Maidstone and Pingsters came together for the second annual Pingstone Cup at the weekend with both teams engaging in a way that has become synonymous with all things reminiscent of The Pingstone Cup. Yes, Pingsters lost, again. Yes, we probably all skipped our Weetabix that morning. However, I’m inclined to favour an alternative priority underpinning this coming together of two table tennis clubs. That lies in the inherent feature of community. Despite the individual nature of this sport the ensemble, the group of people, the collective seems to have a more pertinent and empowering place in making any athletic activity more fundamentally important. Yes we all like to win, but the loses get easier to take when one considers the deep underlying reason why we all continue to put ourselves through the stress of competition and keep coming back for more. Sport is essential for the cultivation of not only mental toughness but it gives us a way to immerse ourselves in an activity which requires physical and cognitive concentration. Maybe we all don’t do enough of this, after all being sedentary with just our screens seems to be becoming a dangerous normality.
I feel confident in saying that we all LOVE the Pingstone Cup. Huge thanks to Terry Clapperton and Rachel Woolven at Maidstone TTC for helping us bring two newly formed clubs together in one common goal, that is to play some ping pong, eat curry and just enjoy being a community of table tennis enthusiasts. The Shield we contest is called the Alan Woolven trophy. Alan spearheaded junior coaching across Kent for many years and was a hugely inspiring and influential personality to everyone that had the privilege to be coached by him. Unfortunately the world lost a truly great table tennis devotee a few years ago. But his Shield, we hope will be contested for many years to come.
“The match with Maidstone showcased everything that is good about table tennis -often the standard of play across a range of abilities was excellent but much more than that, the day bought two communities together in a spirit, harmony and was great fun. Everyone is really looking forward to the re-match next year.” Julian White
