Anyone for table tennis? London plans free tables
Source: Agencies |
July 7, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LONDONERS and tourists will get the chance to play open air table tennis at city landmarks this month in a campaign to get a million more people playing sports in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics.
The street project, entitled Ping! and putting 100 tables around the capital, has been created by non-profit organization Sing London in association with ETTA (English Table Tennis Association), funded by Sport England and sponsored by Yahoo!
"Table tennis has wide appeal, and I hope thousands of people will take advantage of these outdoor tables," said Sport England's Chief Executive Jennie Price.
London mayor Boris Johnson is helping to promote the campaign after claiming at Beijing 2008 that ping pong was invented in Victorian Britain, originally called 'whiff whaff'. 'The French looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner,' he said at the time.
'We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play whiff-whaff.'
The launch, at London's St Pancras International where trains arrive from Paris and Brussels, will feature both the UK Olympic team and ex world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien as well as Parkour, a "ping popping dance" and a "ping pong song".
Ping! will also appear in other London landmarks including Trafalgar Square, Westfield shopping centre, Regent's Park, the Tate Britain and Heathrow's Terminal 3.
Ping pong fever will also be aimed at different areas of the public, with a "Literary Ping Pong Quiz" at the British Library and surreal ping pong in the Barbican arts centre.
Three thousands table tennis bats have been bought for Ping!, which is planned to last four weeks before moving on to four other cities and then returning to London in 2012.
"Ping pong is a game that is inclusive, withstands age barriers and cultural divides and makes people smile," said Colette Hiller, Sing London's creative director.
The street project, entitled Ping! and putting 100 tables around the capital, has been created by non-profit organization Sing London in association with ETTA (English Table Tennis Association), funded by Sport England and sponsored by Yahoo!
"Table tennis has wide appeal, and I hope thousands of people will take advantage of these outdoor tables," said Sport England's Chief Executive Jennie Price.
London mayor Boris Johnson is helping to promote the campaign after claiming at Beijing 2008 that ping pong was invented in Victorian Britain, originally called 'whiff whaff'. 'The French looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to have dinner,' he said at the time.
'We looked at a dining table and saw an opportunity to play whiff-whaff.'
The launch, at London's St Pancras International where trains arrive from Paris and Brussels, will feature both the UK Olympic team and ex world champion Jean-Philippe Gatien as well as Parkour, a "ping popping dance" and a "ping pong song".
Ping! will also appear in other London landmarks including Trafalgar Square, Westfield shopping centre, Regent's Park, the Tate Britain and Heathrow's Terminal 3.
Ping pong fever will also be aimed at different areas of the public, with a "Literary Ping Pong Quiz" at the British Library and surreal ping pong in the Barbican arts centre.
Three thousands table tennis bats have been bought for Ping!, which is planned to last four weeks before moving on to four other cities and then returning to London in 2012.
"Ping pong is a game that is inclusive, withstands age barriers and cultural divides and makes people smile," said Colette Hiller, Sing London's creative director.
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