The British Ambassador to Bucharest, Robin Barnett, will be the special guest of the International Table Tennis Tournament Romania (RITTO) for persons with disabilities, to open on Thursday in Cluj (central-west).The tournament is organised by the Lamont Centre and the Little People Association in Romania, which deals with a range of programmes supporting people with disabilities, and it is being held in Cluj for the fourth consecutive year. „RITTO was voted by the International Table Tennis Federation as the best organised paralympic table tennis tournament in the world,” according to organisers.
The competition will enjoy a large international presence, bringing together teams from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Britain, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Turkey and players from Romania. The 22 countries are represented by 156 players, of which 16 are from Romania.
„The event could not be achieved without the help of volunteers, their dedication and commitment to ensuring the success and prestige of the competition. Over 700 volunteers were recruited from the most of the schools and faculties in Cluj, who get involved in each stage of the organisation of the competition, from collecting the balls for the players, up to logistics coordination and PR and marketing services,” stated Katie Rizvi, vice president of the Little People Association and also the coordinator of the volunteers. The main sponsor of the tournament is E.ON-Gaz.
