Ping! Brighton & Hove is back
This summer sees the return of Ping! to the streets of Brighton and Hove. For six weeks, from 11 July until 30 August, residents and visitors will be able to play table tennis for free on more than 40 tables spread throughout the city, or take part in master-classes, competitions, tournaments and social events. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never played before, with bats and balls available to borrow for free, everyone has the opportunity to take part.
Ping! is a street table tennis project which sees ping pong tables installed in surprising locations across towns and cities throughout England.
Jan Sutherland, Brighton & Hove City Council Sport and Physical Activity Development Manager, said: “We are committed to helping people be more active and giving opportunities to try out the popular sport of table tennis around the city. This is a sport attracting attention all year round and the permanent tables in the city’s parks are busy even in the colder months. We are very pleased to once again be working with the Ping! team and the local clubs to promote this fun and sociable activity which has so many health benefits for players.”
Information on where to find tables in Brighton & Hove can be found at http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ping
This year’s Ping! Brighton and Hove aims to increase participation in table tennis and encourage residents to set up their own social events and run their own leagues around the tables.
Tim Holtam, Ping! Brighton and Hove Coordinator said: “We want to connect people interested in playing table tennis, so that once Ping! has ended, they have a way of continuing to play together. This might be a case of directing them to local clubs or setting up Facebook pages around individual tables so that people can set up their own events. We want to build a community around the tables.”
The Ping! Brighton and Hove website gives people ideas of how to do this: http://www.pingbrightonandhove.co.uk/play-on.php and volunteers will also be available at events to give further advice.
Ping! launches on 11 July in Jubilee Square at 2pm and continues through July and August with many events, e.g. 50+ coaching sessions (Thursdays 11am-1pm, Marina tables), Social Ping! Pong Nights (Tuesdays 6.30-8.30pm, seafront Bandstand tables), Coaching Masterclasses (Tuesdays 4-6pm, Sailing Club tables) and Seafront Round the Table (Wednesdays 5-7pm Madeira Drive, Yellow wave tables).
The full event list can be found at: http://www.pingbrightonandhove.co.uk/events.php
Note for editors
Ping! sees the installation of ping pong tables in a wide range of location; from galleries to estates, shopping centres to parks, train stations to public squares and even airports. Last year, across 14 Ping! cities the event engaged 354,000 participants. The project has been developed through a partnership between Sing London – a participatory arts organisation - and Table Tennis England and is funded through Sport England’s Innovation Fund.
For more information visit http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ping or the Ping! Brighton & Hove website http://www.pingbrightonandhove.co.uk and Facebook.com/pingbrightonhove or Table Tennis England http://tabletennisengland.co.uk
Contact details: Brighton & Hove City Council Sports Development Team on (01273) 292724 or at sports.info@brighton-hove.gov.uk or Tim Holtam, Ping! Brighton & Hove Coordinator, 07985 141788