Chennai: Registration of players in any major tournament, more so in a national ranking event, is a headache. After all, the players come from different nooks and corners of the country and participation for them is a must. But they can’t do so without getting their names registered and back numbers in hand. There are cases where the same player or players may have entered to play in more categories than one as the lower age players are eligible for participation in higher sections.

The National Ranking (South Zone) Championships that began here from August 11 at the Jawaharlal Nehru multi-purpose indoor stadium was an eye opener.

Thanks to an error-free Master List—TTFI’s Competition Manager N. Ganeshan does the compilation job with precision—and hands it over to the organizers who, in turn, collect the fee and issue back numbers to the participants. The job can be trickier at times. But for Ganeshan, who is an ITTF trained hand, the job comes rather easy because he works meticulously with a team of people which is worth observing and imbibing! It was his idea of introducing in the online registration system a column which was the clincher as it helped states fill the rankings of players which ultimately determines who pays how much. The ranked players get a huge concession on entry fees.

But this story is not about what Ganeshan does; it is about how the Chennai District Table Tennis Association or, for that matter, the Tamil Nadu Table Tennis Association, has so orderly managed to do the primary job of registering players. Mind you, they had to take care of over 1,600 entries from 850-odd players, all before the play begins.

It was really admirable the way they executed things which included issuing back numbers to each and every participant from different states and keeping track of the fee. All because of a passionate bunch of parents who, while accompanying their wards for the event, have chosen to pitch in at the request of organizers.

They evolved a system under which the ladies managed the crowd commendably well. A set of five tables, each managed by two ladies, with proper barricading helped players queuing up to the counter move quickly and smoothly. Each table had been given the task of managing a certain number of back numbers in alphabetical order and put in big envelopes. Within minutes the paddlers were out of the queue collecting their back numbers and getting receipts for the fee paid. No pushing and prodding, nor any noise created.

There is a lesson in for every organizer the way the South Zone championships registration was done. The need of the hour is to put in a system, like the one here, to avoid unnecessary crowding and confusion. This should be replicated in every zonal and other event in order to be quick with the process.

Let’s take a leaf from the South Zone’s book!