Youngsters pose for a group photo after a session

The Table Tennis Association said it has made inroads into Cayman sporting scene, attracting up to a few dozen players on any given night of play at the George Hicks Campus canteen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as well as on Saturday mornings.

Players range from as young as 10 years old on up to the more ‘mature’ players, from beginners to the more seasoned competitors, attracting both male and female players. Table tennis truly is a sport with wide appeal to all ages, both genders and all levels or experience, with some just getting in the grove of the game and others really having an aerobic workout, the Association said.

In addition to hot play at the George Hicks Campus, First Baptist Christian School also saw the first After School Table Tennis Club take shape with students taking up the sport and increasing their skills on a weekly basis.

With the students leading some of the warmups, doing a variety of drills, watching some awe inspiring videos of international competition, and taking up their own racquets and competing on the boards amongst each other, they each showed tremendous progress over the course of the Fall term and are anxious to continue again in the new year.

Cayman Islands Table Tennis Association (CITTA) President, Peter Smith, was able to visit the ‘Baptist Barracudas’ as they named their Table Tennis After School Club on their last week of play and was greatly impressed with the enthusiasm and progress in their new sport.

“It is great to see the students taking up the game at this early age, so that they can build on their eye-hand coordination, which will carry over to many other sports and activities as well,” Mr Smith said.

With plans of holding tournaments in 2009 for both adults and students, the Association is now accepting memberships from anyone interested in learning the game or coming out after not having played for some time.

“We want to make it a fun and exciting experience, so we invite everyone who ever even thought about taking up Table Tennis to come out to the George Hicks Campus on any given Saturday in January to check out the game, pick up a racquet, (table and balls are also provided), from 10:00 am until noon. To give it a try,” he said.

“With the New Year, we expect to see many new players, new members of the Association and new energy for the sport of Table Tennis, which can only bode well for this new sport in the Cayman Islands.”

Table tennis, also known as ping pong, prides itself as a sport with the fastest ball in the world. It is also the national sport of China with more than 20 million registered players with more than 100 countries participate in the Table Tennis World Championships.