Ping in the Community & Clubs

Table tennis clubs can provide the perfect environment for wider community sessions, as they already have quality equipment, suitable venues and knowledgeable members to provide the appropriate support to those trying the sport for the first time or returning after a break.

To support clubs in delivering these sessions we’ve created a set of resources to enable you to run community sessions branded as ‘Ping in the Community’.

Ping in the Community is a project developed by the Mass Participation team at Table Tennis England, designed to bring members of the community together and inspire them to lead more active, healthy and happy lifestyles – irrespective of their ability, age, gender, ethnicity or background. We hope that taking part in an informal and social environment, individuals develop a regular playing habit and either continue to take part socially or develop a competitive habit in a traditional club setting.

The project has the ability to engage ‘hard to reach’ groups, including women and girls, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and all age groups. This is due to the flexible and informal nature of Ping in the Community, allowing people’s relationship with sport and physical activity to develop and strengthen over time.

Benefits of Running Community Sessions

There are many benefits of running community sessions from within your club, including;

• Attract more players, including women and other ‘hard to reach’ groups and volunteers
• Increase publicity of your club and it’s work through promotion of your Ping in the Community sessions and any associated media interest
• Increase income through charging participants to take part and through increases in memberships. You may even be eligible for local funding pots if you reach specific target groups

We have seen various examples of clubs successfully running community sessions, which attract a wide range of participants. These sessions either evolve into sustainable groups, or participants gradually transfer into traditional club sessions.

Tim Holtom, Brighton Table Tennis Club:

BTTC’s outreach sessions in the community has meant that the diversity and membership of the club is a lot more interesting. Clubs can benefits greatly from actively working in their local community and building referral networks for new players

 

What’s on Offer

PremierClub’s and Associate clubs are able to run Ping in the Community sessions, benefitting from a free set of resources until 31^st March 2019. The resources provide clubs with guidance and tips on delivering community sessions, along with marketing materials to help recruit participants, including;

• Social session guidelines
• 50 x Participant registration form
• Session register
• 10 x A4 posters; empty belly and session
• 50 x Flyers
• Information on associate membership
• Press release template (digital format)
• Social media assets (digital format)

Your Ping in the Community sessions will also be added to our table tennis finder website tool.

Eligibility Criteria

• Clubs must be affiliated to Table Tennis England to receive these resources
• Sessions are led by a licenced coach, with support from Activator’s if necessary. These people should be enthusiastic, knowledgeable and good with people
• Sessions must be participant focused and meet the needs and requirements of those attending, including avoiding traditional coaching methods if so desired by participants
• Record the number of participants attending each session, capturing their information with the provided participants registration forms
• Provide basic monitoring and evaluation information approximately 8 weeks after the sessions begin

You can order the product by submitting the information requested below, this should be completed by the individual who will lead the sessions

Note: for clubs looking to target those aged 50+ see our Bat & Chat product.