Ping in the Community
Subsidised table tennis packages designed for community groups.
Ping in the Community provides local people with the opportunity to get active and connect with others by bringing table tennis into community spaces.
Our Ping in the Community table packages include everything that is needed to get going, including bats, balls and printed resources to help advertise and activate the game – such as advertising posters, games ideas and competition formats. We subsidise some of our table packages using Sport England funding, meaning we can offer them for an affordable price. Groups that are eligible for Ping in the Community include religious venues, youth clubs, community centres, village halls and hospitals, as well as National organisations such as Age UK, U3A, Local Minds etc. Follow the link below to find out more about Ping in the Community and the eligibility criteria. A maximum of 2 packages can be purchased per venue.
Our community project can help you to meet several goals and targets:
- Increase physical activity levels
- Improve people’s physical and mental health
- Target whole communities, or specific under-represented groups
- Bring communities together
- Combat social isolation
- Develop partnerships with a range of organisation
Getting a Ping in the Community project set up is fairly easy, simply follow the steps below:
- Identify any groups or organisations you would like to target, or advertise the project to your network
- Confirm how the package will be paid for; either through funding we provide, paying for the package yourselves, or having the organisation pay for the package themselves
- Get the organisation receiving the package to complete the attached order form and return it to us – or they can return it via you if required
- Their order will be processed and an invoice will be raised and sent to the organisation paying for the package (if required)
- The equipment order will be placed with our supplier (once payment has been made, if required). The supplier will contact the organisation to arrange delivery and their resource pack will be sent from our Head Office
We can provide you with flyers to send out to your networks, email us and we can send you some.
Whether you are working with the ageing population, youngsters, people with health or mental problems or the socially isolated, playing table tennis will be of benefit to them and its impact can be powerful. Our research around Ping in the Community has revealed some key findings including:
- 59% of Ping in the Community participants are inactive
- Ping in the Community is for everyone, currently around 28% of participants are female, 16% are from ethnic minority backgrounds and 40% have a disability – 16% of which have mental health problems
- On average, sessions attract 22 participants, who mostly attend sessions once a week
- Participants play table tennis to do something fun, to be with others and to improve their health and fitness
- 89% of people introduced to social ping pong report an improvement in well-being, and 75% become more active
- Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of depression, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve self-esteem. Research has found that low intensity aerobic exercise is best for increasing positive moods – which is exactly why table tennis is so great!
It’s important to understand how the project impacts people’s lives and behaviours
Around 3 months after the organisation has received their equipment, we’ll get in touch with them to ask if they can complete some basic monitoring and evaluation information.
We have a ‘Pioneer’ survey, for the lead contact, and a ‘Player’ survey, for those who take part in the activity.
