Trevor Hirth

Started: He took up table tennis at age 12 and began competing in Para table tennis at age 29. (pickstar.pro, 01 Mar 2021; the-riotact.com, 05 May 2018) Reason: "Table tennis was always a hobby for me, and I started to play in the backyard on a table that my grandpa made. Once I played in a club down in the western suburbs of Melbourne [Australia], the competitiveness started flowing when I was a teenager. I always played competitively but it was social and I never trained or got coaching and I was pretty much self-taught. I was playing at a local club in Melbourne and an ex-Paralympian table tennis player [Mick Tomlinson] came up to me and said, 'Hey mate, you should try out for the Australian team'. I didn't really know too much about it [Para table tennis], I wasn't sure if my disability sort of qualified me, and he encouraged me to play the Australian Open. I managed to win it and that sort of got me into the Australian team." (ittf.com, 29 Oct 2018; the-riotact.com, 05 May 2018) Additional Info: OTHER ACTIVITIES In February 2021 he was elected chair of the Oceania Table Tennis Federation [ITTF-Oceania]. He was elected as a member of the International Table Tennis Federation [ITTF] athletes' commission in 2018, and has also worked as an ITTF development coach. (ittfoceania.com, 21 Feb 2021; Instagram profile, 05 Apr 2021; ittf.com, 29 Oct 2018; guampdn.com, 25 Oct 2023) CHARITY WORK In 2017 he shaved off eight years' worth of hair and beard growth, raising 1000 Australian dollars for three charities. "The money is certainly going to be well-spent by these organisations, giving children with disability the opportunity to play sport and join in some amazing recreational activities." (dsr.org.au, 01 Aug 2017) MUSICIAN He plays bass guitar in a thrash metal band called Diabolical Demon Director. "Thrash metal from the 80s, similar to early Metallica. I play bass, and I'm the driver for the band. I'm the only one with a car." (X profile, 09 Apr 2021; Kimmy Mackenzie YouTube channel, 25 Mar 2017; MTTA Newsletter, 01 May 2016; tabletennis.org.au, 01 Jan 2014)