By Gabriel Nunez, Guest Writer
Pingpong has been a stable part of many generations’ college experiences, and my generation is no exception. It is no surprise that pingpong is popular among students at Newman University. There are multiple pingpong tables around campus, and last semester, Student Life even hosted competitive pingpong tournaments.
However, pingpong at Newman is more than a fun way to kill time for some students. Walking through Carrocci Hall every day, it is hard to not notice the same set of students not only playing but also inventing their own drills. This, in my opinion, takes pingpong as a hobby to a new level that shouldn’t go unnoticed by university staff. Students who are serious about playing pingpong should be given an outlet for that at Newman.
Offering pingpong as a sport or just as an intramural would bring a lot of attention to Newman. The NCAA works with The National Collegiate Table Tennis Association to make table tennis more accessible at the collegiate level. This organization has already created a league of collegiate table tennis teams, which has been hosting regional and national tournaments every year since 1993.
A student who wants to participate in the tournament has to follow only a few simple rules. First, the student has to be associated with a university through an active pingpong group or club. This can be done through the campus recreation department, student activities program, athletics department or student union. Then, the student has to fill out an application and pay the application fee. The problem is that Newman University does not have an active pingpong group or club.
Therefore, the school would have to first set up a pingpong club. We already have enough students wanting to participate in the club; it is only a matter of planning now.
Newman University already has at least two working ping pong tables, enough paddles and balls.
While starting the club might take time, it would be a fun club that any student could join. On top of that, any student who did want to play competitive pingpong would have an outlet for that. And being a part of the club would make every student eligible for the NCTTA regional tournament, where they could also qualify for the national championship.
PHOTO: Courtesy photo, Unsplash
