Building U.S. Table Tennis One Community League at a Time
April 29, 2008

By Mitchell Seidenfeld

Can we build table tennis in the U.S. and Canada? Absolutely! We can do it one community league at a time. When you organize a community league you are doing more than providing a place for people to play; you are building a table tennis community. In Butterfly League Table Tennis we call the entry-level leagues Community Leagues. For the purposes of this article, we will define “community leagues” in a broader sense to include any kind of league that relies on a particular community of players. We can form community leagues by playing level, sex, age, school, workplace, interest group, or municipality.

The following diagrams will give you more information about how to structure table tennis leagues in your area. If you live in a small or isolated community, you might want to begin by organizing one community league. If you already have a table tennis club in your area, you can organize three or four different leagues. Players at your club can compete against others at a similar level and work to improve so that they may move up to the next level league. And for those of you who are extremely ambitious, you can work to create community leagues across your entire metropolitan area that eventually link up to form a pyramid system of leagues.

Diagrams:
• Community League
• Linear League System
• Pyramid League System

Remember, you are not alone in your desire to find a good place to play and friendly people who love table tennis as much as you do. Players across the country are currently joining forces to increase the number of playing locations, organized leagues, and coaching programs.

For more information:

1. Click on “Leagues.”
2. Register as a potential League Director.
3. Log On to review league articles and access the “League Toolbox.”