Bedford table tennis umpire selected for Commonwealth Games

Beate Nicol has been selected as an umpire for the Commonwealth Games table tennis and para table tennis events at Birmingham 2022 this summer

The 51-year-old from Bromham will be one of 18 English and 18 international officials working under the direction of English referee Karen Tonge OBE at the Games, which get under way on July 28.

Nicol said: “I’m super excited and I think it’s a real privilege to have been selected to be at the Commonwealth Games as an official supporting the sport I really love.”

Nicol is a relatively recent graduate of Table Tennis England’s umpiring education programme, having trained before and during the pandemic.

She added: “I started umpiring at a course in St Neots and since then I’ve had a lot of support from experienced umpires at all the tournaments I’ve been umpiring – mentoring me and discussing situations they have been in and the tricky decisions you sometimes face as a table tennis umpire, so that’s a point I’m really grateful for.”