The Power of Teamwork. The Spirit of Victory.
As an ardent proponent of extracurricular activities for personal growth and development, GDGPSJ offers top-of-the-line sports and physical training facilities, as part of its mission to foster a holistic learning experience. The focus goes beyond strength and fitness, encompassing crucial lessons in the art of winning and the importance of being a team player.
Table Tennis
The advantages of playing table tennis are numerous. First, it is athletically enhancing. If you have volleys of fast spikes and crazy dives, you will begin to break out a sweat. Second, your reflexes and hand-eye coordination become quicker and more refined. Thirdly, table tennis is a very fun and enjoyable game. Finally, anyone can play table tennis anywhere.
With speeds reaching over 160kmph (100mph), table tennis is the fastest racquet sport on the planet.
Table tennis is a sport of precision and fast reactions. It works your cardiovascular system, reflexes and co-ordination.
It's been an Olympic sport since 1988 and a Paralympic sport since 1960, and is now the second-most practised sport in the world, with an estimated 300 million players.
Table tennis has come a long way since its beginnings as a form of after-dinner entertainment for upper-class Victorians. Cigar boxes were used as racquets, a line of books served as a net and the ball was a knot of string or a rounded-off champagne cork.
Despite its elitist origins, table tennis is now one of the most accessible sports.
"If you can pick up a bat, you can play," says Richard Pettit, of the English Table Tennis Association (ETTA). "Table tennis is a game for life, no matter what your age or ability.
"If you start to get competitive and fancy more than a game with friends, there is a large regional and national scene with games played in local village halls right up to international sporting complexes."
Matches are played as the best of five or seven games, with each game going up to 11 points and the winner needing a two-point advantage to win.
Tuning in
To widen the sport's appeal and to make it more spectator friendly, the ball size has been increased from 38 to 40mm.
A unique aspect of this fast-paced game is the amount of spin imparted on the ball, so much so that competitive players tune their racquets to their own playing style.
"The tuning is done using sponges, rubbers and glues that are applied to the blade of the racquet," says Richard.
There are several talented young players being prepared for success at the London 2012 Olympics. A handful have already began making their mark with success at the World Cadet Challenge and the European Youth Championships
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