Brighton Table Tennis Club keen to expand
Brighton Table Tennis Club by SportsMission
Brighton Table Tennis Club started in February 2007 and has been expanding ever since, to the point where they now have links with Patcham High School and University of Brighton. But the club’s manager, Tim Holtam says it took some time to get going; “it was chaos, but we’ve gradually grown up with the club and there’s a lot more structure than there used to be.”
The club’s base is Brighton Youth Centre and every Friday night roughly 30 budding table tennis stars meet to get an introduction to the game, compete against each other and learn new skills. The age of the members’ ranges from 8-17 and players of all abilities get the chance to play matches, which creates an inclusive, relaxed atmosphere.
11 year old Jack has only been attending session for four weeks but already feels very comfortable; “it’s really good, I enjoy it because all the teachers are really encouraging.’
Younger players benefit from the guidance of teachers but also have older players like Conor Trenley to look up to. Conor feels the club’s support system, especially when travelling to tournaments, is key to its success; “we travel as a group so we all look after each other, especially the younger kids so it’s a good experience.”
Despite the club’s popularity, manager Tim Holtam is still keen to expand. He stated: “I’d like to open it up to anyone who is interested, and then, not just run taster sessions everywhere but actually make it sustainable so that it leads on to something.”
Connor’s a legend!!