Meet the Team
Pedro Santos
Pedro has been involved in Table Tennis for the past 17 years, mainly in his home country Portugal. Starting to attend club sessions and training at the age of 13 in his hometown Lagos, in three years he made it to the Portuguese National Team Squads practicing with the best in the country (now very well-known World-Class players such as Marcos Freitas and Tiago Apolonia).
Pedro reached top 50 in the Seniors age group and was part of the Algarve’s University team to compete at the European Universities Games in 2013. In the UK, Pedro has been the Head Coach of Brighton Table Tennis Club for the past 7 years and Team Manager of the very successful Great Britain’s Down’s Syndrome National Team that went on to win several World and European medals. Pedro coached many top County and National level players and is now bringing his expertise to the Worthing area.
Follow the journey of Team Santos, three players from Brighton Table Tennis Club, as they prepare to represent their country at the European Down’s Syndrome Championships.
“I want to continue my work by developing young players in Worthing, but also anyone that wishes to progress and learn more about this amazing sport! I learned and grew a great deal by coaching people with disabilities and want to make Worthing TTC a reference for the disability sport. There’s a lot of potential in the area, so many people interested in playing either competitively and/or socially and the benefits on taking a sport like table tennis are huge! I hope I can demonstrate it to the local community and put Worthing on the map as a reference for table tennis in the Sussex County.”
Pedro Santos. Founder & Coach, Worthing Table Tennis Club.
pedro@worthingttc.com
Sally Hughes
Born and raised in Worthing, Sally has played table tennis since she was 8, having represented England in her Junior age group, including winning silver in the Six Nations!
Professionally, Sally leads the Data and Planning department for Bupa Global with staff worldwide to enable data-driven decision making in the international private medical insurance market. She has a background in finance and a keen eye for long-term sustainable business growth.
Known for launching the new Table Tennis England Women and Girls tournament circuit, Sally has driven accessibility and inclusion for female players within table tennis.
“For me I chose to join Worthing TTC because I strongly believe everyone who wants to try out playing table tennis deserves a safe and supportive environment to do so and Worthing really offers just that.”
Sally Hughes. Operations Director, Worthing Table Tennis Club.
Rui Ribeiro
Although Rui is not directly involved with Table Tennis as a sportsman himself, he enjoys the quality of this fast-paced sport and wishes to bring his experience to help developing Worthing Table Tennis Club by confirming its digital presence!
Building an interest in IT and technology since a young age, Rui pursuit to explore his abilities by attending workshops and courses alongside with his full-time job.
Currently working at the Amex Stadium, the famous Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club home, he continues to follow his interest in the IT world by signing contract with Worthing Table Tennis Club in the role of Director – Head of Marketing.
“I absolutely love what the club is doing! I’m not highly involved in sports but I’m a competitive person and often stay at work watching Brighton & Albion’s football matches. I was fascinated by the community and inclusion programmes that the club seeks to develop such as the Rehabilitation Programme, in synchrony with the competitive culture to instigate learning on everyone without discrimination. I’m sure this club will be highly successful and I want to contribute by making sure its work reaches every single person with or without technology methods.”
Rui Ribeiro. Marketing Director, Worthing Table Tennis Club.
Matthew Porter
Matt has been involved in Table Tennis for over 20 years having set up and managed his own successful club in the North East. Matt brings a vast coaching knowledge to Worthing having worked with the Welsh National Squad and the England, Scotland and Cyprus National youth squads while also having run successful University programmes at Durham and Swansea. Matt brings a range of both coaching and development knowledge to the team and is in the process of completing his UKCC level 4.
“The opportunity to join Worthing Table Tennis Club was too good to refuse, to see the tremendous growth and progress of the club is amazing, the project really excited me. I’m looking forward to being able to help the club to continue to grow and help players in the area develop within the sport and achieve their potential.”
Matthew Porter. Head Coach, Worthing Table Tennis Club.
Amanda Newton-Worne
Amanda joined Worthing TTC in September 2022 to rekindle her love for table tennis.
Amanda first discovered the sport at Stoke Mandeville, where the Paralympics started, as a patient recovering from a spinal injury in 2017. Amanda had a serious cycling accident training for a Half Iron-man Triathlon in which she almost died. Luckily she survived but her injuries were life changing and meant that she would never walk again and playing table tennis at Stoke Mandeville played a vital part in Amanda’s rehab.
Since returning to Table Tennis Amanda has become a very active member of our club.She has become a Level 1 coach and is taking her level 2 coaching qualification later this year. She is also the club’s Safeguarding Lead and Disability Officer. Amanda’s biggest dream is to hopefully represent her county in the Paralympics!
“Table tennis gives me so much to be positive about, especially when my life in a wheelchair can be so challenging. When I am hitting the ball across the table I forget my disability and feel empowered and unstoppable ! I forget all my day to day problems and just get such a buzz from hitting that little white ball with my opponent ! Table tennis is so underestimated and through my coaching my aim is to pass my love of the sport onto others!”
Amanda Newton-Worne. Lead Safeguarding & Disability Officer, Worthing Table Tennis Club.