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Never to be called Ping Pong, but Ping is ok if you’re really cool. It’s been played by London’s kids in youth clubs, back gardens and on holidays since the 1920s.
Now, it is experiencing a huge resurgence throughout the capital with some very different results. We sent BBC London’s Gary Crowley, a former youth club player himself, to Morpeth School in Tower Hamlets to find out just what is going on. The school employs ex-professional England player, Grant Solder, as their full time table tennis coach. He said: “We’ve got mass numbers playing, a silver medal last year, we’re hoping to be England’s sole representatives in China at the World's School Championships…and we have one player representing England Under 11s at the moment…” TTK is a London based charity that co-funds six schools across London to have full-time table tennis coaches and the aim is not just to provide England with future world champions, but also to improve attendance and academic results. The headmaster of Morpeth School, Alasdair Macdonald, explains that the introduction of table tennis has given so much to the children: “This is a deprived area, so the pupils are not always used to what excellence can be. We’ve been able to get the kids to see that they can do something just as well as anyone else.
"Exam results and attendance have all improved. We now recognise that we have to get the kids wanting to be here in the first place. Table tennis has been one of the best examples of an activity that has made a large number of kids engage with the school and all aspects of learning….”
 | | Gary Crowley relives his youth |
Morpeth School proves this theory works. Children are allowed to miss certain lessons for one hour a week in order to play table tennis where they receive one to one coaching.
Raihan Muhith is one such player. He first got into table tennis after seeing Grant play in assembly. He started playing after school and now admits that he attends school more so he can play Ping after school has ended. With the schools and the TTK charity working together, table tennis is a great way of improving the delinquency. The results have been so positive in many London boroughs that Brent Police has contributed £12,000.
The charity director Michael De Giorgio say's: “This doesn’t help everybody; different people react in different ways. Some people engage in sport, some by art etc. We do whatever it takes to engage with the young people; once they’re into the programme we hope our coaches can help them develop…” Another club that has been encouraging London’s children to play Ping is the London Progress Table Tennis club, based in Southall, West London. They have over 20 tables and have coached all kinds of kids, including those with a “trouble” label.
Jon Kaufman is one of the men responsible for the club. He says: “Kids all wear this street gear as it’s a defensive response to the negative vibes they get. We’ve given them positive vibes here and the defensiveness evaporates quite quickly.” They also believe in mixing the abilities of all the players in the room. They have international level players mixing with beginners, Jon believes this works as “if they just came in and played table tennis they would get bored quickly, but seeing the internationals play gives them something to aspire to….” The club’s results speak for themselves. They’ve won the English National Champions for the last seven years and they keep on bringing in new players.
Darius Knight is one boy who started playing table tennis in an adventure playground and is now ranked top of his age group in Europe. He is tipped to play in 2012 Olympics in London and says “if I keep improving at this rate there’s every chance I’ll be taking home a medal….” Gary considers the rise of table tennis and the suitability of the sport to London’s kids. It can easily be played by up to 60 people at a time in a medium sized hall so lessens the problems in finding a venue.
It’s good for the kids, boosts morale and encourages better results at school. It can also be played into old age. “I’m off to play again” he says. “After all, the Olympics are only seven years away and I may be ready by then!!” | 
