A few residents in Auburn came together to trial playing social table tennis at the Auburn Institute in mid-2021.

Initially they played on a very wonky table donated by the Auburn Bowls Club. The Auburn Primary School then generously loaned them one of their tables.

Numbers of players slowly grew at the Monday sessions that were advertised in the Auburn Express, a local monthly newsletter. Most people hadn’t played since they were much younger, so they were thankful to Greg, an Auburn resident who played table tennis competitively for giving them a run-down on the current rules and techniques. Mostly they just tried to keep the ball on the table!

The level of enthusiasm grew when the Auburn Community Development Committee was successful in receiving a Grants for Seniors (Goods) from the Office for Ageing Well (Government of SA) to fund three table tennis tables, two new nets and a supply of bats and balls.

They now have a core group of 8 to10 people who play each week and several others who come now and then. They’ve also had people, who have been visiting friends in Auburn, join in for the night. Players give a gold coin donation each session to help cover the cost of lighting and use of the community space.

Players have made comments such as, “Starting table tennis was a really good idea”, “It gives me the best work out of the week”, and “It makes you work physically but keeping track of the score also keeps your mind active!”

Recently, they contacted a similar group of social table tennis players in Crystal Brook. Four players from Auburn travelled to Crystal Brook and were warmly welcomed to the Thursday afternoon session. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

The Crystal Brook players shared some techniques with the Auburn players, especially how to serve more effectively and spin the ball! They have come back to Auburn to work on these so that they can give the Crystal Brook players a good run when they come to play in Auburn.

Players in Auburn hope that they can also connect with other social table tennis groups in the Mid-North soon.

For more information email: institute@auburn.sa.au

This project is supported by funding from the Office for Ageing Well through the Grants for Seniors program (Goods).