Ping Pong club finds permanent home on near east side
Ping Pong might not be considered a serious sport, but a local group is finding a niche on Madison’s near east side.
Instead of a church basement, the Madison Table Tennis Club is renting space in the 2100 Winnebago Street.
Matches at the Madison Table Tennis Club can get pretty intense.
“It’s all in the head. You have to feel where the ball is coming,” 14-year-old Madison Memorial freshman Peter Yang said.
“A lot of what I like about table tennis is that it doesn’t discriminate. People of all shapes and sizes and ages can participate,” Aaron Avery, co-president of Madison Table Tennis Club, said.
Yang joined the club when he was eight and is one of the state’s top players.
“When I was in seventh grade, and that time I won the state title, and I was like ‘If I lose, it doesn’t matter, I am a kid. If I win, I have no pressure,'” Yang said.
Yang also spends his summers training eight to 10 hours a day in China.
“It’s tiring but after the summer I get a lot, lot better,” Yang said.
After 20 years of bouncing around, playing in church basements and recreation centers, now the club has a permanent table.
“Now we have our own space. We shared with groups to lease it. We have control of the schedule, and we can make a lot more available for the Madison community,” Avery said.
A benefit show will be held at the Barrymore Theater to help pay for the shared space Nov. 23.
More information is available on the club’s website.
