- News
- Events Events
- High Performance High Performance
-
Participation & Development
Participation & Development
Participation & Development Club Finder National Volunteer and Coach Awards Get Involved in Para Table Tennis Table Tennis - Rules & Equipment Sporting Schools Spinneroos Coaching Courses & Accreditations Officiating Courses & Accreditations National Coach Finder National Insurance Coverage Participation Census National Member Finder TTA Webinar Resources TTA Equipment & Facilities Grant Women and Girls Special Olympics Australia
- About & Governance About & Governance
- Contact
Table Tennis well-equipped for the future!
Published Tue 20 Nov 2018
From Esperance to Manly Vale, the inaugural Equipment & Facilities grant program from Table Tennis Australia (TTA) has helped local clubs bring new life (and tables) into the sport.
In addition to funding from club members and the local business community, TTA and the Esperance Shire Council (via their annual Community Grants Program) helped Esperance Table Tennis Club (ETTC) raise $4800 to buy four new tables.
Club President, Rhonda Bruhn, said there had been a revival in social table tennis over the past four years. She said that there was strong interest in the sport locally a decade ago, when former champion player Neil Coy began table tennis coaching for school children on Wednesday afternoons, and arranged competitions and social table tennis.
With the current club membership's average age being over 65, the sport provides a healthy activity and a weekly social event for the many seniors involved. Other participants include BOICO Health and Welfare participants, children during the school holidays and visitors to town. Table tennis also proved a popular activity for the One and All School Holiday Program, with more than 72 participants playing the game.
Mrs Bruhn said the Club appreciated the support of TTA, the Esperance Shire Council and others involved in the fundraising project for the new tables and other equipment. The equipment, purchased from a local sports store, replaced tables that had been in use for more than 15 years and beyond repair.
Now that it can cater for new members, the club expects a further increase in numbers to play the world's most popular participation sport. Social table tennis played at the Scout Hall every Thursday morning from 9am, and all comers are welcome.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Northern Districts Table Tennis Association (SNDTTA) also recently celebrated the arrival of new table tennis tables, with the regular table tennis session at the Manly Vale Community Centre now home to four new tables.
The centre has been running for around 16 years on old tables, and TTA’s new Equipment & Facilities grant program provided SNDTTA with the perfect opportunity to replace their ageing tables. The grant was approved in July, and the existing three tables and nets were replaced by four quality tables and nets. New barriers were also purchased to partition the hall in two.
On hand to welcome in the new tables were TTA board member Marie Pinkewich, SNDTTA President Mark Seeto and SND Manly Vale coordinator, Kevin Wright, who acknowledged the role of both organisations in procuring the new tables.
Marie Pinkewich officially launched the tables by playing the inaugural smash on one of the new tables. SND Manly Vale is open for casual drop in play from 3:30pm till 5:30pm on Saturday afternoons most of the year.
TTA acknowledges Kevin Wright, Marie Pinkewich, Rhonda Bruhn, the Esperance Express & Bill Cutten. Photos: ETTC members are all smiles with the arrival of their four new tables, and members give their new tables a work-out at Manly Vale Community Centre.
