John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm proud to say that recently I hosted the ninth year of the Bennelong Cup. This annual table tennis tournament is held between all schools in the electorate in a single, action packed day. I started the cup almost a decade ago, after I'd toured several schools and found that students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds struggled to engage with some of the more populous, typical Australian sports of netball, cricket and rugby. So, in partnership with Hyundai, we gifted every school in the electorate table tennis tables and equipment to provide the students with an easy and fun sport they could all share. I'm proud to say that this is the ninth year of the competition, but it would not have been possible without several people—in particular, the extraordinary Andrew Hill, who has been organising and managing the competition from day one, and Ted Davis from Table Tennis NSW. Finally, I would like to acknowledge a special guest who we hosted at the Bennelong Cup this year: Jessy Chen. Jessy is a local Paralympic table tennis champion who recently won a gold medal at the Para Oceania Championships in Darwin. He was a great inspiration and presence for all of the students, and they thoroughly enjoyed playing with him, as I did. I look forward to seeing the cup celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. The game begins at love-all.