President's Corner
I hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays. I sure did! My wife, Kelly, and I traveled to Las Vegas for the 2006 U.S. National Table Tennis Championships just before Christmas. The tournament drew hundreds of players from all over the country. We saw some terrific matches, including the Women's Singles Finals, Men's Singles Semi-finals, and the Men's Singles Final...wow!
The club has been closed over the holidays. Our first practice session of 2007 will be Thursday, January 4th, from 6-9pm at Fairmount Elementary School. According to the calendar shown below, we will be open every Thursday and Friday evening during the months of January and February.
Watch this space for some upcoming, exciting news. Plans need to be firmed up first, but an announcement will be forthcoming.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
President's Corner
March 31, 2007 will mark the end of our 2nd full year of operation. I'm thrilled to think that the idea of starting a table tennis club in the St. Peters area has been met with such enthusiasm from the local players. Our club has acquired quite a few new players that have never been part of a table tennis club before. That's what this is all about...promoting/encouraging grass roots players to come out of their basement/garages/breakrooms and join other local players in a little friendly competition.
In an effort to introduce you to some of these players, my wife, Kelly, has gathered some pictures and information about some of the players in the club. We have compiled this data onto a web page called Profile. You can see a picture of a player, their current USATT rating, what type of blade/rubber they use, and some background information that will let you get to know them better.
If your name is not shown, then please get with Kelly to have your picture taken and information gathered. If your information needs updating, please let Kelly Know. You can e-mail her at kellykendle2002@yahoo.com or see her at the club.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
President's Corner
It's time to CELEBRATE! So why don't we hold our first USATT-sanctioned $1,200 table tennis tournament on April 14-15, 2007 at Francis Howell Central High School. The Francis Howell School District (FHSD) has partnered with the Saint Peters Table Tennis Club (SPTTC) to host its first tournament. This 2-day tournament will feature both USA Table Tennis (USATT) sanctioned events as well as non-sanctioned events for the local players. A portion of the proceeds will go back to the FHSD table tennis program(s) that are currently starting up in an effort to promote further table tennis activity in the St. Peters area.
To download or print the entry form, click here. To view a list of players that have already entered, click here.
Don't forget...SPTTC members should contact my wife, Kelly, to get your Profile added/updated on our web site. You can see a picture of a player, their current USATT rating, what type of blade/rubber they use, and some background information that will let you get to know them better. You can e-mail her at kellykendle2002@yahoo.com or see her at the club.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
Home: 636-928-6081
Cell: 314-517-2511
Let the party begin!
President's Corner
Let me start by saying THANK YOU to everyone who helped make our first USATT-sanctioned tournament such a success. Two years ago I sat down with my wife, Kelly, and we discussed the possibility of starting our own table tennis club. We knew it wouldn't be easy. It would certainly take an investment of both cash and time on our part, but our desire and enthusiasm to make it happen prevailed.
Now, two years later, we have around 75 members, 12 tables, 100 barriers, and our first tournament is now behind us. We had 105 players from 6 different states...Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas. We partnered with the Francis Howell School District (FHSD) and Butterfly to bring quality table tennis to the Saint Peters area. The playing venue at Francis Howell Central High School was superb...plenty of court space, wood floors, good lighting, high ceilings, and bleachers for seating.
We brought out the "grass roots" players, the mainstream competitors, by offering prize money in every Giant Round Robin Singles event. Furthermore, the ratings for this tournament were up on the USATT web site in less than a week.
We hope to have many more tournaments in the near future. Keep an eye on this web site for details.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
Home: 636-928-6081
Cell: 314-517-2511
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Giant A Singles Champion Xi He Finalist Zi Fu
President's Corner
We're heading into the summer time. Fortunately, for table tennis players our sport is played year round. The weather doesn't usually have too much impact on our sport.
The calendar shown at the bottom of this page has us continuing to play at Francis Howell Central High School on Thursday and Friday evenings from 6-9pm. Most likely we'll be in the small gym near the back of the school on the left as you enter the Auditorium/Gymnasium doors.
The latest order of club shirts has been sent. We anticipate getting them back late June. The design is the same as the first shirts ordered, but the lettering is a bit bolder so it would be more visible from a distance. If you have not already paid your $15/shirt, please get the cash or a check made payable to Saint Peters Table Tennis Club to my wife, Kelly, as soon as you can.
The results of our April tournament can still be viewed at http://www.spttc.org/files/Apr 07 Results.pdf. An article published on Butterfly's web site can be accessed at http://www.butterflyonline.com/2007/07spao.asp. Photos of the April tournament are now available at http://www.spttc.org/april 07.html.
We have updated the player profiles page with photos and writeups from our latest members. Please click here to see the details.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
Home: 636-928-6081
Cell: 314-517-2511
President's Corner
The club shirts have arrived and are ready for pickup. The design is the same as the first shirts ordered, but the lettering is a bit bolder so it would be more visible from a distance. You can see the club logo on the back of the shirt at the top of this page. If you have not already paid your $15/shirt, please get the cash or a check made payable to Saint Peters Table Tennis Club to my wife, Kelly, as soon as you can. We will put in another order for shirts as soon as we have a minimum of 20.
Did you know that you can still review the main page for past SPTTC updates? Let's say that a month or two ago you went to our home page (the one you are viewing now) and found something of interest...perhaps a web link or a picture, and now it has been replaced with the page you are viewing today. No cause for alarm. You can simply roll your mouse cursor over the menu bar at the top of this page for "Archives" and then click on "News". Scroll down the list of home pages in chronological order until you see the one of interest.
The web site http://www.tabletennisplayer.com has some interesting table tennis information for our midwest region. From time to time, I'll be submitting news to them for posting so they know our club exists and might consider joining us for a future tournament.
The calendar shown at the bottom of this page has us continuing to play at Francis Howell Central High School on Thursday and Friday evenings from 6-9pm. The custodial staff is going through the school waxing the floors so we are moving the tables away from the areas in which they are working. Sometimes we will be in their large or small gym, sometimes in the wrestling multipurpose room, and sometimes in the hallways...just look around for us.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
Home: 636-928-6081
Cell: 314-517-2511
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President's Corner
School has started for many of our club family members. That usually means a schedule will be made out of activities during the week. We hope you will consider reserving Thursday and/or Friday evenings to come out and practice at Francis Howell Central High School from 6:00-9:00pm.
We've noticed an influx of younger players (Under 12) that have been showing up lately. Typically, they play with their family in the basement or the garage. When they show enough interest, mom or dad start looking for other places to play for their children. A Google search is often used to look for "ping-pong" in the local metropolitan area. The search results often display our web site and the USATT web site.
Since Francis Howell Central High School is now underway, there will be an increase in the number of activities held at the school during the evenings. This means that our club may have to move around the building to find a suitable area to practice. We could be using the small gym, the large gym, or even the hallways on any given night.
We still have quite a few club shirts that have not been picked up yet. If you have not already paid your $15/shirt, please get the cash or a check made payable to Saint Peters Table Tennis Club to my wife, Kelly, as soon as you can. We will put in another order for shirts as soon as we have a minimum of 20.
The calendar shown at the bottom of this page lists the dates we are open for practice. Please check out this web site frequently, because this is where updates are made and information is communicated.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
Home: 636-928-6081
Cell: 314-517-2511
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President's Corner
For those of you that are visiting our web site and don't know how the Saint Peters Table Tennis Club got started, here's a copy of the USA Table Tennis article from page 17 of the September/October 2007 issue.
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A Match Made in Heaven:
Can Table Tennis Survive a Marriage?
by Randy and Kelly Kendle
Can romance and table tennis go together? Let's go back in time to the fall of 2002 where we find a bride (Kelly) and groom (Randy) on their honeymoon cruise in the Caribbean. The cruise ship is holding its table tennis tournament during a day at sea. The bride and groom think a bit of competition will be good to spur their new found marriage. They easily take out the other travelers and now find themselves facing each other in the finals competing for the ship's small trophy.
The big question is whether this will be a friendly match between love birds or a no holds barred event. All the ladies on the ship were cheering for Kelly and all the men were taunting Randy to establish male dominance. Things were going along smoothly, but the final game was tense. Randy's zeal to raise the trophy in victory in the open sea breeze got the best of him; an edge ball, followed by a net cord hurled him into the ship's log as pong champion…but went into her diary as the single most insensitive act of their four-day old marriage.
For the next few years, the ship's small trophy sat atop the headboard in their bedroom, mysteriously facing backward. Three years passed and they found themselves in the finals of an all-inclusive Riviera Maya, Mexico vacation tournament. This time the atmosphere is not lovey-dovey. Like a sixth remake of Rocky, Kelly pummeled Randy with a spirit of vindication hitting third ball attacks and outright winners. With no edge balls and no net cords, she took the championship and proudly wore the champion's resort shirt as proof.
Having leveled the playing field, Randy and Kelly decided that this rivalry was here to stay. So they started their own USATT club, Saint Peters Table Tennis Club (SPTTC), in the spring of 2005. The couple invested $10,000 of their own money to purchase 12 Butterfly Match Rollaway tables, 100 Butterfly barriers, and additional equipment. They set up their own web site at http://www.spttc.org and now have a membership of 70 local St. Louis metropolitan players.
For the record, the cruise ship trophy now faces forward atop the headboard. It appears that romance and table tennis can go together after all.
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Kelly and I hope that sharing a bit of our personal life with other table tennis enthusiasts will spur them on to strive after their dreams...who knows where it will take you.
Randy Kendle
Saint Peters Table Tennis Club, President
Home: 636-928-6081