Celebrating 25 Years -
Table Tennis Keeps Seniors and
Youngsters Alike on Their Toes

by Kriss Galloway

The sounds of Table Tennis are unique to any other sport:

"Pa-chink, pa-chunk, pa-chink, pa-chunk, pa-chink, pa-chunk, pa...pok, pok, pok, pok, pok..."

"Oh! You got me there! That was a good one!"

"Okay, score is 10-9." "Pa-chink, pa-chunk, pa-chink..."

This is not your basement version of Ping Pong. This is Table Tennis at the Olympic level, right here at the JCC.

Okay, well, maybe it's Senior Olympic-level, but don't tell the people who play it that there's a difference between what they do and what the 20-somethings in Beijing did a few months ago. These seniors, a handful of whom are in their 80s and 90s, have all the same moves - backspin, topspin, sidespin - and these are just the serves. Then there's backhand and forehand techniques for the drive, push, block, and smash return strokes. And don't forget the footwork, the techniques for holding the paddle, the ability to coordinate what the eye sees and the hand does.

And then there are the rules, such as how to score, determining who serves and when to switch positions with your partner, keeping track of whose turn it is to return a volley...

That's all well and good. But what do you call it, officially - Ping Pong or Table Tennis?

According to the International Table Tennis Federation, development of the game we know as Table Tennis (or Ping Pong) came about as early as the late 1800s, with the division between factions (you say "Ping Pong," I say "Table Tennis") starting as early as 1901. Today - while it is generally accepted that there is no clear demarcation between Table Tennis and Ping Pong - recreational players who tend to treat it as a game or past-time refer to it as Ping Pong, while the serious players almost exclusively call it Table Tennis and view it as a sport.

Whatever you call it, this is not a sport for wimps.

Something happens as soon as the players cross the thresholds of the racquetball-court-turned-table tennis rooms in which they play at the JCC. They become agile, they become steely eyed, they note the weakness in their competitors' techniques and take advantage of it - but most of all, they have fun. A typical morning match consists of as much laughter and words of encouragement (in English and Yiddish), as it does shouts of victory.

But make no mistake about it - Table Tennis really is a workout.

"You can really work up a sweat," said Jimmy Lawrence, himself a Senior Olympic silver medalist. He has been coming to the JCC for years to play with the Senior Table Tennis Club, the men and women of which gather every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning to play.

The "regulars" - Lawrence, Frank Kristofic, Jerry Liepack, Fred Magaziner, Bob Martin, Edward Mendyuk, David Pigg, Ed Remlinger, George Repicz, Harold "Red" Schyne, Baruch Shifman, Roosevelt Tatum and Herbert Weyl - often are joined by Amira Bernstein, Larry Papier, Tillie Rapenport, Andre Tyus and Lynx Tyus (who currently is in training for the American team hoping to compete in China next year). Originally hailing from as far away as South Africa and the Ukraine, several of the players are senior champions at both the state and national level, and quite a number of them have been playing at the JCC for two decades or more.

Occasionally, their children and grandchildren - some as young as age 12 - stop by on their days off from school to play.

Whatever the age or physical ability of the player, Table Tennis is the original level playing field. Its ability to equalize strength and strategy is only matched by the smooth, 9-feet by 5-feet horizontal surface on which it is played. The players, a number of which have the usual ailments associated with advanced years, use the morning workouts to increase their flexibility, improve their eye-hand coordination, maintain balance, and strengthen core muscles, as well as maintain the mental agility to figure strategy two, three, and even four moves ahead. (One unspoken rule, however, is to not play against your opponent's physical handicap. Hollow and small is the victory won by exploiting another's disadvantage.)

"I've been coming here three times a week for years," said Mendyuk, "and I have experienced an increase in my eye-hand coordination."

Shifman said he has enjoyed playing Table Tennis for years - even more so after his retirement as Cantor at Congregation Agudas Achim. "I see this more as a sport than a hobby. There's a lot of running - and even sweating," he said with a smile as he mopped his brow.

Shifman is passionate about the Table Tennis Club, which started at the "old" JCC building in the early 1970s. "The games here have improved a lot over the years. We've had a lot of people come and play with us. Sometimes we have as many as 20 people here playing, and both of my grandsons come and play sometimes, too. It's fun to realize that I can play just as well as they can, and they are amazed that I can keep up with them," said Shifman.

And, while competitive, perhaps just as important as winning a game is the actual experience of having fun with a group of friends. "It's a wonderful experience," said Weyl. "I enjoy the camaraderie just as much - if not more - than playing the game itself."

I was able to try my hand at a few games with the group a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly surprised that the few skills I had learned as a kid still applied. Once the ball was served, it had to be returned over the net. So far, so good. But when my opponents saw my technical weaknesses, it didn't take long for them to teach me a few lessons.

Luckily, I was paired up in a doubles game with Lawrence, who has been playing for 55-plus years. "Gotta watch him," he said of one of our opponents. "He likes to serve short and return long."

That may be, but how on earth can he return the ball so that it lands on the tippy top at the very corner of the table? How does he do that without missing the edge of the table completely?

And, because every other return when playing doubles has to be hit by your partner, you have to take turns. So, if your opponent knows it's your turn, he or she can drop that ball at the very edge of the opposite corner, and the only way you're not going to let him score is to be quick, hope your partner is out of the way, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h!

"Darn!" I said as I missed yet another of these treacherous volleys.

"Now, don't you cuss!" Lawrence reprimanded me. "There's no cussing here."

I looked at him dumbfounded. What did I just say? Oh, wait a minute. This guy is 87 years old, and he's being polite and kind enough to teach this smart aleck how to play correctly.

"Sorry, Jimmy," I said, truly admonished. I love this guy. I want to be just like him when I grow up.

The JCC Senior Table Tennis Club will play at an exhibition, hosted by Lynx Tyus, on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. at the Church of Christ, 1200 Brentnell Ave. For more information on the exhibition, call the church at (614) 253-7959. Admission is free.

For more information on the JCC Senior Table Tennis Club, visit the JCC website at www.columbusjcc.org, or contact Jeanna Brownlee at (614) 231-2731.

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