Graeme Ireland

Member Profile: Graeme Ireland

1. Date of Birth.	11/4/1948
2. Which club(s) have you played for in Croydon?	Ringwood, Mooroolbark
3. How did you become involved with table tennis?	Played at home in the garage as a teenager. After I moved to Melbourne I saw a poster in a local shop window from Ringwood Club looking for players and decided to give it a go.
4. And at what age was this?	Late 30's
5. How many and which Olympic Games did you participate in?	5 - Sydney 2000, Sydney Paralympics 2000, 2012 London, 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo
6. What advice would you give to an up-and-coming player/umpire?	Practise as much as you can. Be prepared to travel at your own expense to get more experience, initially at National events.
7. Career Highlights	Deputy referee at Olympic Games, umpire at World Championships and Pro Tour events including Men’s Singles final at 1999 Pro Tour final. Referee at 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Deputy Referee at 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games Referee or umpire at many Australian Championships over recent years. Referee at major Australian events such as Olympic and Commonwealth Games Qualifying tournaments, Australian Youth Olympic Festival TTA Hall of Fame under Referees and Umpire category TTA Hall of Fame under Administrator category
8. Can you tell us about your favourite match that you have umpired?	Team quarterfinal between France and Belgium at the 1997 World Championships in Manchester. Fran Keyhoe and I umpired the whole match which came to 2 rubbers all, 1 game all, 20-20 in the final match, which France eventually won 22-20.
9. Who is your favourite Table Tennis player?	Waldner
10. Who has been the biggest influence and or inspiration throughout your sporting career?	There has been no specific person and I have tried to learn from observing a number of good umpires and referees. The person whose opinion I value most is Colin Clemett, who was Chairman of the ITTF Rules committee for many years.
11. Who is your favourite non table tennis sportsperson and why?	I don’t have any particular favourites, but enjoy watching a wide variety of sports. The qualities I admire are sportsmanship, ability and entertainment value. Sportsmen who embody these characteristics are people like Roger Federer - tennis, Adam Gilchrist - cricket, Adam Scott – golf.
12. How did you become involved as an umpire?	In the early 1990s an international event was held atMelbourne Town Hall and I was asked if I would like to assist in the umpiring. I agreed, and my officiating career started.
13. What roles did you perform at the Olympics Games?	Deputy Referee at 2000 Sydney, Technical delegate at 2012 London and 2016 Rio, Chair of Jury at 2020 Tokyo
14. How long have you been an Umpire/Referee?	Became a State umpire in 1991, a National umpire in 1993, an International umpire and referee in 1996.
15 Which committees do you serve on?	Member of ITTF Board of Directors, ITTF Technical Commisioner, Special Adviser to ITTF Umpires and Referees Committee. Member of Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation management committee, ITTF Oceania Table Tennis Federation management committee. Vice-President of Table Tennis Victoria Umpires League.

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