Six adults and six children conquered fatigue to complete a 24-hour table tennis marathon which raised £1,100 for charity.

The members of Keighley Table Tennis and Recreation Centre played  solidly between noon on Saturday 3rd May and noon on Sunday 4th May, going without sleep and only taking occasional food and comfort breaks.

They were joined by numerous other players during the course of the event, including two of the club’s younger members, Aliza Khaliq (10) and Emily Mellor (11).

The event raised £1,100 – with more funds still coming in – a healthy percentage of which is going to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The charity was chosen because one of the club’s junior players, Jethro Rainford, suffered from cancer in 2010 and received magnificent support from the Trust. The rest of the money will go towards buying new equipment and paying the club’s ongoing running costs.

The core players included husband and wife team, Bob and Doreen Yorke, both in their 50s, and mother and daughter team Judith and Maddy Silberberg. Junior players also included Nathan Ward and Spencer Hurd.

The group devised ways of beating boredom and fatigue, including using frying pans and paperbacks as bats. Another challenge was to achieve the rally with the highest number of consecutive shots. Head coach Andy Bray and 12-year old Spencer Hurd triumphed in this contest with 1165 consecutive shots.

“The hours between two and six in the morning were the toughest,” said Andy Bray. “But we’ve come through it and everyone’s delighted to have raised money for the Teenage Cancer Trust as well as for our own club.”

For further information on Keighley Table Tennis and Recreation Centre, please contact Andy Bray on 07766 428307

Paul Stimpson (6th May, 2014)