082 SPORT


TABLE David Leck


SETTING Tom Turner/TTE & Sport England


One of the fi rst things a table tennis fan is keen to tell you is that theirs is a friendly, social and inclusive pastime. But what else is it that appeals to such a diverse community of players?


“H


ow about table tennis for the November sports pages,” said our lovely Editor Sarah. “Sure,” I replied, while thinking to myself: Is


this really a sport? Isn’t it just two people having a knock-about? But, as I quickly discovered, there is a reason you should never underestimate any physical activity, especially one that experienced practitioners make look easy. You may have memories of table tennis being played in the club of your youth but the sport (yes, it is a sport) has been enjoying something of a resurgence, despite setbacks such as Sport England’s decision to suspend funding last year when Table Tennis England’s (TTE) memberships’ representatives chose to reject proposals to comply with governance requirements. That resurgence is not just at Olympic and Paralympic standard


but at local and regional levels as well as in settings such as Bounce, Europe’s largest purpose-built ‘social ping pong’ club in London’s Hoxton, an area in which you’d be forgiven for picturing trendy young natives more likely to be downing turmeric shots and tucking into smashed avocado. For starters, table tennis has numerous


THE SPORT HAS BEEN ENJOYING SOMETHING OF A RESURGENCE, DESPITE SETBACKS SUCH AS SPORT ENGLAND’S DECISION TO


benefi ts on physical, cerebral and social levels. It improves refl exes and hand-eye co-ordination, develops mental agility, is gentle on joints, burns calories, helps with balance and keeps the brain sharp. The sport now claims


SUSPEND FUNDING


more than 42,000 TTE members (and on the rise), has a substantial number of leagues across the country, and a 10- year plan to get table tennis offered to young people in 500 additional community venues and


played in 1,000 more schools. In Kent there are a variety of leagues in which people can play, with opportunities for everyone from casual beginners looking for the sociable side of a sport to those seeking more structured skills training. The Table Tennis England’s website (see


Get Involved, far right) has a fi nder option where people can locate their nearest club and contact them directly for more information.


Ping in the Community


Loop was created by Table Tennis England with a vision to see more people enjoying the benefi ts of playing table tennis and by bringing the game into non-traditional settings.


The successful scheme was relaunched this September as Ping in the Community to strengthen work in bringing free table tennis to places people are already spending time in their everyday lives.


Keely Armitt, Head of Participation


at Table Tennis England, explains: “The ‘community’ initiative aims to give all groups of society access to free or very affordable table tennis, and as such it aligns perfectly with the Ping! project, which has successfully been delivering free table tennis in non-traditional places for the past nine years. “Ping! has grown over time from a summer festival into a year-round project with a vast reach, and the hope is that by embedding table tennis into community places many more people will play the game regularly and enjoy the many health and


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118