Bairnsdale’s new Table Tennis Stadium – A template of perfection…
This past weekend I had the delight of working with the Gippsland Sports Academy Table Tennis squad at the fantastic new Bairnsdale Squash & Table Tennis Centre. Bairnsdale is a rural town in Victoria, Australia. The stadium was commissioned by the Bairnsdale & District Table Tennis Association/Keen-Agers and East Gippsland Shire. At $1.5 million this budget priced building was designed to meet specific needs of squash, racquetball and table tennis players in a district community of some 25,000 residents and as a focus for regional events.
Six months in construction, the concrete and steel facility was opened in November last, having been designed to meet standards requisite for regional or country tournaments. It achieves much more.
Featuring 6 glass back squash courts and 12 club table tennis courts separated by shared social amenities and wet areas which isolate traffic and sound, the facility contains one of the few purpose built table tennis venues in Victoria.
From the ITTF approved Taraflex floor to the domed roof with filtered daylight and internal lighting at mandatory height delivering 600 lux to tables and courts across 660 square metres, it would grace a state or national event.
From the moment you enter the table tennis hall it says, “This is how the sport of table tennis really should be accommodated.” The local association led by the driving force of John Gale, has spared no effort, installing purpose built umpire chairs and kick-away court dividers which leave the entire playing area visually uncluttered. Background walls are in charcoal or deep red, both of which give excellent definition of ball movement. Two or three hours on the ambience remains pleasant and stimulating for players and spectators.
Some locals call it the “Ping Pong Palace” or “Table Tennis Tabernacle”, but whether you are a top line competitor, raw beginner or an ageing recreational player, the verdict seems to be “I love it.”
For those of you in Victoria, Australia that get the opportunity, take a drive down Gippsland way and have a look at what is possible for a local association to achieve.
In a future blog I will talk about the Gippsland Academy squad and their training.
Neville
commented on April 9th, 2010 at 10:17 am
It is a pity that Melbourne’s local councils can’t be convinced to construct similar buildings for Table Tennis. My local council (Whitehorse) only seem to be interested if it’s for Basketball or Netball. Both great sports but there seems to be any number of them around Melbourne. Perhaps if more Table Tennis centres existed then we would have more players. Perhaps TTV should be doing more at a grassroots level, after all the more people playing the greater the chance of finding international level players.