Sunday Hours Change & New Nets Coming

Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 It seems like I'm always telling you about days or times we CANNOT play. Well...time for some good news! We are extending our Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. by one half hour. We will now start at 9:30 a.m. and go to the usual 2 p.m. Thursdays remain 7 - 9:45 p.m. Thank you, Decatur Active Living.

The other news concerns us getting some new nets. I continue to ask your cooperation in taking care when putting up and taking down nets. Of course, the same goes for our tables. Let's be safe while having fun.

See you at the tables!

Tourney at Lucky Shoals + Huntsman World Senior Games

I always encourage you to enter sanctioned tournaments. Our good friends at the AGTTA (they play in Lucky Shoals Park) are holding their Atlanta Winter Giant Round Robin on Nov. 3. To enter online, click HERE.

On a more personal note...I just got back from the Huntsman World Senior Games. This is the largest multi-sport senior event in the world! Over 11,000 athletes in 27 different sports. It is held in beautiful St George, Utah every October. Check out their website HERE.

In the 14 years I have attended, I FINALLY got a medal (silver) in singles. (I have 3 medals in doubles.) This singles was in rating group 1400-1599. If you are 50+ and want to have a great time in a great location, consider the Huntsman. I'm available to answer any questions you might have.

No Pong This Sunday, Tournament, and George Cooper Update

Our friends at the AGTTA (Lucky Shoals Park) want to remind everyone of the tournament they are having on Sat., Sept. 29. It is a charitable event named "Africans in Diaspora." You can enter online by clicking HERE.

Many of you contributed to the fund for George Cooper, whose wife passed away in July. Here are George's words:

"I want to thank everybody for donating to the GoFundMe page. I thanked many of you in person but a lot of you I haven’t seen in many years. Some of you met my wife Shirley and know what a wonderful woman she was. I feel blessed that I have so many friends who care for me and helped me during this tough time. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you. Love, George."

Finally, due to a dance group schedule, NO PONG THIS SUNDAY, SEPT. 23

Upcoming Tourney and George Cooper Update

As always, I encourage players at ALL levels to enter sanctioned tournaments. Our friends at AGTTA (Lucky Shoals Park) are holding their Fall Open on Sept. 8. For all the details, click HERE. These tourneys can fill up fast...so don't delay!

I wanted to update you on the fundraiser for George Cooper and his family. As you must know, his wife, Shirley, passed away on July 20. His family needs help with all the expenses. As of the writing of this newsletter, you have generously contributed $4,205 toward the $5,000 goal! It is certainly not too late to add to that total. You can do so by clicking GoFundMe.

DeKalb Table Tennis Camp

For the sixth year, I conducted a table tennis camp at the Decatur Rec. Center. My assistant coaches were David Crow, Preston Kirby, and John Ellis (a Guilford College student). For 5 days we worked with 24 kids ranging in age from 8 to 14 years old. My hope is we planted a seed and they will continue in the sport we love.

DeKalb County Senior Olympics

Decatur hosted the table tennis event of the DeKalb Senior Olympics. See the pictures below for the results. What is not pictured is the Doubles results. Here's how the Doubles finished:

1st Place - Lennox Drakes/Kurt Simmons
2nd Place - Warren Moon/Charlie Slater
3rd Place - Bill Bobick/Kay Johnson

Kirkwood Spring Fling

Last Saturday, Kirkwood (an Atlanta neighborhood near Decatur) held its annual Spring Fling. Part of that is the Kirkwood Ping Pong Tournament which is played on an outdoor table. Our regular Decatur player, Abi Neupane, won the Singles and Abi also won the Doubles (partnered with some old guy named Charlie Slater). I won't give you the ages of our doubles team, but I will tell you there was a 55 year difference in our ages! Pictures coming soon.

Singles: Mike Hannan (2nd place), Abi Neupane (1st place)

Singles Match

Singles: Jordan Lake (4th place), Conrad Shankar (3rd place)

Doubles: Jason Lewkowicz/Jamie Allen (2nd place), Charlie Slater/Abi Neupane (1st place)

Doubles Match

First of all, I'd like to boast that I now have just over 600 folks on my distribution list. If EVERYONE showed up on any given Thursday or Sunday...we'd definitely need more tables!

I wanted to make you aware of 3 table tennis events coming up. Taking them in chronological order:

On Saturday, April 14, there will be "Play"--a combination nightclub and ping pong social event. I went to one of these a couple of years ago and had fun. To learn more, click HERE.

Next, on Saturday, April 21, A2M Sports will hold a tournament (not USATT sanctioned) called the "Peach Open." It will be in Alpharetta. For all the details, click HERE.

Finally, our friends at the AGTTA will hold the "Atlanta Summer Open" on Saturday, June 2. Read all about it HERE.