The Whitehorse Table Tennis Club will wrap up it's season with an action-packed April.

The club will be hosting four tournaments next month, as well as the Yukon championships on May 1. They will also be holding a Level 1 clinic for umpires, in order to train entry-level officials to help out at the 2007 Canada Winter Games and perhaps events beforehand Whitehorse is hoping to host the 2006 Western Canadian championships next summer.

'We're looking for about 20 people to help out with the Games,' said club president Dave Stockdale in an interview this morning. 'They can do things like flipping scores and running results.'

The actual clinic will take place on April 16 while the following day, the club will hold a Canada Winter Games tournament, as a test for the newly-trained officials.

To kick off the month of April, there will be an April Fools tournament, on Sunday, April 3. The event will consist of a left-handed event as well as a handicap tourney. The hope is to grab the local athletes at the end of their spring break.

That will be followed by the Get Out of Your Basement tournament, which is aimed at recruiting new members to the club and generating more interest in table tennis as a competitive sport, for both youth and adults.

And finally, the month will wrap-up with the schools tournament, which will feature teams of two boys and two girls, from both elementary and high schools, facing off against each other for the title of school champions.

Once the season is over, several of the club's athletes will continue training for a trip to the Western championships, which will be held May 21 and 22 in Saskatoon. Stockdale said the club hasn't decided yet how many players will make the trip, but there is a possibility up to 10 will.

He said the Yukon will be in tough against some of the best players in the country, but there are also lower-level events at the championships which they can compete in. The categories are divided by points, which are gained through participation at tournaments throughout the season.

'There are under-600 points, under-200 points and novice (beginner) events,' said Stockdale. 'They could play in some doubles tournaments as well, but it would be tough because that competition is for under-1,000 points and our kids don't have anywhere near that.'

Stockdale will also be making the trip to Westerns, but more as a spectator rather than an athlete - they also have adult events in order to prepare for possibly hosting the event next year.

The reason the next couple of months will be so busy for the Whitehorse club, said the president, is partly so they can 'finish with a flourish.' But also, they had the events planned from the start of the year and haven't been able to fit them all in before now, and Stockdale doesn't want to be in the gym holding tournaments once they weather gets hot.

This season has been one of growth and change for the club, as they first officially became a club and then added a second location in Porter Creek for students from Holy Family Elementary School. He said they're getting 16 to 20 kids every week at Holy Family, most of which are beginners.

While the club in Porter Creek may eventually be open to the public, he said 16 to 20 kids at the beginners level is enough work right now and they don't really need any more.

'We are short at the club in the junior competitive area, so that's a possible filter system to feed kids through and make teams for the 2006 Arctic Winter Games and then the Canada Games.'

Stockdale has been somewhat disappointed with the drop-off of adult members toward the end of this year. He said while many come out for the big tournaments, they aren't showing up on a weekly basis, which is something he hopes to change.

'Overall, we've had a good, healthy season.

'We'd like to develop a more solid base. But it's always going to be a bit of a struggle when you look at the demographic and consider how many other sports there are to play. Table tennis is a minor sport.'