Cue drum-roll . . . we are delighted to announce the winners of our National Table Tennis Day Competitions.
Table Tennis England and Ping! challenged table tennis players to mark the day earlier this month by playing the highest game above sea level, finding the most extreme or intriguing place to play, and creating the most inventive table, bats or balls.
Now the identities of the winners can be revealed – and all will receive a table tennis table courtesy of the Ping! project to be used in their communities for social and recreational play.
Highest game above sea level
Saul and Will Ashon at the summit of Ben Nevis. They will be placing their table in Vestry Park, Walthamstow.
Will said: “The space was ‘done up’ a few years back. The main area is a five-a-side/basketball court and the bit nearest the road is a small playground. There is an area between these two zones, fenced off on both sides that is the perfect space for a table – there’s even a line of tall trees to take out any wind from the north!”
Most extreme or intriguing table location
Gary Vidgeon, Francesco Fassari, Giuseppe Lanza and friends from Brighton Table Tennis Club for their “Surf-Ping!”
Gary is a member of the In2Sport project for social inclusion and said: “The table will be used in pubs, old people’s homes, with adults with Learning Disabilities and for one-to-one coaching”.
Gary has become engaged in table tennis through the Ping! project, volunteering every day and working as a table tennis table technician doing lots of repairs.
As well as Surf-Ping, Gary and a group of friends also took a mini table out on National Table Tennis Day and played in Pavilion Gardens in Brighton and by the clock tower from 2-4am, with about 500 people joining in round the table through the night.
Most inventive table, bats or balls
Judith Silberberg and daughter Maddie, of Haworth Hawks Table Tennis Club, win for their Shrek, Elmo and Minion bats. The table will be donated to the Hawks, in Bradford.
The judging panel loved their entries as their bats were so creative and original and no doubt took hours to complete.
Table Tennis England and Sing London – the people behind Ping! – would like to thank everyone who entered the competitions and were overwhelmed by the effort that people went to with their entries.
National Table Tennis Day 2014 was deemed to be a huge success and will almost certainly now become a key feature in the annual calendar!
By Paul Stimpson (July 31st, 2014)