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Put Some Spin On It — Student Club Offers Olympic-Style Table Tennis Training

Table tennis

Pingpong’s a pastime known for sparking rainy-day rivalries in family basements and garages.

table tennisBut table tennis, as it’s properly called, has been a Summer Olympics event since 1988, and a highly competitive, international pro sport for over a century — and the Stony Brook Table Tennis Club wants you to play.

Players from all skill levels are encouraged to join, but don’t expect to play “house rules.” Club president Sho Miyazaki breaks down the difference between table tennis and pingpong.

“Unlike pingpong, table tennis players use strategies such as variation in spin, strength and direction in order to win a point,” says Miyazaki. “Pingpong players often aim to outlast their opponent by waiting for them to make a mistake, or by hitting a ball they cannot return — but players in a legitimate table tennis match cause their opponent to make that mistake, or create the chance to smash the ball.”

Several players in the club are above intermediate level, ready to be coaches or practice partners, and each semester the club participates in National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) team competitions against other colleges.

Living up to their NCTTA national championship win in 1993, Stony Brook Table Tennis Club holds goals that show a true passion for the sport itself — to increase the table tennis population, and provide space and time for people to play.

Stony Brook Table Tennis Club meets at the Walter J. Hawrys Campus Recreation Center Multi-Activity Court, Wednesdays 12 pm-2 pm and Sundays 5:15 pm-7:15 pm.

Join the group on Facebook at facebook.com/groups/sb.tabletennis.

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