Downtown Minneapolis Has a League of its Own
April 20, 2009

All the players who showed up for the first night of the league.

By Mitchell Seidenfeld

Corporate employees and residents of Downtown Minneapolis will be excited to know there is a new table tennis league in town. The Minneapolis Athletic Club, an exclusive Onyx-level Lifetime Fitness health club located inside the Grand Hotel, is hosting a Wednesday night league from 7-9 p.m. The league kicked-off on Wednesday, April 15th. Twelve players showed-up and were placed into round robin groups for informal play and to give the league coordinator a chance to assign point-handicaps to make future matches more competitive. Everyone had fun and organizers, Paul Schulz, Athletic Director at the MAC, and Omar Kouatli, League Coordinator, were encouraged by the good initial turnout.

L to R, Paul Schulz, Lifetime Fitness MAC Athletic Director,
and Omar Kouatli, League Coordinator

Organizers hope the Wednesday night league will help club members get to know who among them is a table tennis enthusiast. Club members may then schedule practice sessions during their lunch hour and after work. The response to the league has been so positive that the club is planning to add two more tables to the five they currently have.

Players of all levels showed up for the first night. A couple of them participate in other leagues around town but most have been waiting for a convenient downtown playing option. One player, George Chao, had not played in over 15 years. He grew up playing in Hamburg, Germany, and developed his game in the German club system. Another player, Rich Young, proved that his recreational, unorthodox game could match several of the intermediate to advanced attendees and earned him an initial (-3) point-handicap. League Coordinator, Omar Kouatli, is a former Minnesota top 10 and USATT rated 2000 level player. Even though Omar has been side-lined by back problems in recent years, he couldn’t resist the chance to help develop a downtown playing location right across the street from his office. Finally, Downtown Minneapolis residents and workers are just a short skyway stroll away from a great table tennis workout.

The club’s gym is reserved for the league every Wednesday from 7-9 p.m.