Bat & Chat
Table tennis sessions for the over 50s.
Bat & Chat is an organised social table tennis session targeting individuals who are over 50.
The sessions provide participants with the opportunity to enjoy table tennis in a friendly and relaxed environment.
These sessions are a perfect way to return to table tennis, following the pandemic, and can help tackle the recent increase in social isolation and physical inactivity. They will involve a combination of free play, fun and competitive games whilst incorporating a break for socialising.
There will be an activator or coach present to help facilitate and cater for any particular needs.
All of the venues being used to run Bat & Chat will follow our Covid-19 guidelines, to ensure they are being delivered in the safest possible way.
Prior to the pandemic, the Chelmsford League had seen success in players being fed into the league as a result of Bat & Chat. Paul Bullock, a 73-year-old retired teacher from Basildon, started attending the group, which meets on Tuesday mornings at Chelmsford Leisure Centre, early this year, and has now ‘graduated’ to two league teams.
“It really was a superb beginning to table tennis for me. It’s like any sport, you have to get the basics in place if you want to play to a reasonable level and there was a coach there who could do that.
“I had the ability to reach a reasonable standard and now I’ve joined a couple of league teams – Chelmsford F in the Chelmsford League and Mount Nessing in the Brentwood League.”
Paul Bullock, Bat & Chat participant
One league to also launch the programme is Castleford and Pontefract. The league started a Bat & Chat session to address the steady decline of members in recent years, and after anecdotal evidence revealed existing squash club members would enjoy a different racket activity. The session was advertised through a flyer and the local press.
“Numbers at the sessions have been consistently high and most of the players have been either new to the sport or returning from playing previously. Most have been signed up as associate members and a few are progressing to the League in September.”
Dennis Shaw, league press secretary
Take a look at our good practice guide on customer experience which forms a key part of our objective to improve the experience of all those playing our game.
Order Bat & Chat
Bat and Chat can be ordered by filling in the simple form below.
After completing our request form and confirming you meet some basic criteria for delivering the programme, you will receive a number of digital resources that you can use to promote your sessions as well as keep of track of those participants regularly attending.
We will also add your session to our table tennis finder website tool, and you will become part of a wider network of clubs and leagues delivering the Bat & Chat programme.