Welcome to Around the Table, our regular look at the work Table Tennis England is doing to promote and support table tennis around the country.
This week our subject is one of the highlights of our summer, #TableTennisDay
What is #TableTennisDay?
It is a special day when the table tennis family can come together to celebrate and promote all that is great about our sport and – most importantly – have some fun.
The inaugural day was held last year, with events across Britain including in the Houses of Parliament under the shadow of Big Ben. It was so successful, it has become an annual celebration.
That’s all well and good but why do we need a dedicated day to do this?
It creates a focal point, an opportunity to do something as a community. It’s also about helping to raise the profile of the sport and to reach out to new participants, volunteers and officials. We feel that a ‘headline’ day gives us a reason to organise events and a greater chance of getting publicity for those events.
So when is this year’s #TableTennisDay?
This year’s festivities are on Thursday July 16th.
Where does it take place?
Anywhere! Indoors or out, in clubs, schools, workplaces, bars, leisure and shopping centres – wherever there is a table and even in places where there isn’t. And even though we’re Table Tennis England, don’t let international boundaries hold you back – last year we had photographic evidence of the day being celebrated as far away as Crete!
What do we have to do?
Whatever you like! That’s the beauty of #TableTennisDay – you can let your imagination run wild, or you can keep things simple.
They basic idea is to organise an event which gets people playing and having fun. You could target new players – perhaps your club could host an open day or a ‘bring a friend’ event. Or perhaps you could offer a coaching session to a place of work. If you fancy being a bit more ambitious, why not aim to organise a game in an unusual or iconic location?
Whatever you do, be sure to let your local media know – and we’ve love to hear from you too!
Any other ways to get involved?
Yes – we have some great competitions with fantastic prizes up for grabs. Take your #TableTennisDay selfie and win a £100 High Street voucher, or take up the trick shot challenge, with a £100 Experience Day for the best trick shot. And why not design your own bat? The winning designer will get their bat made by Uberpong and win an Instant Ping Pong pack.
For more details about the competitions or to download our online toolkit to help you plan and organise your event, visit www.tabletennisengland.co.uk/tabletennisday
One last thing – what’s the hashtag all about?
It’s a way to bring everyone connected with the day into one group – and you can use the hashtag on Twitter too. Table Tennis England will be celebrating in Nottingham on July 16th, so watch out for our social media posts.
June 24, 2015