By Sam Cortes, Communications Coordinator
Each year, Sport Manitoba gives out thousands of dollars to student athletes and student coaches who are pursuing sport in their post-secondary journeys.
Matthew Lehmann is one of the 2023 recipients of the Princess Royal Pan Am Scholarship ($3,000). This scholarship provides financial support for Manitoba’s high-performance athletes in their pursuit of excellence at the national and international levels of competition, while also serving as a tribute to commemorate the Manitoba visit of Her Royal Highness, the Princess Royal in 1999.
A Driven Student-Athlete
Matthew is currently studying at the University of Manitoba pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with an Actuarial Mathematics Major. In 2023, he placed first in the University of Manitoba Actuarial Club Case Competition and passed his first four actuarial professional accreditation exams all while actively competing in table tennis.
“I started table tennis just because I loved ping pong and wanted to play regularly. My parents didn’t know that was possible, but fortunately found out I could,” he says. “I definitely never thought my career would last this long, but something about it keeps pulling me back in.”
He is a member of the Canadian National Men’s Team and the Manitoba Provincial Team. He was also the alternate for Canada’s table tennis team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He represented Manitoba at his 16th Canadian National Championships last summer and participated at the semi-annual Team World Championships in 2018. He qualified again in 2020, but unfortunately the event was canceled due to COVID-19. Matthew says scholarships like this one have been instrumental in helping him achieve his goals.
The Impact of a Scholarship
“I was fortunate to win the scholarship a few years ago and was excited to receive it again,” he says. “As a student-athlete, equipment, training, competitions, and tuition fees all add up very quickly. Not only does the financial support mean a lot, but also the feeling of emotional support from scholarships is really amazing.”
Matthew used the scholarship to cover the costs of some of his training leading up to the last Canadian National Team trials where he qualified to compete with Canada at the Pan American Championships in Cuba. They unexpectedly finished second in the team event, earning Canada a spot in the Olympics.
“Being part of the Olympic qualifying team was definitely special. It was really cool being on the podium with players I’ve seen on YouTube for years,” he says. “My short term goal is to qualify for and compete at the 2023 Pan Am Games and to win a medal for Canada. My long term goals include making the Olympic Games and becoming Canadian Champion. Hopefully I can be on the team that will go to Paris next year.”
Matthew’s Involvement in Table Tennis Goes Beyond Competition
Matthew is also actively involved in the table tennis community. Throughout the pandemic, he volunteered to help the Manitoba Table Tennis Association run online practices for the provincial team. Between classes and his own training, he still makes it out a couple times a month to help spar with and coach the junior provincial team. For two years he has been on the Manitoba Table Tennis Association (MTTA) Executive Committee as the Athletes Representative, and on the MTTA Athletes Development Committee and he serves as the chair of the Publicity, Promotions, and Sponsorship Committee.
“For three years I have also been on the Table Tennis Canada Athletes Commission, where we provide a voice for athletes to the board. Last year I was elected to be the Vice Chair of the commission,” he says. “From 2020-2022, I had the honour of being on Table Tennis Canada’s Gender Equity Committee, where we endeavoured to promote gender equality and equity in our sport.”
He is also active in extracurriculars at university. For the 2022-23 school year, he was the Promotions Coordinator of the University of Manitoba Actuarial Club. His role was to promote the university’s actuarial program to high school students and first year university students that have not yet decided their major.
He organized 24 high school presentations across Manitoba, and organized for three professional actuarial analysts to come to the university to present on their careers.
For the 2023-24 school year, he was elected to be the club’s Co-President. His goal is to foster more engagement and involvement among students in the program and help more students be ready to join the workforce when they graduate.
Learn more about Sport Manitoba’s scholarships here.
