Heacham Table Tennis club finally gets more tables after 50-year wait
Heacham Table Tenns Club are celebrating being awarded £6000, to help imporve their playing facilities. Picture: Matthew Usher.
For 50 years, players have been using just one table at the club - but more are now on the way thanks to a £60,000 grant.
Heacham Table Tenns Club are celebrating being awarded £6000, to help imporve their playing facilities. Picture: Matthew Usher.
For 50 years, the members of Heacham Table Tennis Club have had to make do with just one table.
As their numbers grew, players were forced to play countless games of around-the-world to keep each other involved, or simply wait patiently for the table to become available.
Now, half a century on, the club finally has the facilities fitting its membership – after a £6,000 grant allowed it to buy four more tables.
The cash, from Table Tennis England, the sport's governing body, will also go towards upgrading the club's dated facilities and carrying out renovations that will mean disabled players will also be able to use the club's facilities.
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Club chairman Malcolm Diggins said: 'We've had one table and one table only, but we still run six teams from that, believe it or not.
'But we've been very limited on when we can use the table and we've been unable to offer anything to disabled people.'
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The one table has been upgraded over the years and has even used by an up-and-coming international star of the sport, England Youth Squad player Mollie Patterson.
The club meets at the sports and social club in Station Road and has 30 members, 24 of whom are registered with Table Tennis England.
Mr Diggins, 74, who has been with the club since it formed, said: 'Heacham Charity Club have been fantastic in helping us and we're hoping the main hall will be available on most Saturday and Sunday mornings, which will be wonderful for young people and schools to start playing.'
Table Tennis England also awarded £2,426 to Age Concern Great Yarmouth to encourage older generations to play table tennis at its premises, the former Poundstretcher store in Regent Street.
Table tennis is one of many activities and the cash will be used to fund new and more suitable flooring.
Has your organisation recently had some good news? Email louise.hepburn@archant.co.uk or newsdesk@archant.co.uk
