Table Tennis stalwart Peter Dunphy receives prestigious honour

The president of the Northern Tasmanian Table Tennis Association has been awarded 50 years of service from the sport's national body, an honour for his hard work.

"Fifty years is a lifetime isn't it? People don't set out to receive awards but it is very nice when you do receive one," he said.

Nominated for the award by association secretary Brian Deacon, Dunphy has previously been named citizen of the year by Launceston City Council, is a life member at North Launceston Football Club and played in every club roster between 1962 and 2018, starting out through humble beginnings.

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"We used to play at home and mum and dad used to have a hassock and we had an old garage door we used to put up and play in the lounge room in there.

"When I left school, I was a swimmer and decided I wanted to do something apart that.

"Friends of the family were involved in table tennis so I thought I would go along and I've been there ever since."

Meeting plenty of people from all different walks of life has kept Dunphy going throughout his 58 years as a NTTTA member, with the man described as an "unstoppable player" even labelling his interactions a career highlight.

"I am retired so I look forward to doing something on a regular basis apart from the Elphin Sports Centre and my involvement which I have and it's something to keep my mind occupied."

Club vice-president David Fry described Dunphy as the "glue that's held the place together" while complimenting his commitment to the sport.

"Peter's been around for a long, long time. He's got a lot of experience and knows Northern table tennis really well," he said.

"He took it [the presidency] over when it was possibly at a bit of a low ebb as far as numbers are concerned and has spent a lot of time and has put a lot of effort into building up playing numbers over that time.

"He built up the committee again to a point where the competition, the committee and the whole association is really strong."

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