Meet the RTI Board Member: Adam Fitt, RTI Vice President

From A Quiet Town in Berkshire to the Top of the World

I joined Maidenhead Round Table 202 as a fresh–faced 23-year-old back in April 2011 (on my 23^rd birthday actually) but my Tabling journey really began when I was just a shy young kid. I grew up in the Round Table family; my father was a Tabler and then a 41er (now Rotary), and my mother was a Circler. I suppose you could say it was inevitable that, having grown up around it and been exposed to so many members, families, events and, of course, the Santa Sleigh, I would eventually join the ranks. I was asked to join on my 18^th birthday, but I opted to go to university and follow that path first. I think choosing that path allowed me to develop slightly differently, make some mistakes we all need to make, and just enjoy a different experience. 

My Table career started inauspiciously. I went to the two meetings a month during my first year, along with the occasional Area event. Area Human Table Football was always a favourite to attend. Those early years in Table were made more challenging by the fact that Maidenhead 202 and Area 25 generally were struggling to attract members. When I joined, we had 4 members and hovered around that for a couple of years. It was tough but we were a good group, and although I no longer live in the area, and many have aged out, we are still good friends to this day and catch up where time allows.  

Seeing the Bigger Picture

The game really changed for me in September 2013 when Tony Farnfield, a Maidenhead Tabler, and long-time family friend, took me to Ilfracombe for my first National Sporting Weekend (NSW). To say my eyes were opened is an understatement. Having been elected Table Vice Chairman at the previous AGM, I wanted to take more initiative and help grow the club ahead of my Chair year, with trying new experiences, attending different events and expanding my horizons all forming part of that journey. NSW introduced me to a whole host of new people including national councillors, the national board, and members from all over the country. By the time National AGM 2014 in Nottingham rolled round (my first one), I found myself as a Region Rep, exposing me to even more ideas, tools and opportunities.

The First International

2014 also saw my first Round Table International trip. I was contacted by the International Relations Officer and asked if I wanted to go to Italy, in 4 days! All I had to do was pay for the flight change, as the package was a travel exchange agreement with RT Italy. I had such an amazing weekend, experienced my first Buffalo (and certainly not my last), and it really piqued my interest in exploring the international side of Tabling. For me personally, it is just a totally different experience to regular travel. You avoid the tourists, form a bond like you are brothers, and experience countries in a totally different way.

To this day, I love both home hosting and being home hosted because you become part of that experience with the other person. Anyway, from there on I travelled every so often as my budget allowed to many events: CEE Region Meetings, an attempt to restart numbers club in Germany and my first World Meeting in Sri Lanka; I even met Tablers when travelling for work or on holiday.

What really pushed me to apply for the National International Relations Officer (IRO) position was attending CEETM 2021 in Germany on behalf of the RTBI Board. This was fresh out of covid and the event clashed with the first big RTBI event for nearly 2 years, so James Edwards and I were sent as representatives – what could possibly go wrong there?! To say it was an experience is a massive understatement, and it was extremely humbling, but I made my decision that weekend that I wanted to be the RTBI IRO and represent our association around the world. So, I applied and won the role for the 2022-24 term. 

The IRO role is such a rewarding role because you get to make a difference in RTBI, as a board member, and at international level as an RTI councillor. I know it sometimes gets dismissed as the holiday club, but I truly believe the work that has gone into that over the last few years has helped make us a great international and travelling association again. 

The Next Step

During my term as IRO, I became interested in pursuing the CEE Chairman role. It was still a fairly new role at the time (around 5/6 years since creation), so I saw a lot of potential for that role to grow. There was still debate around what the Region Chairs actually did, so I took the opportunity to showcase what could be done. Overall, I think it was a really successful year, and I was very grateful to be part of that international board. RTI had reached a point where the connection and goodwill between the floor and the RTI board had soured because of some previous incidents. Being part of that reset was very rewarding and in our President, Daniele Cusi, we had a leader who let us be ourselves and not part of a machine. 

Assuming that role at the World Meeting in Maastricht also came at a very tough personal time for me. I had recently moved 200 miles away from my family and friends after breaking off my engagement, selling my share of our house and taking on a new challenge with a new job. This had been happening in the background for nearly a year but moving house 3 days before going to a World Meeting was perhaps a choice I could have made differently. What it did do was help me appreciate even more the support and faith the guys had in me for that role, and I gave it everything I had.

The Big One

I always act with a bit of scepticism when people say: "I never planned to be President" - in my view, there is always some design in place for a period of time beforehand, and I would be hypocritical if I said the same. But in all honesty, I only really made the decision during my visit to the Half Year Meeting in Norway in March. I had definitely thought about it and discussed it with close friends. I also was not sure if I had what was required, both in myself, and in terms of energy, to fulfil the role.

I had really enjoyed my downtime from leadership roles, finally taking the opportunity to settle into my now not-so-new life in South Yorkshire after what was, frankly, an insane 2025. Between Round Table and work, I travelled extensively, clocking up 54 flights, visiting 10 countries across three continents and enduring some truly crazy time-zone swings. By that point, I honestly felt as though I had given enough time and energy to Round Table. I was also approaching 15 years as a member at this point. But a lot of kind words from many friends, past Presidents, IROs and Region Chairs persuaded me to give it one last go. Being 38 years old, I could only apply for the RTI VP/President role one last time because of the RTI age rule, so I went all in. I was fully prepared that the answer from the floor would be no, and I was OK with that. We are a democracy and sometimes people want something different.

Well in Italy last month it happened, and I cannot even explain the feelings around that election announcement. It was like every emotion and feeling all at once, but I was so very grateful the floor gave me the chance.

Round Table has taken me from a small commuter town in Berkshire to 20 countries, on 4 continents; from York to New York, from Sweden to South Africa and from the Netherlands to the top of the world in Nepal! I hope your journey is as rewarding as mine. 

Yours in Tabling

Adam Fitt

Todwick & Anston 1292

Round Table International Vice President 2026-27