April 9, 2018

Tip of the Week
How to Return Nets and Edges.

Susan Backed Pingpong Parlor Coming to D.C. - SPiN Washington!
Here's the article. I think it's great we'll have one nearby! They really are a different type of club, going for the upper-scale recreational player, with more of a party atmosphere. I've been to the SPiN NY club twice, and had fun playing there. They now have (or will soon) clubs in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Philadelphia, Seattle, Austin, and now DC. Here is their main web page. Here's their About Us page, which explains their interesting history. (Addendum added Monday afternoon: As I drove to my shoulder therapy session after lunch they were talking about the new table tennis club on the radio! It was on WTOP - 103.5FM.)

Their location is right in the middle of DC, which according to Google Directions is just over 30 miles driving distance south of my club, MDTTC. So there's no serious conflict between the clubs - and as I've blogged before, having multiple full-time clubs in one region, but not too close, actually helps all of them as each club brings in new players who might also join or attend tournaments and leagues at the other clubs. While MDTTC focuses on serious training, SPiN has great food - here's the rather extensive NY menu. They have pizza!!! They also serve alcoholic beverages. MDTTC has water and gatorade.

Here's the SPiN Washington home page. It includes segment on "Join the Team" and a link to "Work for Us."  While I'm not looking for a new job, I went there, curious if they were looking for coaches, league directors, tournament directors, and so on. Instead, here are the job openings they have:

Assistant General Manager, Banquet Captain, Bar Manager, Barback, Bartender, Busser, Chief Brand Officer, Cook, Corporate Chef, Creative Project & Design Manager, Design Assistant, Digital Marketing Director, Director of Sales, Dishwasher, Event and Program Coordinator, Event Sales Coordinator, Event Sales Manager, Executive Chef, Facility Technician, Floor Manager, General Manager, Guest Experience Leader, Host/Hostess, Lead Bartender, Lead Host/Hostess, Lead Line Cook, Marketing Coordinator, Passer, Payroll/Benefits Specialist, Server, Sous Chef, Trainer.

Notice how different this is from a typical club? Only the very last item, "Trainer," resembles what a normal club might have as a job opening. There are a few other possible ones a normal club might have, such as "Assistant General Manager" and "General Manager," and perhaps "Director of Sales." But it has always been my burning desire to be a full-time Dishwasher for a full-time table tennis club! (Note that I spent some time working as a dishwasher at a Bonanza restaurant in 1979 in Wilson, NC!)

Washington DC already has Comet Ping-Pong (a pizza place with ping-pong tables) as well as the Washington DC Table Tennis Center, so it's a growing area for table tennis. Maybe we can attract more and more players from there for our MDTTC tournaments - and speaking of that. . . .

Butterfly MDTTC April Open and Promo Video
I'll be running the MDTTC April Open this weekend, April 14-15, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Deadline to enter is 7PM on Friday. It includes a link that allows you to enter online through Omnipong, as well as a link to the PDF entry form you can print out. (Note - this is the 199th USATT sanctioned tournament I've run. That's nearly 400 days of running tournaments!) Don't miss the great promotional video below, put together by Mossa Barandao of Pongmobile!

  • Saturday events: Open, U2400, U2200, U2000, Over 50, Under 15
  • Sunday events: U1900, U1600, U1300, U1000, Under 12
  • Promotional video (2:32)

Asian Cup and Slovenia Open
They both finished over the weekend. See the results, read the articles, and watch the videos and pictures!

Commonwealth Games
Here's the ITTF home page for the ongoing event taking place in Oxenford, Australia, April 5-15. I probably won't keep linking to this every day, so save the link! I'll link to it again when it's finished so we can browse the results, articles, pictures, and videos.

Making Peace with the Edge
Here's the article from Samson Dubina, which covers how to deal with balls that barely come off the edge of the table.

Table Tennis Discipline
Here's the article by Eli Baraty on the discipline it takes to improve, including commitment, hard work, and drive.

New from EmRatThich - All About Harimoto and Fan

History of USATT – Volume XX – Chapter 23
Here’s chapter 23 of Tim Boggan’s latest volume, which covers 1993-1994. Or you can buy it and previous (and future) volumes at www.timboggantabletennis.com. Chapter 23 covers "Mar/Apr 1994 - Off Table News." Note that Volume 21 is now out. This volume is 438 pages with 1667 graphics, and covers all the wild things that happened in 1994-95 - and I'm mentioned a lot! Why not buy a copy - or the entire set at a discount? Tim sells them directly, so when you order them, you get it autographed - order your copy now!

Capital Plastics Tournament is Big Hit for the Juniors
Here's the article by Richard Finn. "Recently more than 50 California junior players had the special privilege of meeting and playing with a dozen top Chinese junior players at the 2nd Annual Capital Plastics Tournament hosted at the California Table Tennis Club in Rosemead on March 17-18."

Incredible India, Inspired, Indomitable, Invincible
Here's the ITTF article on India winning Women's Teams at the Commonwealth Games, upsetting Singapore in the final.

2018 Butterfly Cary Cup Final - Jishan Liang vs Jun Han Wu (Highlights)
Here's the video (4:04).

Training Camp in France
Here's the video (2:31) of their physical and table practice.

World Table Tennis Day
Here are a few of the better World Table Tennis Day (April 6) links I came across.

Foot Pong
Here's the video (18 sec)!

Sharon Alguetti Trick Shots
Here's the video (60 sec)! That's Cory Eider he's rallying with at the end with "one-paddle pong."

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