Thursday was the most important day for the ongoing preparatory work at the venue. As early as 08.00, René Rammenstein from TTVN welcomed the lorry carrying the 53 brand-new JOOLA tables, which were then assembled in the Swiss Life Hall by numerous volunteers from TK Hannover. From 09.00, Ann-Katrin Thömen from TTVN organised the setting up of the hockey hall so that it would be available from 12.00 as the first hall for the participants’ training sessions. At 1.00 pm, registration opened under the supervision of Susanne Berling from PPP Germany, where the numerous participants already arriving from all over the world were able to collect their bags containing the documentation at various stations. Jens Bardenhagen from the TTVN collected the missing entries for the doubles at the partner exchange, whilst at the same time, preparations for the opening ceremony were underway in the Swiss Life Hall under the supervision of Kerstin Schlangen, Nina Tschimpke and Isabell Meyer. Volunteer coordinator Martin Bögel equipped the helpers with their supplies, IT manager Michael Theis continued work on setting up the tournament network, and tournament director Hilmar Heinrichmeyer then oversaw the set-up of the LSB Hall from 6 pm onwards, together with Markus Söhngen.