BUZZ 4.2012
PONG! using free bats which are stored at the side of the table. As well as freeplay sessions, the Ping! tables will be used for skill-improving masterclasses and organised tournaments. All you need is enthusiasm. In Fulham, a table is being set up in the Fulham Broadway centre. In Hammersmith there will be outdoor fun in Lyric Square, while in Shepherds Bush you can have a go on a table in the Westfield mall. It’s all part of the mass participation brief of the Olympics organisers, with table tennis seen as one of the most easily learnt and accessible sports. There are reckoned to be
300 million players worldwide, making it the second most popular sport after football. In England it is calculated that 134,900 people play table tennis every week – a rise of 50,000 on last year. Hammersmith & Fulham Council is backing the project locally with some of its Olympic cash. In return, the borough will get to keep the tables – and will be able to choose three community groups to house them. “Yes, after the monthlong project is over, they’ll get a permanent home in the borough,” sports development manager Jardine Finn told h&f buzz.
The ping pong tables will be in place from June 29 to July 26, with a supply of bats… and 200 table tennis balls. Masterclasses in ping pong will be given from time to time by local spin doctors, and tournaments will be organised at all three borough locations. Each table has an adopted ‘friend’ – a local shop or company which keeps an eye on it, and replenishes bats and balls when necessary. When the Ping! project was last run, more than 4,000 table tennis bats were provided around the country… and only 50 of them were nicked, impressing (and surprising) the organisers.
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