Liam McNally
The Aintree Table Tennis Club is reforming after a hiatus, but is seeking a new home to practice its sport.
The club formed in 2019, at its peak the group had about 25 members, was hosting inter-club competitions through Table Tennis Victoria (TTV), and was visited by local councillors and MP’s.
Club president Mehandra Deva said that it also provided a much needed sense of connection while emerging out of COVID lockdowns.
“It was a lot of fun, people were getting so excited to come and play, when it was at its peak everyone was so involved,” he said.
“It was really binding us all together. It wasn’t just a sport but socialising too.”
The club has had troubles finding a place to play over the last five years, and has moved twice due to space rental prices and availability.
In October last year these issues, combined with player availability, put the fun on hiatus.
Now the club is back, it has sponsors behind it and the players are keen to get back in action, but the group are still struggling to find a space with availability to host them.
Mr Deva said the club are “calling out for support” from “whoever can help us out” with an indoor space available to rent.
“It’s going to bring us back old memories, it’s going to be the same thing we used to have,” he said.
“We don’t want players to get distributed along different clubs. We want to represent our own community and suburbs as a club, and also have fun.”
Details: www.facebook.com/aintreetabletennisclub
