Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Table Tennis: Tauranga's Max Henderson has high hopes for Table Tennis New Zealand Open Champs

Kristin Macfarlane
By Kristin Macfarlane
Bay of Plenty Times·
8 Oct, 2018 09:19 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Tauranga's Max Henderson is a national table tennis player competing in this week's New Zealand Open Table Tennis Championships. Photo / Andrew Warner

Tauranga's Max Henderson is a national table tennis player competing in this week's New Zealand Open Table Tennis Championships. Photo / Andrew Warner

At just 15, Tauranga's Max Henderson is making his mark in the sport of table tennis - and he has high hopes for himself at this week's New Zealand champs.

Max is one of 56 Bay of Plenty athletes competing in the Table Tennis New Zealand Open Championships at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre this week. He is competing in both the Under 15 and Under 18 age groups and is looking forward to reaping some awards.

Just a few days into the competition he's already having some success representing the Bay of Plenty squad, winning all three of his pool matches.

"I've been going well. I've just only played U18 matches and won all matches," Max says.

Max, who is also an U15 New Zealand squad member, is looking forward to his doubles competitions, where he will team up with Southland's Finn Holden, who also part of the New Zealand team. They will play in both the U15 and U18 divisions.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We met last year at the New Zealand U15 squad training camp and sort of been friends ever since. We thought we'd make a good pair.

"Under 15s we're predicted to come first, we're hoping for gold for that. U18s is a step up, tough matches but we're hoping to make Bay of Plenty and Invercargill proud."

In the U15 Boys Singles division, Max is second seed and says he will be "trying to live up to that second place potential and do one better".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He's also in the Bay of Plenty mens team, seeded around sixth or seventh.

"We've got some strong players for that event. I believe we're seeded roughly around sixth or seventh but we'll try and do our best."

Max started playing table tennis in Year 7 at AIMS Games and has carried it through to Year 11.

"I enjoy it because it's fast pace, it's always changing and I just enjoy it alot. Everyone's friendly, its always a good time," Max says.

Discover more

Table tennis on a roll in the Bay

15 Mar 07:00 PM

Dame Val to help kick off Aims Games

04 Sep 09:31 PM

Rural schools ready for Aims challenge

05 Sep 10:51 PM

Bay's Kadia Rice retires from table tennis

25 Oct 07:03 PM
Tauranga table tennis player Max Henderson in action. Photo / George Novak
Tauranga table tennis player Max Henderson in action. Photo / George Novak

Max is one of 335 people from New Zealand, New Caledonia, Australia, Sri Lanka and Germany who are competing in the national champs, including 56 athletes representing the Bay of Plenty, about 45 of them from Tauranga and Pāpāmoa clubs.

Table Tennis Tauranga president Paul Henderson says having the national champs in Tauranga is great news for the community, attracting not only hundreds of competitors but hundreds of supporters coming from out of town as well. He says every visiting player will have at least two people supporting them.

"That's being conservative ... it's awesome for Tauranga," Henderson says.

"The great thing about this event is it's a whole week."

This year is the first time the competition, which started on October 3 and runs until Saturday, has been hosted in Tauranga for 40 years and Henderson hopes it will be the beginning of more major competitions for the city.

"It's just amazing. We're getting a lot of good feedback from people out of town saying they're enjoying the competition so far."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Henderson says Table Tennis New Zealand executive director John Lea, who is also the treasurer of the Bay of Plenty Table Tennis Association, "was instrumental" in securing the event.

"On the back of the success of this I think we'll have a good chance to hold this again," Henderson says.

"It's wonderful and we are hoping to bring other events to Tauranga, national and international."

Next year, the Bay association has already secured hosting rights for the Secondary Schools Nationals.

Henderson says the popularity of table tennis is growing in Tauranga, something he attributes to the sport being all-inclusive and appealing to diverse groups of people from all ages, sporting abilities, backgrounds and ethnicities.

"It's growing very quickly. It's a resurgence really, and that's right across New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's a great way to meet people."

Next year, Henderson is expecting the sport to grow even further in Tauranga, working with Sport Bay of Plenty to develop a coaching plan and going into schools so table tennis is considered as an option.

"A lot of people just don't think of table tennis."

Henderson says the local junior teams are playing well and having an U13 girls team this year means they will be able to develop the sport in the future.

"We're all working together to grow that."

During the competition games are played from 8.30am to 8.30pm each day, with mens and womens semifinals on Saturday starting from 3pm, followed by finals from 5.30pm.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Max Henderson's 2018 highlights:
North Island U15 Boys Singles title winner
South Island U15 Boys Singles second place
Waikato U21 Singles winner
Bay of Plenty U18s Singles winner

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

'God-given right': Family defends largely unconsented homestead on rural land

04 Jul 08:45 PM

A family wanted to be left alone to develop their land without council interference.

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

'I'm proud of you': Sister's final message before fatal crash

04 Jul 06:03 PM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

04 Jul 02:00 AM
Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

Farmer's harrowing hours crushed beneath tractor

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP