Department Head Roland Arnold’s introduction began with a review of the past year, which made many of the numerous attendees reminisce fondly once again. It was the most successful year since the department’s inception, with an incredible tally of 6 championship titles, 1 vice-championship, the district cup, the regional cup, the association cup, and 3rd place in the Bavaria Cup. Hosting the 40th Two-Person Team Tournament around Epiphany, as well as the District Championships with 180 participants, was once again a highlight. And last but not least, as hosts, they also won the 34th traditional City Cup tournament at the end of the season. A year packed with highlights, and numerous honors from the Bavarian Table Tennis Association also followed. Members of the department were honored with the BTTV Certificate of Honor and Performance Pin for long-standing achievements. For 50 years, these were Karlheinz Simmet, Folker Königbauer, Roman Kretzinger, Wolfgang Axmann, Helmut Schiegg, and for 30 years, Ulrike Rohrmoser.

The last item on the agenda was probably the most important one at the moment. Already in the previous year, the former Department Head Roland Arnold, as well as his deputy Robert Haydu, had expressed the wish to hand over the office to younger hands. Since then, an internal search for a new duo had been underway, and they finally found it in two of the youngest new additions, Simon Hacker and Timo Schütt. Both were eager to take on the challenging task and put themselves forward for election. But first, the 1st Chairman of the entire club, Mitko Pertemov, took the opportunity that evening to say a few words about the outgoing department leadership. He indeed had to elaborate extensively to adequately highlight the decades-long commitment of both. He also emphasized that he himself, as the current 1st Chairman, benefited from the guidelines that Roland Arnold had introduced long before him as the 1st Chairman of the entire club. He thanked them for their exceptional voluntary commitment over many decades and concluded with commendable words about the willingness of the two new candidates for the offices.

The acting Department Head Roland Arnold, in his last official act, asked Mitko Pertemov to serve as election chairman, which he gladly accepted. Although both candidates have only been in the department for about 2 years, they have been “fully integrated” from the very first training session, as the saying goes. Nevertheless, Simon Hacker and Timo Schütt took the opportunity to sketch a small self-portrait and officially introduce themselves. The subsequent vote was hardly surprising: Simon Hacker was unanimously elected Department Head, and Timo Schütt was also unanimously elected Deputy. Election chairman Mitko Pertemov, as well as Roland Arnold and Robert Haydu, congratulated both on their election, wished them much success and good fortune, and gladly assured them of their help during the initial period if needed.