The opening ceremony and the awards on the first day of the Panhellenic youth championship

In a festive atmosphere, in an unusual setting, reminiscent of international sports events and with a series of benefits, which excited athletes and attendants, the prologue to the 2022-2023 Panhellenic table tennis championship for teenagers and young adults was written yesterday 08/04 in Salamina.

In the renovated and upgraded indoor gym of the island, which bears the name of the Salamis handball Olympian Nikos Grammatikos, an opening ceremony was held at noon with a parade of the athletes and a number of officials and non-officials from the local community, awards were given, each with its own special meaning once and gifts were offered.

Competitively, the opening day reached the semi-finals of the team and today 09/04 at noon the first places are judged.

The ceremony opened with the entry of athletes and coaches from the table tennis department of Telamos Salaminas, which for decades now has a multifaceted contribution to the sport. The children were applauded and the athletes of the other teams followed in the parade, who also received a warm welcome from the public. The participants wore the commemorative t-shirts of the event, while holding balloons in four different colors.

The ceremony was presented by EFOEPA public relations manager Xenia Stathis, who is also from Salamina and coordinated the entire organization of the championship. She thanked all those involved with the games and emphasized that since last year the municipality had expressed its desire to take over them and with their implementation a dream of hers was realized. Then the mayor of Salamina Giorgos Panagopoulos gave a short greeting and among other things he underlined: “It is an extremely important championship, in which we want to succeed and I believe that everything will go well. It is rightfully dedicated to the man who started table tennis in Salamis, Konstantinos Charisiadis. I also want to note that despite the efforts of the municipality and our Sports Organization, we would not have managed to organize this championship if it were not for Xenia Stathis. Table tennis has a huge history in Salamis and we want to give it the place it deserves again. This Panhellenic championship is the first step, the new hall will be the next and the best is yet to come.”

There were 4 awards, while another plaque will be given at the end of the games to the MVP of the championship. The federation and the municipality initially honored the memory of Constantinos Harisiadis, who was a pioneer for the sport on the island. “For his significant contribution to the sport of table tennis as a founder, factor and coach on the island of Salamis,” said the plaque for Harisiadis and was presented to his wife Eleni by the former Greek champion from the island, Roula Rapandzikou. She said a few words about the life, personality and multifaceted activity of the great teacher, who was born on 07/09/1939 in Kerasovo Konitsa and passed away in 2010. “He learned his first letters in Ioannina, during his high school studies he was a good athlete in track and table tennis and from a young age showed a tendency to contribute to the whole. In 1972 he was assigned to Salamis, in the 3rd primary school and stayed for ten consecutive years before moving to a school in Germany. During this decade he started and developed the sport on the island and was fortunate to create not only good athletes, but also good people. He loved Salamis as his second home, he got married here and had two sons here. From 1977 to 1982 Telamon had his first Panhellenic titles at a young age. He was also secretary of the union, but also president of the teachers of Salamis. The legacy he left to the table tennis department of Telamos is great.” Eleni Charisiadis expressed her gratitude for the award and pointed out the spirit with which her husband walked his life. “What you do for yourself stays for yourself. Everything you do for others stays forever.”

The federation and the municipality of Salamina awarded Tassos Riniotis and Olga Georgopoulou two Greek champions and international athletes from Salamina. Riniotis is also the European runner-up in the team in 2013, as well as the champion in the Europe Trophy this year with Olympiakos, while Georgopoulou, a member of the women’s national team, who in 2005 was promoted to the A European division, is also successfully involved in the competitive side coaching. Finally, E.F.O.E.P.A. on the occasion of the start of sponsorship cooperation with the Euroclinic of Athens, he awarded her an honorary plaque “as a sign of gratitude for her valuable assistance to our national teams”.

The plaque was given to Riniotis by the mayor of Salamina and to Georgopoulou by Nina Kasimati, Member of Parliament for Piraeus II with SYRIZA, amid warm applause. Kallinikos Kreanga, the all-time leading Greek athlete with medals in world and European championships, experienced the apotheosis, when he was called to give the plaque to the director of the Orthopedic Clinic of the Euroclinic of Athens, Dr George Kelalis. The latter was pleasantly surprised and jokingly said that “if I had known that Kallinikos, a legend of the sport, would do us this honor, I would have come to Salamis since yesterday”. Earlier he had expressed his great joy for Euroclinic’s sponsorship agreement with EFOEPA, emphasizing that he will be next to our internationals in whatever health service they need. Dr. Kelalis was also given a national team shirt.

In a short greeting, Nina Kasimati said to the hosts that “with your work, you are developing the ground so that children with the will to continue this wonderful sport and it is very important that you also remember the precious work of the man who started it on the island, of Constantinos Harisiadis”. The opening ceremony ended with dances from the Traditional Dance Association of Tina Begni.

Many important things in the organizational part were shown by the local organizers from the first day thanks to the financial assistance of the municipality and sponsors. Amongst others:

In addition to the t-shirts, the athletes were also given a symbolic gift. Also, after the opening ceremony, 200 hamburgers were distributed individually from goodys (with a stand set up), wrapped sweets from Begnis confectionery and soft drinks.