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How you can run Ping in the Community sessions in your table tennis club
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.
There are many benefits of running community sessions from within your club, including;
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
PremierClub’s and Associate clubs are able to run Ping in the Community sessions, benefitting from a free set of resources until 31st March 2019. The resources provide clubs with guidance and tips on delivering community sessions, along with marketing materials to help recruit participants, including;
Your Ping in the Community sessions will also be added to our table tennis finder website tool.
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.