Table Tennis Tasters
Over the last few weeks, I have attended two different events where I had the opportunity, on behalf of Table Tennis Ireland, to offer table tennis taster sessions to many people of all ages.
The first event was the Sports Against Racism in Ireland (SARI) Sportsfest in Phoenix Park on 10 Sept and the second event was the Sport Ireland #BeActive Festival of Sport in the National Indoor Arena Blanchardstown on 24 Sept. Both were run in conjunction with the European Week of Sport.
The European Week of Sport aims to promote sport and physical activity in countries across Europe. The week is for everyone, regardless of age, background or fitness level. With a focus on grassroots initiatives, the aim is to inspire Europeans to #BeActive on a regular basis and create opportunities in peoples’ everyday lives to exercise more.
SARI (Sports Against Racism in Ireland)
Sport Against Racism Ireland was founded in 1997 as a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status, dedicated to positive integration and social inclusion through sport. SARI uses the power of sport to challenge discrimination, promote cultural integration and drive social inclusion throughout Ireland. Working with schools, Direct Provision Centres, refugee and local communities, SARI delivers anti-discrimination educational workshops, intercultural sporting events and a Young Leaders youth development and employability programme collectively creating opportunities for all.
SARI’s aim is to develop and deliver practical engagement opportunities for Ireland’s new and established migrant and diverse ethnic communities providing a pathway for personal development, participation in sport, while generating a culture of inclusiveness and respect for diversity.
Their annual Sportsfest is an opportunity for people from diverse ethnical and cultural backgrounds to come together under the umbrella of sport. The event this year took place in the Garda Sports Grounds in the Phoenix Park. The main event of the day is the Soccerfest tournament which brings together many male, female and mixed under age teams from ethnical minority groups from all around the country. Aside from the football tournament, there are taster sessions in seven other sports being offered, allowing people the opportunity to try Gaelic football, golf, tug-of-war, boxing, cricket, football skills and table tennis.
I was delighted to be asked to manage the table tennis area for the day. Two tables had been set up under a small marquee, although with the fantastic weather on the day, the marquee served more as an area of shade than as a protection from rain. I was amazed by the number of people of all ages who came to the table tennis area wanting to give table tennis a go. Most had never played at all and wanted to try the sport and others had played before but were not part of a club, so did not have the opportunity to play on a regular basis.
Unfortunately many clubs in Ireland fell victim to Covid and never re-opened post-pandemic, so there are many areas of the country without a local table tennis club. Even Dublin has lost some of its clubs, so people often have to travel quite long distances to play. Some people on the day mentioned that they would love if there were more areas where they could go to play table tennis without having the commitment of joining a club. Unfortunately this is really lacking in Ireland. More outdoor table tennis areas or youth and community centres where a table can be hired for an hour or two would be very beneficial to increasing participation in the sport.
#BeActive Festival of Sport
Sport Ireland Campus played host to the Sport Ireland #BeActive Festival of Sport on Saturday 24 September. This exciting day encourages participation in a range of activities, celebrates sport and promotes active, healthy lifestyles. The festival includes indoor and outdoor activations for 1000s of visitors, filled with demonstrations, sports personality appearances, taster sessions, a skillzone, guest speakers and more!
Again I was excited to manage the table tennis area and was looking forward to seeing how the turn out compared to the great turn out at the Phoenix Park two weeks previous. If the turn out at Phoenix Park was excellent, then the turn out at Sport Ireland Campus was nothing short of amazing! The two tables that were set up in the large hall were occupied constantly from 10am to 5.15pm. A steady stream of people came through during the first couple of hours but by lunch time a queue had formed that gradually got longer and required some serious management!
A lot of families attended this event and the whole family gave table tennis a go, which was lovely to see. Most people had never played before and some of the really little ones needed quite a bit of assistance from the coaches on hand. What I enjoyed most about this event was its family nature and seeing the smiles on some of the kids faces when they won a prize for knocking the plastic cups off the table. There’s nothing like offering up a prize to get the motivation going!
Again there were several enquiries about local clubs and a few enquiries also from families wishing to purchase a table for home use, citing that they only ever get to play when on holiday! These taster session days are a great way to showcase table tennis and to encourage more people into the sport. I look forward with anticipation to future events organised by Sport Ireland and local sports partnerships.
