Annual Report 12/13 - The English Table Tennis Association

and table tennis, engaging with
the sport in a traditional and
non-traditional way. Responses
have been gained from each
region with approximately 600-
650 responses collected overall,
ranging from the preferred time to
play, whether indoor or outdoor,
and how students would like to be
communicated with. Once all the
responses have been analysed an
appropriate offer will be drafted
for HE students.
5.6.2 Eight universities have received
outdoor tables from the ETTA
to see if these have an effect
on the numbers of students
becoming active. Photos and
written comments have been
received regarding the popularity
of the tables, and a short
questionnaire is being distributed
to the recipients of tables to
see how they are being used,
advertised and formed as part of
a development programme.
5.7 Instant Ping! Pong (IPP)
5.7.1 Instant Ping! Pong (IPP) has
proved to be popular with County
Sports Partnerships (CSPs),
local businesses and colleges in
increasing participation in table
tennis. IPP has been redesigned
to fit in with Ping! to ensure
continuity of branding and
message. The new IPP pack will
still consist of seven bats, three
balls, rollaway net and a series of
games and competition formats.
Discussions are ongoing with a
sports supplier to market and
stock the product.
5.8 Ping!
5.8.1 Ping! (2010-2012) is a partnership
between the English Table
Tennis Association (ETTA) and
Sing!, London (Participatory Arts
Organisation), increasing public
awareness of the sport by linking
sport and the arts and taking
sport to the community, thereby
reaching new audiences in a nontraditional
setting and way. Ping!
is the street ping pong festival
which sees tables placed all
across a town or city for a month
for all to use and enjoy; from
cathedrals to parks, galleries to
train stations, shopping centres to
public squares and even airports.
5.8.2 This year Ping! has been
shortlisted for the National Lottery
Good Causes Awards. These
Awards are an annual search to
find the UK’s favourite Lotteryfunded
projects. Now in their
tenth year, the Awards recognise
the incredible difference that
Lottery-funded projects have
made to people, places and
communities all across the UK
with the 400,000 grants that have
been made since 1994. They also
celebrate the talent, hard work
and amazing dedication of the
people involved in running them.
Awards are given across seven
categories, reflecting the different
types of projects that benefit from
Lottery funding. These are: art,
education, environment, health,
heritage, sport and charity/
voluntary.
5.8.3 London, Hull, Bristol, Sheffield,
Brighton, Hampshire, Liverpool
and Leicester have seen outdoor
tables placed in public places.
Ping! has been seen at landmark
venues (London Eye, Trafalgar
Square, Science Museum,
Euston Railway station, etc).
It has involved bat making
sessions, Singles for Singles
nights, and poetry recitals.
Involving and engaging a wide
range of community groups and
organisations in its rollout. It
has also attracted commercial
organisations, such as Aardman
Productions of Wallace and
Gromit fame to be involved (Ping!
Bristol 2012).
5.8.4 The Ping! Pong Parlour has been
a centrally located pop up space
and venue that becomes a free to
use social ping pong club for the
duration of Ping! It has been the
focal point for everyone involved
in Ping! whether participants,
volunteers or members of staff.
Whilst participants can come in
and play free table tennis, it is
also the base of operations for
Ping! where staff and volunteers
have gathered for training,
briefings and to co-ordinate Ping!
whilst it is running, but it is also
an event venue from time to time.
5.8.5 Both free-play and structured
Ping! activities engaged
people from diverse cultural
backgrounds. The cities that
have hosted Ping! during the
last three years have all seen the
positive impact of the programme,
which includes a strong legacy
programme of play after the
event has closed and participant
migration towards traditional
table tennis clubs. Ping! aims to
stimulate community cohesion
and engagement with community
groups and organisations, which
become actively involved in its
rollout and delivery. At the end of
the project each city ran a table
donation scheme to place the
indoor/rollaway tables in target
areas that addressed community
need, removing time, facility and
location barriers for people to pick
up a bat and play.
5.8.6 Ping! has engaged over 600,000
people in table tennis in over
nine cities, including London in
2010 and 2012, Birmingham and
Hull in 2011, Bristol, Liverpool,
Hampshire & the New Forest,
Brighton, Leicester, Birmingham
and Sheffield in 2012.
5.8.7 During 2012 a total of 379 tables
were placed across London,
Liverpool, Bristol, Sheffield,
Birmingham, Leicester, Brighton
& Hove, Hampshire and the New
Forest. 307 temporary tables
were placed in central, high
profile strategic locations across
all cities. In addition 72 concrete
tables were installed by ETTA for
permanent use in parks, leisure
centres, universities and public
areas. Ping! enables consultation
and communication within local
communities and can lead to
regeneration of target areas.
5.8.8 Ping has worked with a wide
range of partners across a variety
of disciplines including local
authorities, sport, the arts, music,
social networking and community
clubs. In 2012 237 events
were delivered across the Ping!
cities and included sessions/
activities such as Ping!giner
sessions at the Custard factory in
Brum (Birmingham), “frying pan
competition“ in Brighton & Hove,
“Ping! to the sound of Brazilian
beats” in Liverpool, “Smash the
city” competitions in London, the
Ping! Panther ss Ping! Penguin
show down in Sheffield, the Mela
in Leicester and “Wild about
Ping!” at Bristol Zoo Gardens.
5.8.9 There were over 137 Ping!
volunteers in 2012 and the
number for the complete project
Departmental Reports
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