The sharp clickety-clack of the ball ricocheting back and forth across the table echoes around Veterans Memorial Hall in Truckee. Those sounds, combined with the emphatic hoots and hollers of players for Thursday night ping pong, create a cacophony that belies the mellow outward appearance of the game.
“I’ve learned after playing here that it’s about 25 percent ping pong and 75 percent yelling,” a player named Dave from Truckee jokes. “It’s a great time.”
On the night I show up to play, it’s just six players who succeed in manufacturing all that racket. But Colin Deurlington, 18, who organizes these nights, said several regulars weren’t there. He utilizes an email list of about 30 people and word of mouth to extend invitations.
Ping pong is unique among many of Tahoe’s gear-heavy or dangerous-by-nature sports in that it doesn’t require incredible physical skill or much equipment to be proficient and have fun. Therefore, the demographic makeup of players ranges from high school-age to the sixty-ish crowd.
A senior at Truckee High, Deurlington started ping pong night in late August 2015 as a way to go up against new players and create a way for community members to mingle. “As a senior in high school I tend to mostly socialize with other teenagers, so this weekly event has given me an opportunity to meet people I never would interact with in any other setting,” he said.
Deurlington started at the Truckee Recreation Center, but found a better venue with more elbow room at Vet’s Hall, where he moved the event in November. It has grown from one table to three, with increased attendance.
The game provides a format where a competitive atmosphere, mixed with meeting new people, allows for appropriate trash talking to be sprinkled around. It can also offer therapeutic benefits: “It’s a great way to work out the stress of the day, and it’s a great community builder,” said Mary Hetherington, Deurlington’s mom, who also likes to play on Thursdays.
The night I came to watch and play, we rotated singles games playing to 11 and then winded down the night with a few games of doubles. Deurlington worked up some spicy spins to his game, leaving defenses in a frenzy, and prompting some casual (but friendly) ribbing toward the youngster.
Deurlington has played in Reno at recreational leagues, where he was impressed by the camaraderie of a larger crowd, and hopes to grow interest in the Truckee scene. He has considered a tournament with small prizes as a way to evoke interest and stoke the competitive fire, and in the meantime encourages all players of all abilities to come check it out.
“What other sport can you think of where 50-and 60–year–olds can still whoop healthy and physically fit 18-year-olds?” Deurlington asked.
