This group is a beautiful example of the successful collaborative effort between Wellbeing Exeter’s Community Builder, the Community Physical Activity Organiser and a group of St Leonard's residents taking the initiative to start regular social table tennis sessions.
At a coffee morning, a small group of residents were introduced to their local CPAO; a meeting that led to a conversation about suggestions for physical activities. Following this, the idea for casual table tennis sessions was born. Based on the low cost of table tennis bats and balls, and with the availability of nearby public tables in Belmont Park, the group soon started to meet regularly to play friendly games and socialise. One member described the group as: "A great stimulation plus exercise". Adding: "We even set up a WhatsApp group".
What started as a simple idea at a coffee morning has developed into a regular table tennis group, self-organised by residents. The group’s success is a combination of its self-sustaining nature, utilising existing assets such as public table tennis tables, while organising themselves through a dedicated WhatsApp group. More importantly though, their weekly sessions offer “lots of laughter and some good light-hearted exercise.”
With the help of the previous CPAO, the group was able to use the Grecian Centre at St James Park free of charge to keep playing indoors during the last winter. To support them to bridge the winter months this year my colleague Georgie, CPAO for North Exeter, and I are working on finding a suitable indoor venue and are exploring the option to assist the group in purchasing a second-hand portable table.
Inspired by this brilliant example, and in the spirit of making the most of our publicly available tables, we encourage people across Exeter to find their nearest table, meet other locals, socialise and have some fun playing ping pong.
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