Scunthorpe Table Tennis – Important Information (Home Page)
Main Contact: Andy Kelly – 07981 252739 / andykelly@scunthorpetabletennis.co.uk
Please give us a call to find out more information about where and when you can play table tennis in the Scunthorpe area.
2x Lincolnshire Champion Liam Rowson is offering one on one coaching sessions – please click “Coaching” at the top for more information.
OUR OWN JOHN MACKEY HAS BEEN AWARDED THE BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL AWARD IN THE KINGS NEW YEARS HONOURS LIST.
John Mackey, of the Nets and Edges team, has been awarded the honour of British Empire Medal in the King’s New Year 2026 Honours List. The citation for his honour is ‘For services to Table Tennis’.
The honour is in recognition of John’s wide range of contribution to the sport over an extensive period of time (45 years), and his contribution to the development of others within the sport.
The British Empire Medal is given in recognition of the dedication and excellence demonstrated by individuals who have gone above and beyond in their service to the United Kingdom either locally, nationally or internationally.
In 2021 John’s service to our sport was also recognised by Table Tennis England when they made him a Vice President of the organisation.
John started playing table tennis in 1974 in the London Civil Service League, moving on to the Scunthorpe League in 1980. During the period 1981 to 2005 John served on the League Committee as Secretary (1981 – 1986), League President (1987 – 2005), and Press Officer (1987 – 2005).
He has done a variety of administration roles beyond local league; Lincolnshire TTA Vice Chairman, Treasurer of the British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities (now British Para Table Tennis) and Chairman of Blitz Table Tennis Club, Gainsborough.
John has served on a number of Table Tennis England (TTE) committees; the Technical Officials’ Committee 2004-2020, the final three years as Secretary; Rules Committee 2009; and the Members’ Advisory Group (MAG) 2019 – 2022 (a panel of ‘experts’, within various aspects of table tennis). MAG, now replaced by individual specific specialist groups within the TTE governance structure, operated as an advisory body to the Board of Table Tennis England.
John is currently serving as the Chairman of the Tournament Approval Panel of TTE, taking on that role in 2021. The function of this committee is to: –
- sanction external events (One Star, Two Star, and Four Star tournaments)
- co-ordinate and publish the TTE competition calendar
- assess the correct delivery of external events
- keep under review those parts of the TTE Regulations that relate to tournaments
- administer the sanction scheme for player misbehaviour
- assist in the formation and implementation of Table Tennis England policies relating to tournaments
John has worked as a trainer and mentor of umpires, helping many umpires on their journey from first qualification through to achieving the elite Level 4 qualification.
In addition to administration roles John is a qualified International Umpire (Level 4), Tournament Organiser (Level 3), and Referee (Level 1).
John has represented England as a technical official at many international tournaments. His most notable achievements are: –
Olympic Games, London – umpire in the Final (Gold Medal match) of the Women’s Team event (China v Japan)
Men’s World Cup, Liege – umpire in the Final
Pro Tour Finals, London – umpire in the Men’s Final
European Championships, Gdansk – umpire in the Men’s Team Final
Commonwealth Games, Glasgow – umpire in the Women’s Doubles Final
Commonwealth Games, Manchester – umpire in the Men’s Semi- final
World Championships (Individual), Shanghai – umpire in the Men’s Singles Semi-Final
World Championships (Individual), Shanghai – umpire in the Men’s Doubles Semi-Final
World Championships (Team), Tokyo – umpire in the Women’s Semi-Final
As a referee, John, apart from many local tournaments, has been the referee for the National Under 13 Championships, the ITTF’s World Hopes Challenge Tournament for the world’s best players under the age of 12, and is the permanent referee for the Veterans British Clubs League.
John has said that the award of a British Empire Medal in the King’s New Years Honours List is overwhelming, and never thought that his contribution to our sport would be recognised in this way.