What do you get if you take 1,000 table tennis tables, 10,000 bats and 60,000 balls, and place them in the streets and open spaces of 19 towns and cities nationwide?
The answer is, of course, Ping! – probably the biggest and coolest ping pong festival in the world and certainly the one with the most street cred.
Bouncing back for its sixth successive summer; the festival sees tables popping up in a variety of diverse and surprising locations such as the beach front of Brighton, Spitalfields Market, Exeter Cathedral and the business district of Milton Keynes.
A record 19 towns and cities are hosting the Ping! festival this year, including Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Cornwall, Croydon, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Sheffield and Tower Hamlets. Visit www.pingengland.co.uk for more information
The action kicks off in spectacular fashion on 13th June with a national launch event in the new Ping! city of Plymouth. This will be the first time the national launch has taken place outside London, and Plymouth is very excited about the opportunity to host this table tennis festival and encourage people to be more active.
On the city’s Armada Way Piazza, under the backdrop of a big screen, the circular lighthouse inspired ping pong table will take centre stage, with a ‘ping-pong ding dong’ between Plymouth Argyle’s mascot Pilgrim Pete and Plymouth Raider’s Foxy; grudge matches between local councillors and Plymouth’s up and coming sports athletes who are on the Free Access for National Sportspeople (FANS) scheme.
Paralympian superstar David Wetherill will be demonstrating that there are truly no barriers to playing and enjoying the game, irrespective of disability, gender or age with his master classes and exhibition matches. With Plymouth Radio also in attendance it promises to be a noisy, lively and enjoyable day.
Each city will be putting their own unique spin on the Ping! experience. As well as free play, the tables will feature ‘Random Acts of Ping Pong’; Cambridge launches at the Chesterton festival with the Stilt ladies table tennis players; Leeds has a Sky Ride event; Cornwall will attempt a World record for longest rally with a Flip Flop and Brighton are hosting the 4th Annual Ping! Frying Pan Championships!
The 1,000 tables will remain long after the Ping! festival is over; installed in parks and estates on a permanent basis or donated to organisations for the benefit of the community.
Ping! is not the only social table tennis initiative on the scene this summer and beyond – workplaces can also get involved through our new Loop scheme, which offers superb ‘Beat the Boss’ packages including tables, bats, balls and trophies at vastly discounted prices.
For more information about Loop, visit www.keepintheloop.co.uk
Julie Snowdon
June 2, 2015