“The next year I joined St Lawrence’s club for three years.” He says there were lots of clubs operating at the time, perhaps as many as 15 or even 20 across the district. It was a popular sport.”
And why is he still playing after almost 75 years?
“I enjoy table tennis.” It’s as simple as that.
Numbers have declined since the salad days of his youth, but he remembers seeing 27 tables in use in Springvale Stadium, not long after it opened in 1966.
“That’s teams of four, so 54 teams ... more than 200 people. They used to have the clubs rostered on to put the tables up and take them down.” He says scrim divided the hall into sections for graded play. “The grades were A, A Reserve, B, C and D. People just came.”
Most of the present members have been playing for years.
Neil Baggott is on the committee and he has been playing for about 55 years.
“It’s a great sport for hand-eye co-ordination,” says Neil. “It’s a sport that any ability can play, and it’s not weather dependent.”
Jan Purvis is the secretary. “Her father was Cedric Hughes who played out at Maxwell. Jan grew up with her father playing table tennis,” says Nelson. Jan played as a junior. Nelson pointed out Ray Foster at one of the tables and said how two of Ray’s brothers represented New Zealand at table tennis. They came from Otago.
“I managed one year to get to the semifinals of the North Island champs, and another year I got to the quarterfinals of the national champs: that was in the early 70s,” says Nelson. He also notched up 176 successive A-grade interclub wins between 1967 and 1971. Otherwise, he has “done his bit” in administration, locally and nationally, since 1961. That was the year he started his own accountancy business.
He remembers when local sports reporters for the daily newspapers gave good coverage of table tennis.
Jan Purvis says the game is good for mental health.
“You don’t have time to think about anything else but that ball coming so quickly back at you. It’s good for your physical health as it uses every single muscle in your body, and there’s a social side. They’re a nice bunch of people: we have a cup of tea in the morning and a chinwag.”
Jan says Larn Sweeney, the president, is trying to develop a school-age table tennis group. She says a coach from Palmerston North, Matthew Ball, will coach the junior squad.
To celebrate 90 years, the association plans to have a luncheon on the Saturday at Jubilee Stadium, and on Sunday there will be a masters tournament for anyone who wants to play, regardless of whether they attend the reunion.
Anyone interested in registering for the 90th celebrations, or to find out more, contact Jan Purvis, association secretary, 027 447 4312, or email purvisjan@hotmail.com
