Please read the disclaimer page first if you can.
Here we are talking about only in the context of Plano Rec. only though the issue applies to most Recreation Centers worldwide but applies to all Rec. Centers in North America.
One has to also look at this issue of ping pong vs table tennis in the context of other racket sports such as pickleball, tennis etc. & other sports like basketball at Plano Rec Centers.
I personally have played basketball for both high school & college. And I came to table tennis after many years in tennis & never reached a level in table tennis that I did in tennis, both in my playing prime. And I think swimming is the best full body exercise though I never fully learned it. I have to say this just to make everyone aware that I have no biases towards one sport over another.
I also understand how Rec Centers have to constantly manage ever changing & often conflicting priorities & demands for resources.
All that said, now let me get to the core issue.
Plano rec. says this is NOT a table tennis facility. But (inactive) Plano TTC says Plano rec. centers are competitive table tennis facilities. And 90% of players who use the two gyms (TMRC & Liberty) & the rec room at Carpenter Park also act like this is some sort of a training center for competitive table tennis.
Both approaches cannot coexist very well though they manage as it stands now. But above conflicting positions causes a few unnecessary issues that can be addressed if Plano Rec. wants to.
I do not care either way what Plano rec. chooses as it is a policy decision (not regulated by any laws). But IMO it is sort of difficult for competitive table tennis & recreational ping pong to coexist inside the 2 gyms (TMRC & Liberty) or in the Carpenter Rec room.
So, IMO I believe Plano rec. should choose one & get rid of the other for entire Plano rec. or choose only competitive table tennis for some areas & keep rec ping pong for other areas.
Passing out plastic rackets to ping pong hackers to play inside gyms (Carpenter Rec room) causes so many issues but these issues are avoidable. I am by no means suggesting that all hackers with plastic rackets cannot become world class table tennis players if they chose to but it is crazy for them to show up inside the gym and think they could play formal table tennis using plastic rackets.
This Passing out plastic rackets not only causes serious image issues for table tennis as a sport but also feeds the stereotype that any hacker can pick up a plastic racket and play at par with competitive players in what is probably the most complex individual sport there is.
An average person has no idea how complex table tennis is as a sport even at the lowest beginner levels.
One of the biggest problems is the phrase “ping pong” itself. It is a well-respected accepted phrase in far east Asia as the proper phrase for formal sport of table tennis.
I am not going to write a long story delving into the history of table tennis for 100 years. But let me just point out that one of the former presidents of ITTF, Lollo Hammarlund was concerned about the issue of table tennis being called ping pong.
Anyway, ping pong is a toxic phrase in North America causing most people in here to think of table tennis as a silly basement joke of ping pong.
I am not blaming any staff or management of Plano Rec. but because of above facts I do not think Plano Rec. considers table tennis to be at the same level as tennis or pickleball. But fact remains that there is a lot of demand for table tennis if not at the same level as table tennis.
Anyway, bottom line is that Plano Rec. (or other Rec Centers in North America) will never consider table tennis as a formal athletic (Olympic) sport worthy enough to be considered for allocation for various resources at a level nowhere close pickleball or tennis etc. So, I have to say this entire website ttPlano.com is just an exercise in futility of wishful thinking.
But if Plano Rec. wants to treat table tennis somewhat similar to pickleball or tennis, should definitely use various registered coaches at all 5 Rec Centers (TMRC,Liberty,Oak Point,Carpenter & SJRC) to offer free orientation & free group coaching sessions by many available registered coaches every few weeks as a pathway to finding students for paid group coaching or paid individual coaching.
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