Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and on Tuesday night Dublin University Table Tennis Club (DUTTC) attempted to tap into a growing trend by marrying together the ordinarily unrelated activities of pints and ping-pong. Pubs and nightclubs such as The Workman’s Club and Buskers on the Ball are known for hosting table tennis nights, but on Tuesday it was the Pav that played host to a friendly yet hotly contested feast of table-tennis.
The “Paddle at the Pav” was advertised well in advance, with posters adorning the college notice-boards for weeks beforehand. This was immediately obvious. A large crowd of raucous students occupied the side room from 7pm onwards, all of them keen to try their hand at a game almost universal in its appeal.
The friendly nature of the competition meant there was room for everyone, from those nursing ambitions of victory to those who were more interested in nursing pints of Tuborg. It was perhaps inevitable, then, that the first few rounds would feature a number of rather one-sided games. Everyone who participated entered into the spirit of the occasion, and even those on the receiving end of heavy defeats left the table all smiles.
This intrepid reporter entered the competition with high hopes of victory. After a nail-bitingly close second-round encounter, however, he was just pipped at the last by a score of 11-2.
I returned to my corner to ruminate on what might have been.
As the rounds wore on, the standard naturally improved, with some scintillating stuff being played at times. Competitors could be seen receiving expert tactical advice from friends, but at the end of it all many games came down to whose nerve held.
After well over an hour of table tennis, the wheat had well and truly been separated from the chaff, and four competitors remained. The intensity of the looks on the faces of the remaining players spoke volumes: all were clearly desperate to taste victory. The first semi-final saw Hugh McMahon face off against Andrey Walter. In getting this far, both players had demonstrated an admirable commitment to the principles of attacking table tennis, and that did not change in a game which saw hardly a defensive shot hit throughout. However, at the end of a thrilling contest, Walter emerged on top, booking his place in the final.
In the second of these semi-finals, Nick Fenelon took on Conor O’Dea. This game was even closer than the one which preceded it. However, O’Dea’s prowess in the rally was undermined by a number of unforced errors, and in the end Fenelon took the spoils and joined Walter in the final.
The final was a “best-of-three” affair. Fenelon gained the edge after the first game, only to be pegged back in emphatic fashion in the second. It had all come down to one game. The atmosphere in the room shifted, with the noise level moving from loud to borderline deafening. Both players had played their part in contributing to an excellent occasion. However, there could only be one winner, and in the end Fenelon’s nerve held. An 11-7 scoreline may have flattered Fenelon, but few could argue with the outcome. A clearly ecstatic Fenelon went up to collect his trophy.
Fenelon may have been crowned champion, but ultimately the event was a triumph for DUTTC. Speaking to The University Times, club Captain, Conor Beades, expressed his satisfaction: “We had over 40 people and it’s our first time doing this.” He is hopeful that the club can build on the success of Tuesday night and run a weekly event. On the evidence of last night, his ambition appears well-founded.
