35
SPORTS
! D E C E M B E R
Vero Beach table tennis scene gaining momentum
1 5 , 2 0 1 1 ! V E R O B E A C H
BY MICHAEL BIELECKI VERO BEACH NEWSWEEKLY
VERO BEACH -- The rhythmic pattering of ping pong balls echoes through the River House in Vero Beach every Monday evening. Men, women and teens -- armed only with ping pong paddles -- scan the air for tiny hollow, plastic balls with determination in their eyes and sweat on their brow. They swat serves, spin volleys and hammer-like, 60-mile-per-hour smashes at one another with fervor. There is no mistake about it; the games are every bit as competitive as they are social. Welcome to the Vero Beach Table Tennis Club – which meets Mondays from 6 to 9 p.m. at the River House, located at 305 Acacia Road on the north side of Riverside Park. This is Vero Beach’s best bet to find a decent game of table tennis -- the world’s second-most popular participation sport -- on any given week. “Our players are having such a good time that they want to extend the club to multiple nights.” said club founder Karl Freitag. “With some ex-
tra help from a local business sponsorship, we could host a tournament that brings in players from the other clubs across the state.” The money generated from a tournament would go towards renting the River House out for another night or two per week. Currently, the club members -- who mostly hail from Vero Beach and Sebastian, with a few traveling from as far as Port St. Lucie and Stuart -- pay $5 every week. In order to entice members, a player’s initial visit is free. Freitag hopes that the club can gain enough momentum to eventually support a league. Freitag, 56, started his love affair with table tennis when he was in college. He founded the Vero Beach Table Tennis Club last year mostly because the drive to the closest table tennis club was 60 miles away. Freitag tired of the long trek to play the sport he loved and so he decided to start his own club. Starting with a website and through word of mouth, players were soon meeting at each other’s houses and other local spots for practice and the occasional tournament. After scouring the town for locations and almost
purchasing a warehouse, the club was able to settle down at the River House with the help of Paul Good. In recently celebrating its first anniversary, the club had its first championship tournament. It wasn’t like the first Olympic table tennis match back in 1988, but it was certainly a far cry from the Vero Beach Table Tennis Club’s first meeting of members in Steve Hutchison’s garage. Cielo Galman, who had recently joined the club, went undefeated and took home the first-place trophy.
But for members like Richard Niesler, 72, it isn’t so much about championships as it is about making new friends and getting a little exercise. Even for Freitag, it isn’t about running his own club or about competing at a world-class level. “One thing I look forward to every week is going to the club and having fun with the other members,” he said. For more information about the club, visit www.vbttc.com or call Karl Freitag at (772) 978-7103. Joe Grover contributed to this article.
=8;$ 8# 20 ;8:/!1 84 20%... ;><$1 3'-+, '7" 9'&5- *(44(:/)6
%>? =''A8 #!%$" 9+6 $2:) *4'; 0':> ('.,!
/' 5':4B,' C>:'B#? - %>@'87B, &.:8
*5" - (>8,! &':7BD') 3',!?B,B.?8
111;)>?8B@<>:7;,>@
N E W S W E E K L Y
PHOTO BY JOE GROVER
Ping pong enthusiasts meet every Monday evening at the River House on the north side of Riverside Park.