Fresh from officiating the Men’s Singles gold medal match at the Paris Olympics, Nico Caltabiano has actually reached the top of world umpiring. He has actually ended up being the very first English umpire to attain Gold Badge status from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). 

To reach those heights, Nico needed to be at ITTF Level 4 (Blue Badge) status for a minimum of 2 years, pass the ITTF Advanced Rules Exam once again and have at least 3 efficiency evaluations by the referee group in the last 2 years, with a typical score of a minimum of 85%. 

He is among just 23 umpires from around the globe to be validated at Gold Badge Level. It was a journey which began with passing the Level 1 (then called County) Umpire test in England in 2012. 

“Nico has been an amazing umpire in England and around the World for many years now and its truly wonderful to see him reach the very pinnacle of umpiring in the World” commented Chris Newton, General Secretary Technical Officials Committee (TOC). “He is our first of many more Gold Badge umpires that we are striving to create over the next few years.” 

Developing future umpires and referees throughout England is a top priority for Table Tennis England, with the launch of a brand-new Technical Officials Academy occurring soon and the objective is to duplicate Nico’s success through a clear path for authorities. This brand-new Academy will produce smooth chances for those that wish to officiate throughout all levels and make access to development simpler.

Andrew Wilesmith, Head of Development stated; “The news about Nico is fantastic and testament to his dedication to the role over many years and, the support from his colleagues and TOC. Like our world class performance pathway, we are also striving for a world class officials’ pathway that places England firmly on the world stage.” 

Click here to find out more about Nico’s journey. 

Nico stated: “To cap a fantastic summer of table tennis for me personally, it’s a great feeling to have reached Gold Badge status and being among the 23 umpires worldwide who have achieved that.  

“There’s been a personal commitment to get here as I had to go to several tournaments for the necessary assessments, one of them being at the Olympics, and also pass again the ITTF Advanced Rules Exam. 

“But this commitment doesn’t stop there: to maintain the Gold Badge status, there are several requirements: a certain number of assessments every two years, participation also a certain number of international tournaments per year, further ITTF Advanced Rules Exam, attendance of webinars with fellow umpires as continuous professional development.  

“It’s always a learning environment. All this is addition of my daily job which also requires a lot of travel, so I’ll see how I can fit all this together. 

“However, as a Gold Badge umpire, it makes it easier to be invited to the big tournaments: WTT Smash, WTT Champions and Finals. In the end, this is why I very much enjoy umpiring, despite the pressure in those big events. 

“There is also my personal commitment to support new and upcoming umpires to also go all the way up the ladder, the same way that many colleagues in England supported me (and still do).  

“The same way that I achieved this, many of the great young umpires we have in England can definitely do it as well. It will come with the experience and I hope I can pass part of that to them. 

“I try to attend as many tournaments in England as possible, but not as many as I’d like to. But in those tournaments, I’m more than happy to share those experiences.” 

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