Ron Davies – A Lifetime of Service to Table Tennis
Table Tennis Wales is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ron Davies on the 24th of September 2026, a much-loved and highly respected member of the Welsh table tennis community whose extraordinary contribution to the sport spanned decades.
Table tennis took Ron around the world, from Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur to Delhi, and saw him serve in some of the most senior positions within Table Tennis Wales, including Finance Director, Director of Competitions and Performance, and Vice President.
Yet Ron’s remarkable journey in the sport began in the most modest of circumstances: simply as a father taking his daughters to play at their local table tennis club.
Those journeys to training certainly paid off. All four of Ron’s daughters Meinir, Delyth, Siwan and Iona went on to represent Wales at table tennis.
It was never in Ron’s nature simply to sit back and watch. After parking the car and taking his daughters into the club, he was soon volunteering, setting up tables and preparing the playing area. Before long, he had also started playing himself, although Ron was always the first to joke that he had not inherited quite the same natural talent as his daughters.
He qualified as an umpire and progressed through the ranks, from County to National and ultimately International Umpire.
Steve Gibbs, then General Secretary of Table Tennis Wales, invited Ron to become the organisation’s Finance Director, and in the mid-1980s Ron joined the Table Tennis Wales Committee.
His contribution continued to grow. Together with his wife, Marian, Ron was part of the team that resurrected the Welsh Open and helped rebuild the tournament to the point where, in 2000, players representing 11 countries took part.
Ron umpired at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in Glasgow and Kuala Lumpur.
At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, he served as Transport Manager for Team Wales, taking responsibility for the safe transportation of athletes and equipment. Four years later, he was Team Wales General Manager at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Ron was also an official table tennis technical officer at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where his responsibilities included ensuring that the bats used by competitors complied with the regulations.
Ron gave an enormous amount to table tennis in Wales as an administrator, official, organiser, volunteer and ambassador for the sport. But perhaps most importantly, he understood the friendships, experiences and opportunities that table tennis could give to people.
Everyone at Table Tennis Wales extends their deepest sympathies to Marian, Meinir, Delyth, Siwan and Iona, and to Ron’s wider family and many friends.
His decades of service, his humour, his friendship and his dedication to Welsh table tennis will be remembered with enormous gratitude and affection.
Rest in peace, Ron.