Five of the six Parkinson's ping pongers, from left, Richard Starke and Mike Scott (back row), Prue Haddock, Bev Sewell, Mike Peryer and Kāpiti Table Tennis Club's Mark Young (front row).
Five of the six Parkinson's ping pongers, from left, Richard Starke and Mike Scott (back row), Prue Haddock, Bev Sewell, Mike Peryer and Kāpiti Table Tennis Club's Mark Young (front row).
Six Kāpiti people living with Parkinson’s disease, assisted by members of the Kāpiti Table Tennis Club, have gone to bat for the sport, earning international recognition for the benefits it delivers to people with neurological illnesses.
The Kāpiti Parkinson’s sextet volunteered to be part of a pilot session thathad its origins in the friendship between Kāpiti Table Tennis Club member Mark Young and Tim Roberts, one of the Ping Pong Parkinsonians.
“I came across an online article that happened to talk about the benefits of table tennis for folk with Parkinson’s,” Young said.
“I did a bit of research and it got me thinking whether New Zealand could replicate the UK model.
“A few people at my club mentioned they’d had players with Parkinson’s in the past.
“They said they had been amazed when people got up from their seats to play and seemed like different people when they were focused on the table tennis ball.”
Young said the local anecdotal stories seemed to back up the growing international evidence about the benefits of table tennis for people with Parkinson’s.
“So, with the help of the local Parkinson’s Action Group and my friend Tim, I came up with the idea of trialling an informal session that involved the Parkinson’s players receiving some coaching from club members and then playing under their supervision.”
Bev Sewell was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in December of last year.
“I thought my problems over the previous year — balance, tremors, fuzzy brain — were all to do with the Covid injections.”
Her diagnosis and a suitable drug regime addressed the symptoms and life returned to something like normal.
“I settled down into a routine of doing most of what I used to do, but at a much slower pace and with more rests.
“I know that exercise is very important for keeping the body ‘well’ so I was very pleased to be able to take part in the Parkinson’s table tennis pilot programme.”
Sewell and the other five Parkinson’s players were all enthusiastic about the event.
Table tennis has lots of benefits for people living with Parkinson’s disease.
“I think this event was definitely a success. I hadn’t played table tennis for 70 years but really enjoyed both the social and physical side of the gathering.”
Mike Scott, from Waikanae Beach, said, “Great session — I enjoyed it very much and can definitely see the benefits from the exercise and hand and eye coordination required.”
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s three years ago and understands the importance of fitness and exercise in managing his symptoms.
“I go to group exercises at my gym on Mondays and Fridays, swim pool lengths Tuesdays, bike ride Wednesdays, and walk our dog most days. The ping-pong will really complement this.”
Young said he has raised Ping Pong Parkinson’s with the chief executive of Table Tennis New Zealand.
“He [the CEO] said they were aware of the health benefits of table tennis for Parkinson’s sufferers and were very interested to hear about the outcome of the pilot.”
In Britain, the sport has grown quickly in less than five years to the extent that there is a Parkinson’s offshoot, Parkinson’s Disease Table Tennis UK, which is working with Table Tennis England to promote the benefits of the sport and sending representatives to world championships, the latest to be held in Austria in September.
Parkinson’s Kāpiti-Horowhenua Action Group chairman Kevin Ramshaw said his group is grateful to the Kāpiti Table Tennis Club for the initiative.
“The pilot has been a great success.
“We all know how beneficial exercise is in managing Parkinson’s symptoms and table tennis has the advantage of being more accessible than some forms of exercise and arguably more enjoyable.
“Our challenge now is to get more of our people involved and create the infrastructure to enable them to play regularly.”
