Table Tennis produced one of the viral moments of the summer with a wonder shot played by David Wetherill.  You can see the shot below, and join the more than six million that have done so since August.
Part of the popularity may have come from the large numbers that have begun playing the sport in a social environment.  Invented in the 1800’s as a parlour game for the Victorians, the sport has been dominated by Asian players for decades.  That may change with the rapid rise of social games that are making it as likely a game for a night out as pool.
All across Britain, clubs are being established that combine ping pong tables with food and drink.  ‘Ping’ was the first, in New York, and earned celebrity endorsement from Hollywood actress Susan Sarendon.  The trend crossed the Atlantic and there are clubs now from London to Newcastle.
Rules are informal, players can pitch up and rent a table by the hour.  there are a huge variety of games that range from one to one up to 21 points to round robin knockouts that can involve up to a dozen players taking alternate shots.
This summer a variant came to light, or rather into the dark, with a portable dark room that travelled to music venues and had luminous tables, bats and balls and pumping music.  It toured festivals and drew large crowds
The sport has developed itself as ‘cool’, a precious commodity and the governing body in Ireland is keen to expand on the back of that.
Darren Coomes is General Manager of the Irish Table Tennis Association. “We are increasingly focusing our attention on participation and social Table tennis.”
Last year we had 800 players compete across 15 venues in the Stiga Junior Challenger Series.  They turned up, paid €5 to play the whole day, rules were light without any coaching and there was a massive range across boys and girls, those who could play and those who were coming to it for the first time.”
“I can still hear the laughter and it was great fun.”
“This season we are launching the Shamrock Series with the emphasis again on fun, social table tennis. Events will be staged in non-traditional table tennis venues all over the country and we are confident of securing a brand new playing population through this project.”
“We are investigating pop-up tables and outdoor tables which have been a great success in the UK and across Europe.”
Table Tennis’ motto is a sport for all, a sport for life.  This reaching out through social channels to an audience that might otherwise only have a fleeting exposure to sport and exercise fits a strong niche and should see it flourish.
Oh, and that shot from the summer …

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