The Ping Pong Club, a student-run club at Aliso Niguel High School, works to enrich students’ interest in the slightly less popular sport. Converting desks in a classroom into a ping pong table, the club allows students to try their hand at this sport that does not take place anywhere else on campus as an unofficial sport.
Existing as a recreational club as opposed to others like service clubs, the club does not usually function outside of school. Most of the activity takes place during the meetings, with minimal volunteer activity or major events.
The Ping Pong Club is run by presidents Tae Jun (12) and Kyler Jeong (12), two skilled ping pong players. They offer both a casual and competitive setting for fans of ping pong or just anyone looking to have fun with friends or make new ones. The club meets once a month in room 306 with Ms. Klasna as their advisor.
Co-President Tae Jun says, “We make paddles and balls available so that students can have fun with their friends in friendly matches.”
Tae Jun is also very skilled at ping pong, stating that he started playing table tennis when he was only 9 years old and has had a history of competing in national level tournaments.
The club initially began just last year, but has always struggled with providing the best ping pong resources.
Jun says that “the school doesn’t have a table to play on, and the logistics of table storage is always an issue.”
Considering the nature of ping pong as a sport and the general standard that clubs meet in a classroom, the execution of ping pong games presents a unique challenge for the officers. The solutions have made ping pong on campus possible, and the club hopes to only improve over time.
Despite these setbacks, Shane Eicholtz (12) had this to say: “The ping pong club is one of my favorite clubs at school. At first I only joined because my friends were in the club, however, the club has offered me much more than just something fun to do at lunch. All of the members are kind, fun and competitive.”
The positive impact the club has left after just one semester of existence sets up a successful outlook for the future of the activity at school.
Club member Sonya Tarnovsky (12) states, “It’s fun that it’s different from most other clubs. It’s a sport activity for people to hang out and not do much during lunch. I think it’s a fun new addition to campus.”
The unconventionality of this club sets it apart from many other existing clubs, especially in the sense that club meetings last the entire lunch period for members to play.
The ping pong club will be present during the spring semester club rush and hopes to continue their efforts to make the underrated sport present on the Aliso Niguel campus.
