The Veterans’ Home Nations Championships for table tennis is to be held in Perth.
The contest will begin on September 5 and will take place at Bell’s Sports Centre.
Competitor for the Scotland team, Pat Duffy described Perth as the “ideal” place for Scotland to host the tournament.
He said: “Perth is a popular place with the competitors because it is easy for them to get to the sports centre.
“If they stay at one of the central hotels, the centre is within walking distance for them.
“When the competition has been held in a couple of the other nations, competitors have had to be taken by coach to a venue somewhere in the countryside.”
The Home Nations competing in the tournament are made up of seven teams: Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. The Ireland team is of competitors from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Each of the competing nations takes it in turn to host the veterans’ table tennis contest. After six years, it is returning to Scotland and it will not return until 2026.
This year’s Scottish team is made up of a total of seven competitors. Three of the Scots are from Perth while the other four are from Dundee.
The competitors are split into different categories depending on their age, with both men and women in each — over-40s, over-50s, over-60s, over-70s, and over-75s.
The competition will begin with the team events on Thursday evening, continuing into Friday.
Saturday will see the start of the men’s and women’s doubles and singles matches. The singles will finish on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Duffy spoke of the sense of community he has gained from his time as a table tennis player.
He said: “I’ve been playing table tennis since I was nine or ten so it’s something I really enjoy.
“I have also made numerous friends of several age groups through it.”
But despite the friendly nature of the sport, he added: “The Home Nations Championships are fiercely competitive, even though it’s veterans playing.”
Mr Duffy encouraged all those with “even a passing interest” in table tennis to go along to watch the competition.
