Local residents will soon be playing ping pong for free in Solihull’s parks, thanks to a new partnership between Solihull Council and Table Tennis England.
Tables have been installed in Babbs Mill Park, Elmdon Park, Olton Jubilee Park, Jacey Park, Meriden Park and Tudor Grange Park. When the COVID restrictions are fully lifted there will be shared use table tennis bats and balls too, but until then people can bring their own.
In his recent role as Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism & Sport, Councillor Joe Tildesley said:
“Now that most of the COVID restrictions have been removed and the weather is improving, the new table tennis tables are a great way to encourage people to play sport for FREE in our beautiful parks.
“We’re really grateful to Table Tennis England for their support and I hope we will see more people enjoying this sport, having fun and making friends in the process. Table Tennis is a great way to increase physical activity levels and get fitter. It also gives a boost to mental health too. And by the way – we will be posting clear instructions by the tables to help if you’re a bit rusty on the rules!”
Jack Grundy from Table Tennis England added:
“Table Tennis is a very flexible sport and people with varying levels of fitness can choose to play either socially or competitively. We’re passionate about Table Tennis and very excited to be able to support Solihull Active in getting more people active and healthy for FREE.”
The project is part of Solihull Active’s ‘Solihull on the Move’, an initiative by the Council to create healthier, stronger and more sustainable communities through physical activity and sport.