Stilton TTC is a prime example of a club using the power of sport to bring people together and reduce social isolation.

The club did not exist less than 10 years ago but now has more than 80 registered players and offers both social and competitive opportunities.

The small Cambridgeshire village where it is based opened a new sports facility in 2016, and with lifelong devotee Steve Ambler involved in the project, table tennis was always going to be a central part of the plan.

They started life with three donated tables and a collection of other used equipment, but a Sport England grant of almost £10,000 in 2017 really launched the club.

Steve, now the club secretary, says they wanted to focus on social play at first, to give the senior population of the village and surrounding area an opportunity to mix exercise with meeting people.

Bat & Chat was the ideal vehicle for this, and weekly sessions were set up, which attract 20-24 people every week – and still at the same £3 cost per two-hour session as six years ago.

Steve said: “We had a plan to be playing league table tennis within three or four years. We wanted to concentrate on social table tennis and we’ve gone from strength to strength. We’ve got over 80 registered on our books now.

“For a small village, we’re attracting people. A lot of people have been introduced to table tennis and now take it a bit more seriously, some of them play league table tennis. So, it’s been a real success – hard work but a real success.

“The Bat & Chat [players] are really important to the club because we get so many of them and they contribute financially to the club and really help.”

The players attending the sessions all have slightly different reasons and motivations for attending, but they all agree they get a huge amount out of them.

As one of them says in the video: “I hadn’t played table tennis before, but I thought I’d go along and give it a go and see how I got on. And I just really took to it, I really, really enjoyed it.

“I found it was a terrific form of exercise, good for the brain as well as the body, and the opportunity to meet other people who took playing seriously but not over seriously. It’s a really good atmosphere.”

See more about the sessions – and hear more from those attending – in the video above.

If you would like to discuss bringing Bat & Chat to your club, click here for more information, or contact your Area Manager.