Left: Hampton Park young gun Evan Sam is one of many promising prospects at Casey Table Tennis Club. 26249– Marc McGowan
THE City of Casey’s best table tennis players will dust off their paddles to return to competition next month.
Casey Table Tennis Club is in its third year and has steadily grown to the point it now boasts 60 members.
Head coach and inaugurator Michael Belot is thrilled with the club’s progress less than a month out from its grading and open night on 10 February.
“We have a couple of juniors doing really well and making state teams – it’s been a great couple of years,” he said.
“A lot of people know it as the garage sport or something to do over Christmas and it can be just that.
“But it’s one of the most popular and fastest sports in the world at the top level.”
Casey’s players range in age from as young as 11 right up to an individual in their mid-70s.
The new season begins on 17 January at Hillsmeade Primary School, The Promenade, Narre Warren South.
There are three grades on offer – A, B and C – at the 10-table facility.
The club has also benefited from a recent refurbishment at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC).
Casey officials were forced to use cardboard boxes around the tables in the initial season, but now use MSAC’s former barriers.
Two of the most promising players at the club are 13-year-old Mitchell Thompson and 12-year-old Evan Sam.
Thompson finished runner-up in the under-13 age group at last year’s Australian Junior Championships, while left-handed Sam is ranked in the top four in the country in the same age bracket.
This year’s Australian Junior Championships is in Hobart in September.
If anyone is interested in joining Casey Table Tennis Club, Michael Belot can be contacted on 0430 386 990.
Picture: Luke Plummer.
