Making a Racket MARK THOMPSON (JD ’86)
MARK THOMPSON, COO OF USA TABLE TENNIS, HAS A MESSAGE FOR AMERICANS: IT’S TIME TO GET OUT OF YOUR BASEMENTS AND GARAGES.
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s part of his new job, Thompson hopes to introduce table tennis to young people who might be drawn to other sports. “Every household used to have a ping pong table in their basement or garage,” he says. “It’s very inexpensive, there are lots of table tennis clubs, you play in gym class. If we pushed our elite efforts into the sport, I’m confident that we could develop a sport that could be competitive internationally.” Thompson oversees the USATT’s two big events, the U.S. Nationals and the U.S. Open. While running the U.S. Open in December, he was also working as broadcaster, or commentator, for the tournament. “It was an interesting several days,” he says. The Pennsylvania native is a veteran of 20 years in the professional hockey
operations coordinator and broadcaster. Thompson had moved to Los Angeles in 1991 where he “did talk radio, rediscovered a love of the sport of hockey, and embarked on a career as hockey broadcaster.” He was looking for a new challenge, one which included a chance to use more of his legal training—and he’s using it every day at USATT. “There are some very heightened legal issues that I’ve been addressing,” he explains. “There is the same sport compliance effort to educate and improve all memberships with respect to inappropriate behavior, all on the forefront of U.S. Olympic Committee and National Governing Board systems.” The U.S. is not at the level of table tennis powerhouses like China, Japan, India, Pakistan and Germany yet. “Our goal is to get a person on the podium at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,” Thompson says. “The Japanese program is spectacular. It may be the premier event for people in Tokyo, it’s such a big sport there and they’re expected to do very well. If we can generate those types of resources for our players as well, create that type of program, we can compete on an international stage.” “At the elite level, the athletes take it as seriously as any other sport I’ve been around. I see the same effort, energy and enthusiasm,” Thompson says. “These are extremely well-conditioned athletes, dedicated to a high-performance program.”
For Mark Thompson, with his dog Jupiter, table tennis was a popular pastime while he was in the professional hockey business.
business. He came to USATT after 12 years with the Reading Royals, an AA affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. There he served as media relations director, hockey
But the great thing about ping pong (a trademarked term, it’s OK to use it, the top level players aren’t insulted) is that you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to play. It’s fun to compete. “You can play at any level, any age, gender doesn’t matter, or physical disability. It’s open to everybody,” Thompson says. “Finding a fair, competitive balance makes it a very fun environment.”
SPRING 2018 |
U N I V E RS I T Y O F M E M P H I S M AGA Z I N E
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