By Barry Porterfield
| bporterfield@pvdemocrat.com
A Pauls Valley tennis group is about to grab a hold of a whole new racquet only this time on a bit smaller scale.
This time it’s table tennis, also known as ping pong, for the Pauls Valley Tennis and Racquet Association.
It’s an event that even has a snappy name – the Valley Paddle Battle – set for February 1 in Pauls Valley’s Reynolds Recreation Center.
“Ping-pong balls will be going all over the place,” said Matt Hamilton of the tennis group.
“It will be open and very competitive. We’ll have players coming from Dallas, and an Oklahoma City club will help promote the event.”
In fact, Essential Table Tennis in OKC will use its role as event sponsor to supply the table tennis tables to be set up in the gym of the local recreation center for the February event.
Also planned for the event is what Hamilton describes as a wild version of table tennis called jungle pong, which can have eight to 10 people playing at the same time on the same table.
The local tennis and racquet group was established nearly a year ago to get people moving and help with the community’s overall health.
Another aim has been to raise money for community programs, especially a long-term goal of replacing more dilapidated tennis courts in Wacker Park.
“We wanted to help with the health benefits to the community and engage our community and other communities,” Hamilton said.
The effort started last March with a community tennis tournament and proceeds were used to purchase a canopy for local schools.
Then came Wimbley in the Valley – a touch tennis tournament in July on the grass of Wacker Park. Touchtennis is a much smaller version of tennis with smaller courts, smaller racquets and foam balls.
Just a few weeks ago the group held a tennis tournament with proceeds going to PV Panther tennis and planned improvements to park courts.
“Everything we’re about is the facilities,” Hamilton said about the group’s work to raise money for new local tennis courts.
“We’re also about community programs, which we’re already doing. We will continue to pour money into that.”
The event has also been recommended to receive $2,900 in tourism funds.
Anyone interested in participating in the upcoming table tennis event can register online at the tennis group’s website as costs start at $25 for the first bracket.
