Recent Updates and Upcoming Events

August 21, 2007

Hi, I am no longer the president of the table tennis club. The new president is Michael Haibach at mcbach@uchicago.edu. I will be handing this webpage as well over to him. It's been a great couple of years playing at the University of Chicago, and I plan on stopping by in the future to play some table tennis. Best wishes to the new team this coming year!

March 1, 2007

A lot has happened since last quarter. Our club has just received two new tables, competition quality Doublefish 99-45b's, bringing the total number of tables in working order up to four. I am sad to report that I will be leaving next quarter to study abroad again. I am happy though I am leaving the club at this time, and after successfully requisitioning funds for new equipment. It's been a great college ping pong with you all. Thanks!

November 13, 2006

We finished 4th in our Midwest NCTTA league, but the results were very close. Congrats to our UChicago team for a great performance! I've posted pictures as well. As a note, all NCTTA club members are eligible for a pingpong.com 15% discount. Just write in the comments section that you are a NCTTA member, and they will verify and apply the discount. Hope to see you all at practice!

October 15th, 2006

The academic year is in full swing now and we have started regular practices. Tuesday and Wednesday meetings are for all players, recreational and competitive. On Thursdays, we invite advanced players and team members to come practice. Advanced players are those who can push and loop different spins comfortably. These practices will be smaller in size and more focused on drills.

NCTTA play will start either on November 18th or December 2nd. The date will be chosen very soon and the tournament should be held in Milwaukee. We are fielding a team of five players, if you are interested in playing (or have a car), please e-mail me.

Finally, we will also be joining the USATT league play starting next year. Once again, we will be playing individually, but players will be representing our club. Here is the national website and the local Chicago League website.

We may be getting one or two new tables by the end of the quarter. We also may be moving to a better space for play (better lighting, flooring, etc.) I will let the listhost know as soon as I find out more details.

That's all for this update, but please come to the meetings if you can. Hope to see you there!

July 24th, 2006

For those interested in playing during the summer quarter. We currently are playing on an irregular basis, with members sending out notices over the listhost.

Often we'll have just a couple people agree to meet up at convenient times, so if you want to play send a shout out to the listhost. On the weekends, we sometimes plan on trips to outside clubs (who have airconditioning), but this will also be announced on the listhost.

I've also gotten several inquiries about practices next year. We're planning to keep the practice schedule the same for the first couple of weeks, and see if we want to change it. I'm also planning to purchase another (sturdier) table.

Finally, I plan to resume NCTTA play next year. The biggest problem has always been transportation, but if all else fails we'll rent a minivan and go on down to UIUC. If you're interested on playing on the team, we'll decide team players next year as well.

If there are any questions please let me know through e-mail.

January 14th, 2006

It's a new year, and it comes with an update. Several large changes have been made to the club, and I'll summarize them here.

I'm currently in Paris studying abroad, so the club is now only meeting once per week, Tuesday from 8:00-10:00pm, but we officially have the club on Wednesday from 8-10, and Sunday from 12-3. Feel free to use the club at those times, but you might not find a practice partner. This is temporary I must note.

Currently we are no longer in the NCTTA, we'll rejoin next year though, when I'm there and can manage these sorts of things.

Table tennis is fine shape at the UofC, but we have to get more undergraduates involved. Hopefully more people will join and play for fun.

We are still located on the balcony in Henry Crown, but try to get that changed next year come annual allocations. The fencing mats are supposed to no longer be present when we are playing though and the light should be fixed soon.

If there are any concerns, please tell me through e-mail and I will try my best to address the concern. I am playing and training a lot in Paris in one of the largest clubs. Hopefully, I'll be better equipped to help you guys when I come back. Thanks.

November 5th, 2005

Sorry for the lack of an update, but lots of stuff has been happening on the Table Tennis side and I've kind of forgotten about the page. We will not be going to the NCTTA tourney simply because I only got 1 or 2 replies of interest, and though we have enough people now to go, it's already passed the deadline. There will be another tourney in February, so there'll be another chance perhaps.

Also, I ordered a 144 balls and a new net post set. There will also be a tourney in Schaumburg coming up Nov. 19th, and a tourney in Chicago at the Net & Paddle TT Club Nov. 12th. These are both on Saturdays, and I will be going to Schaumburg.

If you would like to go, e-mail and I'll send you details. I'll probably be going to Schaumburg by a friend's car, so I can't take too many. Net & Paddle you can reach by CTA.

Note there are entry fees to both tournaments. Net & Paddle is pricey coming out to more $50 while Schaumburg's more around $20 assuming you have USATT membership.

I'll update the rest of the website soon. Still trying to get it moved to tabletennis.uchicago.edu...bahh!

October 11th, 2005

We're planning tentatively now to go to the NCTTA tourney on Nov. 12th. (Saturday). If you're a good player, clear your calendar as I think we'll be fielding 5 or so players. Also, I've requested repeatedly to get this page off my personal web space onto tabletennis.uchicago.edu, but after a month or so of requesting, nothing has happened...

Also this Saturday, practice will likely be at two o'clock though there still are some conflicts. I'm sorry if you can't make it, but I want to place the time slot before Saturday night when many people have plans. If more people have conflicts, I'll consider changing the time, but it's most likely going to be sometime in the afternoon.

Lastly, I've updated the equipment guide to reflect some new places you can buy things. I'm in contact with a retailer in the Chinatown area, so if you want to buy personal items, you can buy most main brands minus shipping through them. Just give me an e-mail. Note, this is for personal purchases only.

October 2nd, 2005

Practices are starting to get into swing now. We've had a lot of people these past couple of days, so I'll be bringing a whiteboard or such to help organize play and ensure everyone plays for a while. We'll also be starting a practice for advanced players starting this Saturday. I'm scheduling tentatively around 1:30pm. Our first competition is in November, and I'm still looking for a person willing to drive down to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. You will be recompensated for all expenses. Also I've put up a section to help with equipment selection on the resources page.

For the more motivated, there are a series of tourneys coming up. We won't be able to enter as a school, but I'll be going by myself, and you can come along with me you want. The first is October 23rd, the Indiana Highland Open (36 min drive away) and the second is the Killerspin Halloween Tourney (Downtown). It should be fun.

Lastly, I completely forgot to note, but there's a facebook group for TT that you're welcome to join. I really won't use it to say anything important, but you can post discussions there.

September 25nd, 2005

Lots of new people added to listhost. Working on getting pictures section back up and running. First though, I have to work out the forms for this year. There's a lot of them...Oh did I mention? We have a metal cabinet now. Besides the Sport Club Department, Fencing Team should partly be to thank for that. They mentioned we were looking for a cabinet, and poof, now we have a bright, shiny purple metal cabinet. It has big dent in the back, but at least it's there.

September 22nd, 2005

Arrived in Chicago yesterday. I've been going over the equipment and looking at what we need to get. During the summer, we lost a lot of balls, and one bat is now broken. Otherwise, everything looks fine. I've got some rubbers I'll put on the blades. First practice Tuesday!

September 14th, 2005

Making some changes in my free time before I head back to uc. I'm horrible with aesthetics, and my html knowledge dates back before all of this css, html 4.0, xml, vrml nonsense. ahem.

September 12th, 2005

Banners removed. Plan to add roster section when school year starts. Our budget this year includes provisions for a lot of supplies, though I'm considering a very, very small membership fee.

September 9th, 2005

I forgot to add, we will have funds this coming quarter. If you have suggestions of what to buy for the club, please send me an e-mail.

September 7th, 2005

I've added the constitution to the webpage. You'd be surprised, it makes for surprisingly good reading. Also this is more of a note to myself, but I'll reorganize the site as it gets enough content.

September 4th, 2005

I'll be sending out a listhost message later about this, but we are officially part of the NCTTA (National Collegiate Table Tennis Association) and thus take part in biannual regional competitions held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The first competition will either take place on Saturday Nov. 12th or Nov. 19th. In the past, Paul drove us to compete (literally with a car) and paid out of his pocket gas and provided the car. I don't have a car, but am willing to drive. Even better if someone has a car and is willing to drive (and compete) we'll recompense you for both driving and gas money.

Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to play at the competitions. We'll be fielding a four person co-ed team. Great skill is not required, just a love of table tennis. The tourney starts around 8:00 in the morning and we'll get back around 5:00 in the early evening or so. It's a great experience, please consider coming!

Oh and it's free to play! I'll take care of the entry fee!

September 1st, 2005

Small changes and updates have been made. The pictures will be added still later (there's too many). I'm still juggling a couple of ideas around in my head concerning where we play, possible instructors/advisors, and perhaps purchasing more equipment to help new players. I hate it when new players get frustrated...

August 24th, 2005

We'll be having our first practice on Tuesday, Sept. 27th, and the second practice on Wednesday, Sept. 28th. Both Will be at Henry Crown Field House, 3rd Floor Balcony. New members are especially welcome to come and check out the club on either of those days.

Also our club now has a bunch of instructional media that you can check out from me, Matt Mao. Most of it is in Chinese, but you really don't need to hear what they're saying to get the effect. I've posted a page listing the videos that can be checked out.

This webpage should soon be going active. I put it together pretty quickly, so if you have any questions or comments, please address them to my e-mail address mattmao@uchicago.edu.

Lastly, Sunday, Sept. 25th is the New Students RSO 2005 Student Activities & Resource Fair! If any returning members are able on that day, the fair starts at 3:00pm on Stagg Field (North of Henry Crown). Feel free to drop by, say hello to new students or sit for a while. I would lug out a table from Henry Crown and play, but grass really doesn't work.