The Ping! tables are coming
What do you get if you take 1,000 ping pong tables, 10,000 bats and 60,000 balls, and place them in the streets and open spaces of 19 towns and cities nationwide?
The answer is, of course, Ping! - probably the biggest and coolest ping pong festival in the world and certainly the one with the most street cred.
Bouncing back for its sixth successive summer; the festival sees ping pong tables popping up in a variety of diverse and surprising locations. The South West features strongly in cities chosen to host the event. Once again, the people of Exeter will be enjoying ping pong for free at locations all around the city and for the first time, Plymouth joins in the fun with 32 locations for their table tennis tables.
In Exeter as well as the old favourites - locations such as Princesshay, Exeter Library and Exeter Central Station there are new sites for the table tennis tables at Exeter Cathedral, Devon and Cornwall Housing Association’s Gabriel House, Exeter Airport and Exeter Science Park. Tables are placed where they are most likely to tempt people to play. To join in the fun, simply grab a bat from the side of the table and play – absolutely free of charge!
The Ping! action kicks off in spectacular fashion on 13th June with a national launch event in Plymouth. This will be the first time the national launch has taken place outside London, and there are a full day of events taking place at Armada Way Piazza. Paralympian superstar David Wetherill will be demonstrating that there are truly no barriers to playing and enjoying the game, irrespective of disability, gender or age with his master classes and exhibition matches.
Ping! Exeter launches on 19th June with a full day of table tennis fun, competitions and free play, including a ping pong ding dong with a robotic opponent. Alex Bunney, the national Ping!and Programme Operations Officer for Table Tennis England will be coming along to Princesshay to oversee the fun and games and see just how Ping! Exeter goes batty like no other city.
1,000 tables have been put out in public spaces nationally and some will remain long after the Ping! festival is over; installed in parks and estates on a permanent basis or donated to organisations for the benefit of the community.
Table tennis, ping pong or ‘whiff-whaff’ (if you’re Boris Johnson) is fast becoming the new social hip and happening recreational pastime, with two million people playing for fun in England (according to Sport England).
Table Tennis England, the sport’s official governing body, has recognised this trend with the launch of ‘Loop’; an initiative to engage adults in social table tennis in a variety of non-traditional settings. Loop brings ping pong to the workplace; to bars and cafes, universities and clubhouses. To help businesses bring all the health and well-being benefits of offering table tennis to their employees, they’ve teamed up with Sport England and equipment suppliers to offer superb 'Beat the Boss' packages which include tables, bats, balls, trophies at vastly discounted prices.
For more information about Ping! in the Westcountry visit www.pingexeter.co.uk and www.pingplymouth.co.uk
For more information about Loop visit www.keepintheloop.co.uk.
