Declaring that it’s boom time for amateur table tennis sounds like early-career Alan Partridge. But it’s true – as professional players prepare for a world-class tournament in London next week, social players are gearing up for their own major event: a world record attempt.
Those heading to the Rich Mix arts centre in Bethnal Green on Sunday to try to break the official Guinness World Record for the most people participating in a table tennis rally will actually be playing ping pong, according to the organisers. In the past few years it is ping pong – as in sociable and often non-standard versions of the game, played at trendy club nights and in bars across Britain – that has enjoyed a happier profile than table tennis.
The sport is cash-strapped and players are facing formidable competition for medals next year from the sport’s Asian superpowers. The pastime, on the other hand, is booming. Statistics from Sport England show the numbers of people playing table tennis regularly are rising consistently; thousands more are playing in schools; and initiatives such as Ping! are increasing the number of permanent table tennis tables in public places.
Will Lines, one of the organisers of the world record attempt, started a ping pong club night in east London with his twin brother, Dan, in 2007. Will says the night was “the first to take table tennis into a bar and mix it with drinking, DJs and a young crowd. It was obviously about ping pong but it was just as much about socialising and having a drink and listening to some decent music.”
With similar nights starting elsewhere in London around the same time, and other cities also undergoing ping pong revivals at venues such as Spin in New York and Dr Pong in Berlin, it’s hard to say who got there first. But playing the sport in bars and clubs has certainly caught on, and table tennis-themed events have proved equally popular in the corporate world.
The mass-participation versions of table tennis now being played socially have the air of the Victorian parlour games from which the sport originated. For the world record attempt, each participant will take a bat and divide into two groups, lining up on either side of the table. What happens next is probably the trickiest shot of the day, as Guinness World Records insists on a regulation serve. The server then moves quickly away to allow the next in line to receive what must be a legal return shot from the other side of the table, with the rally continuing until it breaks down. The current record stands at 101 players.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zrDkqdKW_cY%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zrDkqdKW_cY
The Lines brothers have put together a video of tips for those taking part (above), from ‘aim for the middle of the table’ to ‘no showboating’. Will says: “Even a successful record attempt would only take two minutes roughly so it seems like an eminently achievable world record – it’s not like we’re asking people to play for 24 hours. If it goes right it will be pretty quick and if it goes wrong it’ll be pretty quick as well.”
Following on from the success of their club night, the brothers have decided to reactivate the English Ping Pong Association (Eppa), a body that existed between 1901-03 before being merged into the organisation that preceded the English Table Tennis Association (Etta), which is the sport’s governing body in the UK today. While the aim of Eppa is partly to draw a playful distinction between social ping pong and the breathtaking skill that will be on show at the Olympics, its remit moves beyond simply providing people with a fun night out.
The only real problem for those wanting to play the sport is accessing a proper table, an unwieldy piece of equipment unlikely to fit easily into the average home. The generation now attending social ping pong events may have encountered tables at youth clubs and leisure centres when younger, but cuts to public services mean there is doubt as to whether these types of facilities will be as widely available for future generations. Hence Eppa is keen to branch out into social entrepreneurship, by affiliating with projects such as Untitled Space’s Hit & Run Ping Pong, which places table tennis tables in empty shop premises and on pedestrian-friendly streets to encourage community participation.
Otherwise it’s the sport’s very accessibility that Will cites as the reason behind the social ping pong revival. Will says: “As long as you can find a table, the rest of the equipment is fairly cheap and easy to come by. I think it’s easy to pick up and play to a standard that is enjoyable, there isn’t a steep learning curve that you get with some sports or pastimes. You can play and enjoy it almost from the word go.”
• The world record attempt takes place at Rich Mix, London, from 12pm on Sunday 20 November. Players and spectators are welcome; go to richmix.org.uk for more details or register here.
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