A new table tennis tournament scheduled to take place in Pauls Valley next month promises fierce competition, some relaxed garage-rule play, and plenty of family fun.
The Pauls Valley Tennis and Racquet Association is set to host the first Valley Paddle Battle Table Tennis Tournament at the Donald W. Reynolds Recreation Center Feb. 1.
The event will be a multifaceted table tennis, or pingpong, tournament that the group hopes will draw people from across the area, according to PVTRA President Matt Hamilton.
“We wanted it to appeal to a wide variety of people,” Hamilton said. “And we want it to be fun for the community. We want them to not hesitate to participate or come out and watch.”
For this tournament, PVTRA is collaborating with Essential Table Tennis, a table tennis club in Oklahoma City, which will be providing tournament tables and promoting the event with similar clubs in the Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Dallas areas, Hamilton said.
The Valley Paddle Battle tournament will have two divisions, an open division, which will adhere to USA Table Tennis rules, and a recreational division, which will play by “garage rules.”
Hamilton said the open division will compete for cash prizes and is expected to be highly competitive, drawing talented and experienced players from across the region.
“I think it will be a really fun and intense level of table tennis that most of us have never seen other than on TV,” Hamilton said.
The recreation division will also be competitive, according to Hamilton, but geared more for families or casual players.
“A lot of people have tables in their garage, churches have tables their youth groups play on,” Hamilton said. “So, we wanted to create an event where everybody will feel welcome and like they can be competitive.”
Those entering the recreation division will compete for medals.
Both the open and recreation divisions will have brackets for men’s and women’s singles and doubles, as well as mixed doubles. The recreation division will also have additional age division brackets, including two youth brackets, one for 12 and under and one for ages 13 to 18.
Hamilton said winners in the two youth brackets will be awarded cash prizes of $50, $30 and $20 for first, second and third places.
Tournament entry fees are $25 for the first bracket and $10 for each additional bracket a player enters and will include a tournament T-shirt.
The Valley Paddle Battle is one of four annual tournaments planned by PVTRA since its inception last year, with each representing a different racket sport. Proceeds from the tournaments go to help support the group’s mission of raising funds for future tennis court restoration projects at Pauls Valley’s Wacker Park and promoting and providing racket sport programming in the community.
Hamilton said while the Valley Paddle Battle is a fundraiser, PVTRA also wants it to be accessible, especially for families. To help with that, they are offering a coupon code that will make all youth bracket registrations, including the first entry, $10.
Tournament matches will be played on eight to 10 tables, which will be set up in the Rec Center’s gym. Bleachers will be placed around the gym for spectators, and there is no admission charge for those who just want to watch the tournament, Hamilton said.
“We very specifically didn’t want a gate fee. We really want to encourage the community to come and watch, even if they aren’t playing. It should be a lot of fun.”
The tournament will also have an area set aside for “Jungle Pong,” a last-manstanding variation of table tennis that typically allows more players to participate in a single match.
Hamilton said those tables will be set up in the community room of the Rec Center, and will offer free play, and he hopes also some sanctioned matches.
The tournament has slots for groups of six to eight players for sanctioned Jungle Pong matches. Those matches have an entry fee of $10 per person, with half of those fees staying with PVTRA and half going to the winner of the match.
The Valley Paddle Battle will get underway Sat., Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Recreation Center, 1005 N. Willow St., in Pauls Valley.
For more information about PVTRA, or to register for the Valley Paddle Battle, visit pvtra.square.site.
