This is Lucille's story of how she fell in love with this sport and how you could too.
Hi, my name is Lucille and I am the Vice-President of the Table Tennis Club here at the University of Portsmouth. This summer I am attending a Table Tennis Camp at Borussia Düsseldorf and I hope to play BUCS as part of the Women’s First Team this upcoming year (if you are a woman and interested, we need you!) and am excited to continue training with our amazing team.
This is my story of how I fell in love with this sport and how you could too.
How it began
It is late August 2022 and I am looking through the International Orientation Events, pondering over which to sign up for. As a brand-new international student, just about to move to a new country, I was excited and intrigued to take part in everything the University had to offer. Although I was never good at any sports growing up, I decided it was at least worth a try to attend a Sports Club Taster session. Starting a new life, I thought, I would like to try something I haven’t before. I spot a Table Tennis session and think how I used to love playing with my friends when I was younger, although I probably wasn’t good at that either. Something in me urges me to sign up and I listen to that voice.
Fast forward to the Taster Event. I show up without a bat or ball or much knowledge of the sport for that matter. I am worried I am too bad to join the Club and while I worry, I get approached by the Club Committee. They hand me a bat and welcome me to the session with bright smiles. Immediately my negative thoughts disappear. We all play around the world together, a game where you move around the table in a big group and only play one turn each before going around the table again. We laugh and laugh and laugh and before I realise it, the session is over. I had so much fun, I say this to one committee member and they tell me to come back for the Give Me Sport event that was coming up, where you could try out all the Sports Clubs with just one ticket. Of course, I say I would love to, knowing full well I would only go for Table Tennis.
It is now the day of Give Me Sport and I join both of the Table Tennis Sessions being held that day. Again, a sense of nervousness hits me, but then I see the now familiar faces of the committee and I am not worried anymore. We’re happy to see you again, they say. I’m happy too. We get to do Multiball, a training method where a coach plays at you fast and you have to return one ball after the other. Looking back now I can see that I was still at the beginning of my journey, but in the moment I was so happy to train and was filled with so much adrenaline and excitement that I could not even notice how often I would miss a ball. During the event I get approached by the committee members who ask me to join the team and invite me to the Whatsapp Chat. That same night I sign up for the membership on the UOP Sport Website.
Joining the club and finding my passion
It is the first day of training and I am so excited to play again. I meet all of the members and I barely remember making friends, simply because it was so easy to! Everyone is so supportive and happy to be there. All my worries about not being good enough to play in the team disappear. We laugh and play and I keep thinking that I have never had this much fun.
Some weeks pass by and suddenly all I can think about is when it will be the next training session. I make sure not to miss any and just like that Tuesdays and Saturdays become my favourite days of the week.
The first teaching block has passed and I find myself buying my own table tennis equipment. I begin to watch tutorials on YouTube and famous past matches. I quickly discover my favourite player (Mima Ito, in case you are interested) and practice new moves during training. I beat the first player on our team, who were all so much further than me when I started, and everyone is excited for the progress I have made.
My first plateau. I am frustrated and one time I even cry during training. I feel like I hit a wall and every serve is too difficult for me to master. I lose so many matches, I lose count. But even in those days, my team is there to save the day. I know you can do better Lucille, they say, and remember how far you have come.
Where I am now
It is now May 2023 and I am watching the Table Tennis World Championships live. I have beaten most players at our club at least once, been elected Vice President for the Club for this upcoming year and I own all the necessary equipment. I play in and outside the University and my love for Table Tennis has become well known amongst my friends and family. It is so funny to look back on where I started, but now I could not imagine myself without this beautiful sport and incredible team here at the University. I am so grateful to have signed up to the Taster Session and for all the support I have been given by the team. I hope to start playing in our Women’s First Team this upcoming year and who knows, you could do the same.
If you are interested in joining the Table Tennis Club, take a look at our webpage and Instagram or join our International Taster Session on Saturday 16 September, 11.00am to 12.00pm and meet me there!