With less than four months to go until the 2007 Canada Winter Games are held in Whitehorse, it's all about fine-tuning and mental preparation for most of the athletes who will be representing the Yukon.

From trips Outside to coaching and nutrition clinics, the territory's finest youngsters are getting set to hit their home stage, and while the local coaches have certainly done a great job preparing them, it doesn't hurt to bring in the big guns for some added instruction.

When it comes to table tennis, George Damianov may be one of the biggest and most successful names the Canadian Table Tennis Association (CTTA) can boast as part of its coaching staff.

Damianov, who is originally from Bulgaria, has been involved in the sport for 42 years, 29 of those as a coach. He's travelled to more than 56 different countries in an effort to share his love of table tennis, and is now a Level 5 coach with Team Manitoba.

This past weekend, Damianov brought all of that experience to Whitehorse, as he took part in training sessions for the Canada Games team, as well as sessions for beginners. It was his second trip to the territory, as he coached Manitoba at the Games test event held this past summer.

'We wanted to have a clinic, as we have in past years,' explained Kevin Murphy, coach of Team Yukon.

'Atilla (Csaba, the junior development coach who came to the territory last spring) wasn't available this time, so we contacted the Canadian Table Tennis Association and asked them to recommend another coach.'

They recommended Damianov, who outside of his duties as coach of Team Manitoba, also travels around Western and Northern Canada instructing for the national sport organization. His goal is to develop more coaches in the country and help make the sport more popular.

'If it's a matter of table tennis, I'm ready to help anytime, anywhere,' stated Damianov. 'Table tennis is my life. If somebody wants to learn from me, welcome.'

And in just a couple of days, Murphy was impressed with how much some of the athletes did seem to learn. Damianov was able to spot some of the weaknesses among the players and offer them more advice on some of the mechanics, said Murphy.

'He breaks down things a little bit better for some of them and can bring them to some short cuts to get what they want maybe a little quicker than I could.

'It's good to have somebody else in here once in a while.'

About 20 people showed up for the beginners session on Saturday, which impressed Damianov. That may not seem like many people, but in a sport which is only now starting to grow in North America, it's definitely admirable.

'It was wonderful to see 20 kids here and it's their first time touching table tennis raquets,' Damianov said with a smile.

'There is potential here, it's just a matter of time I think, to develop it.'

As for the eight members of the Yukon's Canada Games team certainly have the knowledge to play, Damianov said they certainly have the knowledge to play.

In terms of performance at the national level, the coach said, it's impossible to compare them to provinces like Quebec.

Quebec, he pointed out, has eight full-time table tennis coaches as opposed to one volunteer coach for the Yukon, and Quebec also receives five times the amount of funding from the government than the territory does. Not to mention the province has a much larger population to draw from.

Medals may not be possible at this point, but Damianov hopes he can help the local athletes play better table tennis and just enjoy the game.

'I have five maybe 10 years left of coaching full-strength,' he stated. 'I can't just take all of my knowledge with me to the grave. I have to pass it on.'

While he was in the territory, Damianov also conducted an evaluation of Murphy's coaching abilities, so the Yukon coach can get his Level 3 certificate in time for the Canada Games.

He'll submit a report to CTTA and then Murphy has to submit a couple of written reports as well, including a yearly training program.

'I don't anticipate any problem,' said Murphy, who admitted it was a little nervewracking having to execute a detailed lesson plan in front of Damianov.

'I know my kids so well so I'm not quite used to it. You have to be a lot more regimented. Certainly, it pays dividends down the road.'

The next test for the Yukon table tennis team, prior to the 2007 Games, will be the Edmonton Open this weekend.

Ten kids the eight members of the Games team plus two members of the training squad and four adults will make the trip. The Open will also feature players from Saskatchewan and Alberta, with both points-rated and age group events, doubles and singles.

'We're hoping to get all the kids as much experience as possible and expose them to that level,' said Murphy.

The team is hoping to take part in another tournament in Edmonton in early February, as part of their final preparation for the Games.

Twelve of the 13 regions in Canada will be participating in table tennis at the 2007 Games. Each team from each province will be separated by age categories, with two boys and two girls each in both the under-15 and under-17 divisions.

There will be singles, doubles and team competitions.