The arrival of spring, coupled with the welcome news that people may play table tennis on outdoor tables, has created the perfect platform to announce our plans for Ping! 2021.

Table Tennis England has once again joined forces with a host of new and existing partner towns and cities to introduce our brand of social and recreational table tennis.

Since its inception in 2010, Ping! has evolved significantly from a six-week street ping pong festival, into a year-round collection of projects that take ping pong to the people. Projects are designed to remove the barriers to sport and physical activity by delivering table tennis into the places people already spend time.

The project is financed by funding from Sport England which is ringfenced directly to support Ping!

As well as the familiar sight of hundreds of tables available in public and community spaces for people from all walks of life to enjoy; the challenge presented by the pandemic is to enable our partner towns and cities to take the project into the heart of communities considered more negatively affected by COVID-19.

From Brighton to Blackpool, Worthing to Warrington, towns and cities will introduce not only free to play table tennis in parks, green spaces and outdoor public spaces; but also host specific activation with community groups though our a Ping in the Community programme.

Colin Eley, Partnerships Manager at Table Tennis England, said:

We’re delighted to be welcoming both new and more long-standing partners back to the table who we know are committed to delivering projects under the Ping! umbrella. We know the previous year has been tough and months to come will continue to present challenges due to COVID-19, so it’s important we not only make opportunities safe and free to access, but also ensure we continue create opportunities and make our brand of recreational table tennis accessible to all.

The success of the programmes is hugely dependant on how community groups and organisations embrace Ping!

Colin continues:

Our belief is, a person’s first experience of table tennis must not only be positive and fun, but allow room to grow and develop into sustained participation.

Projects emerging in towns and cities across the country will therefore welcome input and support from existing community groups and organisations, in particular local clubs and leagues.

For a full list of places to play and local partner engaged, please visit www.pingengland.co.uk and our Places to Play map.

It’s vitally important we continue to be cautious with regards to shared use of equipment.

Bats and balls will therefore be made available via community collection hubs and also available to buy online here.