Open Play Sessions

Two open play sessions each week:

Saturdays – 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Wednesdays – 6:00pm to 8:30pm

$1 per visit or $5 per month, first visit free!

USATT AFFILIATED CLUB – SAFESPORT TRAINED

Explanations below are based on the original instructions from the Santa Rosa System.

How to get going at open play sessions:

  • Say hello, then sign-in and complete liability waiver if you have not done so.
  • Add your name to the bottom of the wait list on the whiteboard if there are no tables available when you arrive.
  • Watch some matches or chit-chat until a table becomes available.
  • When everyone’s name above yours is crossed off, it is your turn to play. You may choose to do one of the following:
    • — ask another idle player to play a practice match for fun,
      — challenge another player for a “challenge board” match,
      — ask another idle player if they want to practice for 20 minutes (15 minutes if 10 or more people are present),
      — or you may delay playing (if still tired, or if you want to wait for someone who is already playing).
  • If a player delays, it’s the next player in line’s turn.
  • A player who is asked for a “fun” match may decline the invitation and continue waiting.
  • Warm up for about 10 minutes if it’s your first match of the day, or else keep warmup time in the 2-5 minute range. All matches are best 3-out-of-5, unless we have 10 or more people at the club, then it’s best 2-out-of-3. (Alright if you play a 3rd game if match is won 2-0)
  • When a match is over, BOTH players leave the table, then return to the seating area and add their names to the BOTTOM of the waiting list.

Challenge Board Additional Information:

  • Challenges for the challenge board work as follows:
    — you can only challenge (for the board) someone one or two spaces up from you, counting only those players who are present.
    — for example, if you’re #4, and #3 is absent, you can challenge #2 or #1.
    — if the higher player wins, there is no change to the board.
    — if the lower player wins, he or she moves up to the higher players spot, and everyone in between moves down one spot (including the loser).
    — the winner of the challenge match should fix the listing on the challenge board. (If not sure sure how to do it, please ask for assistance).
  • A player who is asked for a “challenge” match cannot decline, unless he or she has already been challenged twice that night (or once already from the same person).
  • A player who is injured does not have to accept challenges.

Links

Follow/Like our Facebook page to see frequent links to table tennis educational content and interesting table tennis videos, along with updates on any last minute schedule changes.

Athens Georgia Table Tennis Club (on Facebook)

We are  listed on the USATT website as one of their affiliated clubs:

Athens GA Table Tennis @ USATT

Other great table tennis sites:

http://t3atl.com/

http://agtta.org/

http://tabletenniscoaching.com/

https://www.megaspin.net/

https://www.paddlepalace.com/

http://colestt.com/ 

http://mytabletennis.net/forum/

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/

http://ooakforum.com/

Summertime Sessions

The tables continue to fill up each Saturday from 1-4pm, so we will now have a second weekly session to meet the growing demand. HUGE thanks to East Athens Community Center for gladly accommodating our growing table tennis community.

We will be setting up all 3 tables every Tuesday from 6:30-8:30pm through May. For the month of June, we will get together on Monday nights from 6:30-8:30pm.

Contact tabletennisathensga@gmail.com to get reminders for the open play sessions.

Social media = http://www.facebook.com/pingpongathensga

 

Saturday Table Tennis Open Play

Athens ga UGA table tennis ping pong
Meeting upstairs at East Athens Community Center every Saturday

Join us every Saturday for table tennis open play at East Athens Community Center from 1-4pm.  We have 3 tables in a well lit and spacious room and have been open to the public for about a month now. Competitive and beginner players will be there every Saturday for the foreseeable future to get better in a friendly environment.  I believe this is the first time table tennis has been publicly available in the downtown Athens area in an organized setting. Since no public leagues exist in many areas, people often don’t know this sport exists and is thriving in larger cities like Atlanta at organizations like AGTTA and AITTA.

The game of ping pong gets more interesting and becomes the sport of table tennis as you learn to spin the ball well with proper equipment. At first glance, table tennis is an awkward sport to get started in competitively.  Many of us grew up playing siblings, friends in a basement, or buddies in the dorm, so asking a stranger to play may be awkward for you.  Please remember that everyone you meet on a given Saturday also went through that first table tennis club visit at some point, so expect that we will be very hospitable to newcomers. Send any questions or requests for coaching to tabletennisathensga@gmail.com and please show up and bring a friend.