A Birmingham-based family business is backing a new venture to encourage more young people to take up table tennis in the city.

Scrivens Opticians & Hearing Care is to sponsor the Birmingham Table Tennis Academy for the 2019/2020 season with its logo appearing on all players shirts when they attend coaching sessions and compete in local and national leagues. It has also made a special award to highly ranked England U14 player Nathaniel Saunders to assist his development as a star player.

Academy founder and coach Ed Lynn said:

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Scrivens to the Birmingham Table Tennis Academy’s growing family and look forward to working with them at this truly exciting time for the sport.

“The partnership is based upon a shared vision in development and passion for table tennis.”

Scrivens director Mark Georgevic said:

“Table tennis is a great sport for all ages and a fun way of keeping fit and improving eye-to-hand co-ordination, mental alertness and speed of movement. We are delighted to support this new venture to encourage young people to see the benefits of playing the game and hopefully develop local stars for the future.”

Birmingham Table Tennis Academy is based at the city’s Nishkam High School where it meets twice a week and is open to players from aged seven to 80 years old.

It was set up by Ed Lynn who is the lead coach and development officer for Birmingham Table Tennis Academy. He has been involved in the sport since he was 11 years old and is passionate about advancing opportunities for all players and particularly the younger generation.