A new drop-in ping pong program in Morden is not only proving to be popular but is also helping build community.
The weekly gatherings on Wednesday evenings are open to anyone, but they have been especially welcomed by the Ukrainian community, including many newcomers to the area.
It is providing not only some recreational activity but also some valuable social interaction, organizer Yevgeniya Tatarenko noted last week.
“It’s an opportunity to do something together and do some activity, and it’s especially good during the long winter in Canada,” she said. “I’m happy to see we have different directions here and opportunities to practice and people who are new to ping pong to learn … it’s an opportunity to come together and to socialize and to get happy and healthy.”
The idea arose simply from their own interest in ping pong and their search for tables or a place to play.
“I got the suggestion to ask the City of Morden if we could use their tables,” Tatarenko said. “We just started to promote this, and we were blown away by the response, that so many people are actually interested in this program … and it was something new for me to do here in Morden because I like to try different activities.”
Tatarenko also noted how popular table tennis is in Ukraine.
“We discovered a lot of people who recently arrived from Ukraine were so into table tennis … it is something that is very popular in Ukraine,” she said, adding that it even extends to offices perhaps having a table for staff during breaks.
“I see a lot of new arrivals from Ukraine starting to come, and we saw it as an opportunity to teach them … we also started to communicate with other people, like a ping pong association in Winnipeg.
“So we have some plans … there are other communities with Ukrainian people arriving, so they may be interested,” she said. “There are some people who would like to compete … there may be opportunities for tournaments and so on, so we’ll see what comes.
“And we have not just Ukrainians here. We opened this program to anyone and any age of people,” Tatarenko added. “So it’s also multicultural.”
The weekly gatherings have on average drawn 15 to 20 people who take turns with the six tables available at the Access Event Centre.
They play every Wednesday evening and will do so until the end of May. There is a drop-in fee of $2 or $40.50 for the season. Sessions run from 7-9 p.m.
They even have a head coach who is a professional player as well as a few other experienced players mentoring others.
Coach Andrii Tymoshyk only came to Canada in February, so this is a great opportunity for him in many ways.
“As a professional ping pong player, he was really interested, so he jumped at the opportunity,” Tatarenko said in helping translate for Tymoshyk.
“When he first came here, we started to chat about different opportunities. He was happy to get involved and to join us as a coach as well. It was an opportunity to share his knowledge and his skills.
“For him, he really loves the chance to communicate with people and to meet more people … and he loves to play ping pong, so for him it’s a win win.
“He’s really great,” Tatarenko added. “He has this passion for it … we are happy to have him here.”
