Local umpire joins table tennis elite Winnipegger achieves status as one of world’s top-20 officials By: Donald Stewart Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, May. 26, 2023

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This article was published 26/05/2023 (835 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Greg Dzioba is among the most experienced and knowledgeable table tennis umpires in the world, now the Winnipegger has the highest level of certification in the sport to prove it.

Dzioba recently became one of only 20 people in the world to receive Gold Badge Umpire status from the International Table Tennis Federation. He received the news after officiating the World Table Tennis Star Contender tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, at the end of April. The Manitoban is the first table tennis official in North America and South America to receive the coveted gold badge.

Dzioba’s table tennis journey has certainly had its bumps along the way dating back to his days as a player growing up in Poland in the 1980s.

“I was playing in Poland, but it was a difficult time in a communist country. We didn’t have coaches, we didn’t have equipment, (not) even a table tennis ball. Everything was hard to get.” said Dzioba.

Despite the lack of resources, Dzioba could not get enough of the sport. The national team in his home country played a large role in his love of the game.

“At that time in the eighties in Poland they had a very strong team in the city of Gdansk, and they were competing in European tournaments and I was watching and I got addicted to the sport and how fast and how quick you gotta be.” said Dzioba.

Dzioba left Poland in 1987 for Rome for a year and then immigrated to Manitoba where he has lived ever since. His love of table tennis followed him to Canada and as he aged into his late twenties he transitioned from playing to officiating. His career as an umpire came with its own obstacles, especially when it came to language.

“In 1990, I failed my first club umpire exam” said Dzioba.

While he had more than enough knowledge of the game, the future umpire was not fluent in english. Dzioba then found a solution to that problem.

“People said I didn’t speak English very well, so I translated the booklet from English to Polish. Six months after I passed the exam.”–Greg Dzioba

“People said I didn’t speak English very well, so I translated the booklet from English to Polish. Six months after I passed the exam,” said Dzioba.

Dzioba then began making his way up the umpire ranks all the way to the international level where his officiating has taken him all across the world including three Paralympic games in Athens, London and Tokyo and the Olympics in London.

The highest level of the sport has a pace so fast it is hard to keep up. Dzioba says reaction time and quickness not only applies to players, but umpires as well.

“You have to be on the top of your game, you have to know the rules in a split second” said Dzioba.

The Manitoban’s passion for table tennis and umpiring is still as strong as ever. Even as an official working to make sure games are played fairly the opportunity to watch the best players in the world is not lost on him.

“When you are officiating you have the best spot in the house” said Dzioba.

“(The opportunity) to deal with those athletes, the people that are from different backgrounds, different countries, different nationalities and (see) how they achieve as a team and in team competition, it’s beautiful.”

Executive director of the Manitoba Table Tennis Association Carlos Cuadra says the achievement for Dzioba is impressive in a number of ways.

“The International Table Tennis Federation is very careful with who they give the certification to because the higher level of table tennis when you are being an umpire you need to make sure you’re being fair.” said Cuadra.

Officiating a fair game is not an easy task. Umpires need more than knowledge of the game, they also need to be sure of themselves and their decisions when officiating the highest level of the sport when the pace of the game is moving at such a rapid pace. Dzioba has both.

“Especially in a sport like table tennis where the ball is moving so quick you need to be really focused, so of course being recognized as a gold badge umpire is a great achievement. It means you are knowledgeable of the rules, but, not only that, it also means you have been able to supervise and apply them in the games successfully.” says Cuadra.

Cuadra hopes that others can look at Dzioba’s achievement and see what the sport of table tennis can provide to Manitobans.

“This is definitely a great milestone for Greg and it is something that I hope can motivate more Manitobans to join table tennis as a player, volunteer or as an umpire or referee and knowing that it’s possible to grow and have fun.”

donald.stewart@freepress.mb.ca