Table tennis a good alternative during coronavirus pandemic

The SARS-CoV-2 virus does not give up and continues to spread in many countries around the world. People who cannot imagine life without regular exercise are looking for ways to spend their free time actively and safely. A good alternative for the period of the ongoing pandemic seems to be table tennis. Lovers of the popular “ping-pong” in our country are not lacking, so in many Polish cities are organized tournaments for amateurs of this sport.

Table tennis is a proven and quite popular entertainment in Poland, and above all, since 1988, the Olympic discipline, which in the issue of professionals can be extremely spectacular.

To try your hand at the amateur version of this sport, you do not need expensive equipment or advanced accessories. The cost of buying a set with two rackets, balls and a net is barely a few dozen zlotys. In the case of more advanced players, however, completing the entire set may cost as much as several hundred to several thousand zlotys.

In the era of government restrictions and social isolation rules, table tennis seems to be an ideal alternative for an active and safe way of spending free time. The players are separated by a 2.74-metre long table, and during the game there is no direct contact between the participants.

In the nearest future there will be many opportunities to verify one’s skills in confrontation with other players. In various regions of our country there will be organized tournaments dedicated to amateurs of “ping-pong”. On Wednesday, August 19th at 10 o’clock in the Sports and Entertainment Hall in Inowrocław the Table Tennis Tournament will be held as a part of the cycle “Active vacations with OSiR”. The competition will take place in two categories: children and youth (up to 15 years old) and adults (open).

On the next day, i.e. on Thursday 20 August at Mira Zimińska-Sygietyńska Primary School No. 3 the inhabitants of Pruszków will compete in ping-pong for the second time this month (also in several categories), whereas on 21 August at the MOSiR hall in Tarnobrzeg the cycle ‘Wakacje z rakietką’ organised by the Enea Siarka Tarnobrzeg Table Tennis Club in cooperation with the local MOSiR will be officially completed. For several days, children and young people have been able to improve their tennis skills under the watchful eye of professionals, and the verification of their progress will be Friday’s tournament (competitions for adults are also planned).

Table tennis amateurs this summer will still have many opportunities to compete, unlike the professionals. The board of the European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) decided this week to postpone the European Table Tennis Championships scheduled for September 15-20, which were to be held at the Torwar in the capital.

Featured photo: Freepik