Table tennis is a sport, Ping-Pong is a game

Table tennis, or Ping-Pong, originated in the late 1800s. Upper-class Victorians, considered “High Society” in England, would have matches after their meals instead of going outside to play lawn tennis. They used lines of books that would act as the table net and use a champagne cork for the ball, hitting it with a cigar box lid for the paddle.

For a while names were used interchangeably. Ping-Pong, which is a trademark name, is now considered a parlor game while table tennis is considered a sport. Table tennis was given its Olympic debut at the 1988 Seoul Games. In fact, the sport had many names before becoming recognized as Ping-Pong or table tennis.

“Whif whaf,” “gossamer,” and “flim flam” were commonly used to describe the technique. The words describe the sounds of the ball hitting the paddles and the table in a rhythmic style.

These are the sounds you will hear if you visit the Student Lounge in the Student Services and Classroom Building (SSCB), room 1.202. Students vigorously swing paddles and contemplate their opponent’s next move. Some are laughing; others are in serious do-or-die Michael Phelps stare-downs before attempting their next serve.

“We’ve had a table tennis table in the building for about 10 years, but it didn’t seem to become popular until it was moved into the SSCB area; I think that happened around 2011,” said Andrew Reitberger, director of Student Life.  “Table tennis is very popular in some other countries that are home to our international students. We also have many domestic students [who play] as well.”

Students meet-up in the SSCB Student Lounge between classes. They use their free time to catch up and play some table tennis.

“I usually come here in between classes,” said James Hinchcliffe, business major.

“It’s fun; it’s a good way to use your free time,” agrees C.J. Ramen, computer science major.

The Table Tennis Organization (TTO) is a student organization at UHCL. They meet every week, two or three times a week, in the SSCB Student Lounge.

“There are no tryouts, all are encouraged to join no matter their skill level,” said TTO Vice President Diego Castillo. “The club mainly consists of computer sciences majors/engineers, education majors, one physics major, and fitness and human performance majors.”

TTO wants to create an environment that will attract those who are interested in table tennis, regardless of their experience. UHCL has a variety of novice players as well as experienced players.

“This is a good organization to learn how to play,” Castillo said. “Our experienced players know how to teach what they know. There is even room for those who want to come out and have a good time hitting around.”

Tournaments are typically held on Fridays at 1 p.m., and sign-ups after the deadline are not accepted. The tournaments on campus are held in the SSCB Student Lounge. It is free of cost to compete in table tennis tournaments. The requirements for players are they must have an UHCL ID to participate, and their own athletic attire is required.

Some tournaments are held off campus. Last year, TTO participated in a few tournaments at UH Main Campus. They also participated in their first collegiate tournament held at UH Main in November 2016.

“Our team ranked second place out of the other Texas colleges that participated,” Castillo said.

In 2016, UHCL was listed under Region 502 with the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA). Daniel Reynolds, director of the southern division for NCTTA, connects with the colleges in the southern division. He is from the area and very familiar with Clear Lake. His father worked for NASA for 35 years.

“The southern region has won the national tournament for 13 years in a row,” Reynolds said.

TTO is currently not signed up with NCTTA, but Reynolds hopes that UHCL will sign up again.

For more information about table tennis and to join TTO contact Campus Recreation.