Current Unsafe Setup & Proposed Safe Setup for Table Tennis in Rec. Room at TMRC
Please read the disclaimer page first if you can.
At the bottom of this page are diagrams of the Rec Area at TMRC as it is currently & what I am proposing. Even though it probably will take less than 30 minutes to reconfigure, I doubt they will do it. Oh well.
The issues shown here are primarily due to the major perception problems about table tennis. Recreation centers in North America consider table tennis to be a basement “game” of ping pong. But most players who use Carpenter Park Rec Room act as if this is some sort of training facility for the formal sport of table tennis. (In fact, many of these players participate in USATT tournaments).
There is nothing that can be done if a Rec. Center treats tennis & pickleball as a formal sport but table tennis as a basement game and assigns resources accordingly. This despite the fact that table tennis is the largest of all member associations of the IOC with 227 member nations and even if the members using the facilities are equal or almost the same as to those using pickleball or tennis etc. It is a policy decision & rec centers can treat any sport anyway they feel like & can be as arbitrary as they like.
However, even if Plano Rec. wants to treat the rec room setup as basement ping pong, it is still a dangerous setup because even casual ping pong players could backup into the sacred holy ground and run into:
- Table tennis players running into pool players because the pool table is very close
- Table tennis players running into people sitting at the tables nearby
- Table tennis players running into players at the air hockey table
The pool table and table tennis pool table should be swapped places as shown. This way you need barriers only on 3 sides instead of all 4 sides.
I understand why it is hard to barrier individual tables when tables are set up and taken down every week like inside the gyms at TMRC or Liberty Rec. Center. It absolutely makes no sense not to have the tables permanently barriered individually if the setup is in rec rooms such as at Carpenter Park & Oak Point Rec. Of course, the crazy setup at TMRC Rec area should be barriered on all 4 sides.
If Plano Rec. cannot afford to buy barriers, then they should get rid of table tennis tables in any & all rec rooms & rec area. This is not just for Plano Rec. but for any Rec. Center in North America or worldwide. In fact, my strong opinion is that even if table tennis tables are only for recreation ping pong they do not belong in rec area along with other recreational activities. It is not because I make any ridiculous claims that table tennis is better than other recreational activities but due to the fundamental nature of table tennis or even basement ping pong. It is because these players even at the lowest levels just move too fast and too far from the table tennis tables & the risk of injury is quite high. In fact, the injury risk is highest at lower levels because these lower-level players are likely to be less coordinated.
If Plano Rec. Cannot afford to buy barriers, I am reasonably sure players who use Carpenter Park (or Oak Point) Rec Rooms would be willing to contribute towards buying barriers. I would be happy to contribute as well. But I think the crazy fact is that, they most likely have some available from Oak Point or Liberty Rec.
