Westinghouse Table Tennis League is Underway
January 16, 2008

Westinghouse Table Tennis Club - A Recent Night of League Play.

Courtesy of Ed Mercier / Westinghouse Table Tennis Club

A new Westinghouse table tennis league is off to a roaring start thanks to the encouragement and support of both Butterfly and Mitch Seidenfeld. The league follows the Butterfly League guidance by playing handicapped round robin competition from 5:30 to 8:30 PM every Wednesday evening in the Westinghouse Energy Center in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 50 employees have signed up for the club, and 22 different players have participated over the first four weeks of play.

What does it take to get a new league started? It's not as hard as you may think. First you need a place to play. After recently joining Westinghouse I contacted the Human Resources department to see if they would allow me to try and start this new club. Thirteen employees came to the first informational meeting on October 10th and the club was underway. The Westinghouse facilities group agreed to allow the club to play in the East and West Auditorium when those rooms were not in use for other after-work activities. The club purchased six Butterfly Match Rollaway tables and in less than one month from the information meeting the first night of play was held on November 7th. Plans are already underway to expand to two nights per week of play and to start an eight week beginner's clinic.

One thing I've learned is that many people will step forward if someone is willing to get things started. Table Tennis is loved by millions in the US. It gives great satisfaction to be able to give people an opportunity to return to this game they love. Here is an email I received the day after our first evening of play.

"I really enjoyed the play last night. Today my hamstrings are sore, my quads are sore, my neck is sore, my forearm is sore and I have blisters on both feet. It hurts to sit down, stand up or walk. But I can hardly wait until next week."

Imagine the satisfaction of receiving heartfelt appreciation such as this and consider taking the steps necessary to start a club in your area. Let Butterfly and Mitch help.

Our club hopes to continue to grow and find a larger facility in the Monroeville, Pennsylvania area that will allow not only Westinghouse employees, but family members and the general public to join in on all the fun.