New club recruits enthusiasts

Most people think of table tennis, also known as ping-pong, as more of a recreational activity rather than an actual athletic event. Ivan Ruiz-Ayala is a professor of Spanish and an avid ping-pong player. Ruiz is also the sponsor/advisor of the new Ping-Pong Club, which has sparked an interest in Georgia College & State University’s students.

“Three years ago I began looking for a group of players to start a ping-pong club, but we did not have a proper organization, just this year we decided to form a club,” said Ruiz.

He sent out an announcement to all players interested, a group of about 12 showed up and these students started the Ping-Pong Club.

With no accommodations or money to start with, players have to use the Maxwell Student Union as a place to meet and practice. In hopes of someday gaining the benefits of being an actual sports team, the club is focused on growth and recognition more than anything else.

The club’s first intercollegiate competition will be held at Emory University. The tournament will host regional teams from Auburn University, Emory University, Troy State University, The Citadel and Dalton State. The Georgia Division of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association is holding the tournament on Oct. 17.

The Ping-Pong Club is open to all students who are interested regardless of experience. Out of the 12 current members, four or five are relatively competitive according to Ruiz.

“Three years ago,” said Ruiz, “we had a female graduate student from Norway who was the national champion of her country. (She was) really amazing, no one could beat her.”

Ruiz is confident that one day the club will reach the collegiate level, but he realizes that there are hurdles to cross.

“One of the obstacles we will face in trying to become successful will be popularity,” said Ruiz. “In and around this area, ping-pong is not extremely popular and support from the community will not be like the other sports on campus. For most people ping-pong is an after lunch/recreational activity, but most people do not realize that it is, on the professional/collegiate levels, as competitive as tennis or soccer or any other sport, it’s just not as renowned.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 15 2004. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry