"Ping! is for everyone – those who love table
tennis and those who didn’t know they did.”
Collette Hiller
Creative Director,
Sing! London
A ping-pong extravaganza at London’s St
Pancras station launched this summer’s table tennis festival, Ping!
London, in style last week.
With tables lined up across the station
concourse, the launch event featured a series of spectacular
ping-pong demonstrations that have never been seen before,
including Extreme Ping Pong by Parkour UK and Ping Popping with the
Westendkids.
As well as offering the opportunity for free
play, members of the British table tennis team were on hand
to show everyone how it’s done and those wishing to pick up new
skills took part in Champion Master Classes.
Supported by National Lottery funding from
Sport England’s Innovation Fund, Ping! aims to get more
people playing sport as part of the sporting legacy of the 2012
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Between now and the end of August, London’s
residents and workers can play impromptu games of table tennis on
100 tables that have popped up across London’s landmarks, squares,
shopping centres, estates, offices and train stations. From Soho
Square to Westfield Shopping Centre, Tate Britain to the British
Library, St Pancras International to Heathrow’s Terminal 3. And
judging by the number of Twitter posts and pictures posted on
Flickr, plenty of Londoners are already taking advantage of the
opportunity to play
After London, Ping! will travel to four other
cities in England before returning to London as part of the London
2010 Olympic and Paralympic Celebrations, giving well over 200,000
people the chance to pick up a bat and play for free.
“Ping! is for everyone – those who love table
tennis and those who didn’t know they did,” said Collette Hiller,
creative director of Sing! London, the participatory arts
organisation behind the scheme. “A quick game of ping-pong en-route
to work or over a lunchtime sandwich? What better way to put a
smile on the face of Londoners?”
Pingis delivered in
partnership with the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), which
sees the event as an opportunity to meet the increasing demand for
informal opportunities to play.
“Ping! and the outdoor table initiatives
allows us to embrace this growing market and also re-establish
table tennis in the public’s imagination as a fun, sociable and
desirable sport to play,” said Richard Yule, ETTA chief
executive.
Ping is the first Innovation Fund project to
go live. The fund invested in new ideas and solutions which will
deliver sport to a whole new audience, and provide better, more
exciting opportunities to a wider range of people than ever
before.
“It is Sport England’s job to make sure
everyone has the chance to play a sport that interests them, and
sometimes that means taking the sport to the people, rather than
the people to the sport,” said Sport England chief executive Jennie
Price.” Table tennis has wide appeal, and I hope that thousands of
people will take advantage of these outdoor tables and will enjoy
playing.”
Further support comes from sponsors Yahoo! who
are working with Ping! and promoting the chance to play through
online channels.
“Ping! is a fantastic series of events which
enable people to have fun playing table tennis across the capital
in both iconic and obscure locations,” said Andrew Cocker, Head of
UK Marketing, Yahoo “We’re encouraging Yahoo! users and the wider
public to play no matter where they are, what time of day it is or
whatever standard they are! It’s a great way to socialise and have
fun this summer and we’re delighted to be a part of it”.
For a full programme of events please visit the Ping London
website
Follow Ping!London on Twitter and on Facebook
Find out more about the
Innovation Fund