, Austria, Japan and China. They competed for championships across 17 divisions, each based on the team players' average USA Table Tennis ratings. 

BTT members, trained at different clubs in NJ, earned 2 championships, 2 silver medals, and 1 bronze medal after three days of intense competition. Thanks to the great support and guidance from their coaches at MPTTC and Joyous TTC, every member worked together with the rest of the team members and played great matches. BTT's participation and achievement in this event highlighted the NATT’s commitment to strengthening collaboration among table tennis 🏓 players!

Below are the experience shared by several of our members:

Photos by Sunrose Stuido & BTT family members

From Ishan:

My experience with the team was enjoyable, as I had the chance to play with players of various ages and skill levels. While there were both strengths and weaknesses in my performance, I ultimately learned an important lesson: losing isn’t the end of the world. Instead, it’s an opportunity to grow, improve, and come back stronger next time.

From Peter

I have been to 3 JOOLA tournaments now and I had a very fun time at all of them. My first JOOLA got me to a rating of around 700. My second got me to around 1400. My third got me to around 1800. 

I went against many people with different playing styles, which helped grow my abilities as a table tennis player. My teammates each year were also very nice and supportive. All in all, JOOLA has always been a fun experience for me.

From Andy & Max:

Joyous Table Tennis Club Team Won Silver in Division 2! Our table tennis team led by Joyous Table Tennis Club, made up of five dedicated members. We battled through seven tough matches by leveraging each other's strength to reach the semi-finals. 

In the final, our team came out strong, securing a 4-2 lead after the first half. However, after three days of intense competition of a total of 50-60 games, fatigue began to take its toll. We lost two consecutive matches, bringing the score to a tense 4-4. Andy Liu (BTT member) played the final match against an experienced opponent with a higher rating. Despite Andy's determined effort, he was narrowly defeated.

While we lost the final by a small margin, securing the silver medal was still a remarkable achievement and a moment to celebrate.

From Emma:

During the round robin on Saturday evening, my second game was against a tall player from Paddle Palace Club. I remember being nervous and relaxed at the same time. I had no pressure against my opponent, but obviously losing wasn’t a goal. So instead of thinking of the match as a ‘game’ I thought of it as a learning opportunity. 

I started the first game off down. I was surprised by his consistency and ability to give the ball back with quality. He was a lobber, with great attacks. I knew that if I kept powering and rushing the match would be over. So after the first game, during my water break, my head coach came up to me and instructed me to make first adjustments. Instead of smashing all of his high-balls, I used less power and moved him around more. Right, left, forward, back. I also prepared more for his attacks, which allowed me to more accurately and confidently block. 

The score after the second game was now tied, 1-1. I remember going back on the court in a daze. I wasn’t thinking straight and soon the score became 1-2. I knew that I had to change something, and fast. So I decided to continue doing what I was doing before but being more cautious and mindful where I hit the ball. It wasn’t long before the score became 2-2. At that point, for some reason I didn’t feel too much pressure, but I could tell that my opponent was getting anxious. So I decided to continue using the same strategy as before, just I made a couple minor adjustments on my rhythm. I started to gain the lead point by point. From a one point lead to a five point lead, I felt more and more confident until, BAM! I won.

BTT members volunteered to support each team from 11/28/24-12/01/24: James Yang (8 hrs); Enya Li (8 hr); Ishan Rangdal (8 hr); Marvin Yu (8 hr); Emma Yang (8 hr); Alex Zhang (8 hr); Anna Naumova (4 hr); Rassi Zhou (4 hr); Aaron Li (4 hr); Andy Liu (4 hr); Max Liu (4 hr); David Su (4 hr); Jason Mei (4 hr); Angela Li (4 hr); Peter Liu (4 hr); Sam Liu (4 hr).

BTT members volunteered to summarize the news and refer new members: Peter Liu (2 hr); Andy Liu (2 hr); Max Liu (2 hr); Emma Yang (2 hr); Ishan Rangdal (2 hr); Rassi Zhou (2 hr); David Su (2 hr); Angela Li (1 hr).