O pposite ends of the country they may be, but Cheltenham and Keighley have a lot in common when it comes to table tennis. Both are thriving clubs, with good league sides and a deep pool of talent. And both have the growth of their over 50s sessions to thank.
Two years ago at Cheltenham, table tennis was where many areas currently find themselves at: with a solid local club, good links into the community and with an active, qualified coach.
That coach was Nick Davidson, who recalls that he’ d felt the time was right to focus on getting senior players on to the scene.
‘ When I was doing development work there I met a few older people who were saying:“ It’ s been really good to have somewhere to play today!” So I emailed everyone I could think of, asking:“ If I ran an over 50s session would you be interested?”
‘ We then got access to a Sport England grant which paid for the hire of a venue and a coach for two hours. That grant gave us six months before it would matter if we had people paying to play. Six months to build up a big enough pool of regular players that the sessions would pay for themselves.
‘ We charged £ 5 a session, 10-12pm, and started to bring in over 50s who were part of Cheltenham Table Tennis Club. Then we got ourselves on to the Internet, I had a contact at the local newspaper who put adverts in free, and we got some posters printed.
‘ Using the local YMCA hall when Cheltenham TTC played meant they were happy to promote us as the best players would switch and join their competitive practices. They’ ve got about two team’ s worth of players from our senior sessions, so it’ s paid off for them!’
Unsurprisingly, the session became too popular for Davidson to manage, with the YMCA and Cheltenham TTC taking over the running of the club for practical reasons. The impact it’ s had will last for a while though.
‘ The type of experienced people we got at the start meant that when the beginners arrived, they improved so quickly,’ Davidson explained, adding:‘ The performance level of seniors in Cheltenham now is really high.’
Go for a grant!
Keighley Table Tennis Centre, and the Haworth Hawks club that’ s based there, also began their growth with a grant. That bought them a large area inside an old textile mill, enough for seven tables in the main hall with an overflow room and lounge area.
Not all clubs will have the option of buying such a facility, but for John Ainley, who coaches seniors at the centre, targeting such an ambitious location should be at the top of table tennis clubs wish lists.
‘ The last thing older folk want when rocking up is sitting down and waiting. Here, there’ s extra room even if the main hall is full, plus for your monthly membership you get full access, 24 / 7, because they own the place,’ Ainley enthused.
‘ Having a nice relaxing lounge here is important too, having a cup of tea and a chat before or after playing. I think it’ s changed a bit, the balance between playing and socialising. Table Tennis England and others are realising there are so many benefits to recreational table