Tepper, who represented Australia at the Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992 Olympics and won one Commonwealth silver and three bronze medals, said it was an honour to receive the award.

”I was pretty chuffed and it was a lovely honour really,” she said. 

“I think I’m just the 20^th person and second woman to get the life membership of the Australian Table Tennis Association. 

“When I received my Victorian Olympic Council life membership I was also only the second woman to receive it then. The female recognition hasn’t been there traditionally, so it’s great to fly the flag for that.”

Tepper said her best memory was competing in the Olympics.

“When I grew up all I wanted to do was get selected for the Olympics,” she said.

“Table tennis wasn’t in the Olympics until 1988. It was pretty amazing to be among the first 144 table tennis Olympians from around the world. 

“My Commonwealth medals and that silver medal was probably my biggest achievement.”

Tepper’s illustrious career also included being named the Victorian table tennis player of the year for 10 years in a row. 

“It wasn’t as big in statue as the Commonwealth medals, but that 10^th year of winning that was a tough year and to be able to nail that was pretty exciting,” she said. 

After retiring from table tennis, Tepper remained heavily involved within sporting organisations including the Victorian Institute of Sport, Table Tennis Victoria, Australian Olympic Academy and others. 

She is also known for helping start the Kerri Tepper Table Tennis Tournament for People with Disabilities in Horsham.

“The membership is about competing in the sport but then also contributing to the sport after your career is finished,” Tepper said. 

“For me there was an opportunity to be able to support and profile the sport in a wider platform. A lot of my volunteering has been about representing my sport and helping build awareness in the broader sporting landscape. 

“I really enjoyed my time on the Victorian Olympic Council and my proudest achievement was launching the Julius Patching Official of the Year Award – Julius Patching was such a passionate man for the Olympic movement and the award recognises our amazing volunteering officials.

“Even though a lot of sport is professionalised, without volunteers a lot of it would be impossible.”

Tepper received her life membership alongside 13-time Australian table tennis national champion William Henzell.