Big Pippin’
Earlier this week, Erin pointed me in the direction of the newsletter ThrilList, a daily e-mail pointing out some of the odd and interesting happenings in Los Angeles. Within a day of being subscribed to this list, it’s already proven valuable. In a recent edition it noted the Golden West USA Table Tennis Tournament was taking place this weekend at Santa Monica College. Thrillist said:
Hit this free international tournament, and you’ll catch the world’s nimblest athletes at the very top of their game — because who doesn’t want to see a Singaporean ‘ponger competing to win enough cash to buy a tennis racket?
Hard core ping pong action and attendance is free? How could I say no? Even better, Erin thought it sounded like a good idea, too, so off we went together.
We arrived at SMC and as we entered the gym and the fresh smell of sweat wafted over us. In the large gym were set up three rows of six tables, with a handful of players warming up. We found ourselves a spot to sit in the gym to sit and took in the action.
Then suddenly no one was really playing, except maybe one or two tables. Did we miss it? What’s the hell’s going on?
Not quite sure what was going on, but after a short break every table was full again and ping pong balls were flying around with great fury. We met an older gentleman named Paul who was happy to tell us everything there is to know about table tennis.
First off, the diversity in the room was interesting. There were a number of players in the 50+ range, male and female players, two players in wheel chairs, asian, white, black, two young players (11 – 13), etc. And while the age ranged from 11 or so on up, it appeared everyone was playing on the same level – this game is less about athleticism – I guess that’s kinda obvious – and more about skill. The matches were set up in a round robin fashion and it didn’t matter what age, color or sex you were, a 40 year old man could find himself playing a 12 year old boy and it didn’t matter – they were actually evenly matched.
With 18 matches going on at a time, there was a lot of “Oh, check those two out” or “Woah, watch what’s going on over there” type shouts. I could never tell who was winning or loosing – there wasn’t a giant score board or anything – but that wasn’t all that important. Just watching these players hit the ball back and forth at speeds of 100+ MPH and actually being able to return it was amazing.
Paul explained that often players will hit the ball diagonally across the table not just because it forces your opponent to move, but also because you get more table to play with. The tables are only nine feet long, which isn’t very long for a ball being hit to a player only nine feet away from you, but if you hit it on the diagonal you get a little more room to play with and less chance of the ball not hitting the table. Makes sense, although that thinking never would have occurred to me.
Immediately capturing our attention was a young boy, maybe 12 or so, taking on an adult and matching up nicely. He had enormous amounts of energy, flying to the right and left with incredible speed, volleying with the best of the players in the room.
Paul pointed out an Asian player named Jeff, who was probably the best person in the room. Apparently Jeff’s mom is the top table tennis player in the Los Angeles area, with a rating of 2800 (no idea exactly what that means). Jeff’s score was in the 2400s. Paul was there to support a woman probably in her 50s named Bella. Paul said her score was likely in the 1900s. While it appeared Jeff ultimately beat her in their match, she was throwing the ball right back at him with furious speed.
While we watched the various matches, Paul explained a bit about the paddle. He brought out his own, which he said cost around $150. He recently replaced the rubber padding on his, which was smooth and had a black and red side. He said there were a variety of different types of rubber you could get, with different sized bumps or pips you could get. I don’t recall exactly how it works, but the different sized pips help allow the player to take spin off or put spin on a ball, depending on the size of the pips. Some players play with different sized pips on each side of the paddle. Depending on your strengths as a player, whether your good at returning spins or creating spins, you choose the type of rubber for your paddle. All this talk of pips brought out a “Big Pippin’” comment from Erin, which went completely over Paul’s head.
And yes, I’ve said the word “rubber” numerous times now – grow up!
Paul went on to say that, as you might expect, the Chinese dominate the sport in international play, but that there was a Sweedish guy who’s getting on in his years that still causes the Chinese great consternation. And like I pointed out, the diversity in the room was quite varied and anyone can play at a top level, but it’s the Chinese that seem to be the most dedicated.
As we watched the various matches, it struck me this was kind of a geek sport. I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but there was a geek quality to the players and in the enthusiasm for the matches. I don’t think I’d fit in well with that crowd – and yes, I have considerable geek cred myself, of an entirely different sort – but everyone in the room seemed to be very nice, having a lot of fun and really enjoying playing and watching other players. There there was just something “off” about the players. I can’t quite put my finger on it. With a prize package worth only about $500 for the winner of the tournament, this isn’t a game played for glory or prizes, it’s played for the love of the sport, which is disproportionate to its size.
Watching everyone play brought me back to my youth. We had a ping pong table at home when I was young and I used to play my father, my sister Liz or the occasional friend. When I was a teen ager and had wheels, I used to drive up to Jacob’s house and we’d have little mini tournaments. We both got pretty good, in fact, although nothing close to what I saw today. But it got me kind of jonesing to play again.
After having been once you might ask, “Jonah, would you go to this again?” You know what? I would, but this time I’d remember to bring my damned camera. That’s a missed opportunity that I’d like to make up for.
Edit: Apparently, the ping pong love is sweeping the nation. Dave Richards pointed out this trailer for “Balls of Fury” which promises to take ping pong interest to levels never before seen (i.e. 10 new people may join the ping pong movement). This reminded me of this hilarious “Matrix” style ping pong spoof that’s well worth viewing.
