Table tennis aces to launch Ping! Exeter
The start of the sixth annual national street ping pong festival is upon us and once more, Exeter gets in on the action with a spectacular launch at the city’s Princesshay Shopping Centre this Friday 19th June.
Centre stage will be the true stars of the show – 10 full sized table tennis tables located right at the heart of Exeter’s busy shopping district.
The tables will be there for anyone to play on in ‘Random Acts of Ping Pong’, but the tables will also play host to master classes from local and national tennis table stars throughout the day on Friday.
Top players in the local leagues, including local stars Naomi Jackson, George and Edward Haskell, Mike Hiugh, Jon Cheung and Dawid Gawron will be on hand to show the public just how its done.
George and Edward Haskill have been playing Table Tennis since they were 9 and 7 respectively. George is part of the Devon County team and is in the regional squad. He has also played in the Euro Challenge as part of the England team. Edward Haskell has played both as a Devon junior and senior team player and is currently undertaking a UK coaching certificate.
Over the summer period, in excess of 30,000 people are expected to pick up a bat and have a go right here in Exeter, and all for free!. As well as the chance of watching table tennis played with incredible speed and agility, members of the public can challenge a programmable robotic opponent to a match.
Active Devon have teamed up with Age UK to run ‘The Big Chinwag’. A sofa and a Ping! table have been placed under the glass canopy and people will be encouraged to pause from their shopping to sit or play a game of Ping!, have a chat and enjoy a cuppa, all to raise awareness of isolation and loneliness.
Table tennis has increasingly been recognised for its ability to bring people together - having a conversation over a table whilst knocking a ball about can break down lots of barriers.
“We have lots of examples of the way that Ping! has demonstrated that it has great therapeutic value especially for vulnerable groups who may be susceptible to social isolation. Getting people to open up can be really hard, but Ping! has shown time and again that it really is the answer to their prayers” said Katy Leonard, Ping! lead at Active Devon.
Talking of prayers, there is also a table nearby at the cathedral green dubbed by organisers the ‘ping and a prayer table’. More tables have popped up in remarkable places all over the city, and will remain there for the next eight weeks, all you need to do is pick up a bat and play, and it’s completely free!
A full list of table locations can be seen at www.pingexeter.co.uk
