DFWTT Progress of Activities for 2010

(By Daniel Rutenberg – USATT Certified Coach)

As we continue with our mission to provide quality table tennis to our members and players in the DFW area, once again, 2010 has started with strong support and lots of playing activities.

DFWTT is one of the largest, longest established and most active table tennis clubs in north Texas.  DFWTT is a fully sanctioned club by USATT – the governing body of Table Tennis in the USA.

DFWTT offers multiple programs year-round to include training, open playing, leagues and tournaments amongst others.  Our tournaments are very popular and have become traditional events for all table tennis players in Texas and out of State.  In addition, DFWTT offers multiple playing locations with multiple activities for both youth and adults. We look forward to continue supporting many school programs in the area as we have done in past years!  During 2010 we will continue to work hard to engage more schools and youth players into the sport of table tennis.  In addition, we are looking for young players with disabilities.

Remember that DFWTT is here for you!  Therefore, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions or feedback in general, please let us know as we would like to hear from you.

Here is a summary of DFWTT’s activities, news and community involvements so far …

2010 Fall World Peace TT Pictures – Plano TT club hosted its Fall World Peace Table Tennis Tournament on December 4 at the Tom Muehlenbeck center. Grant Bergmann has made his photos from the tournament available at the following link: Pics

Charity Program – A $316 donation is being sent to help school reconstruction plans after the August 8th, 2009 Typhoon disaster in Taiwan. http://www.ocac.gov.tw

2010 DFWTT Fall Open Tournament – More than 80 players participated in our tournament on November 13, 2010 at the JCC in Dallas.  Yjun Feng won $300 in the Singles Class A defeating Chance Friend (won $200) in the final.  Nelson Ramos and Petri Heinonen (won $100 3rd place) were the semi-finalists.

Marcos Alves defeated our club member Larry Sangren in the finals of the Singles Class B.  Khushal Tare won over Justin Bertschi in Singles Class C. John Savage won over Joe Tran in Class D and Anthony Senegal won the Singles Class D by defeated Jimmie Dean.

Chance Friend won the U-2400 and took $120 with him by defeating Yijun Feng, who took $75 in the final.

Tina Wang was defeated by Marcos Alves in the U-2200.  While Marcos Alves won over Larry Sangren in the U-2000 event.  In the U-1700 Edison Dy came on top after winning over Austin Elston.  Jack Zhang defeated Safina Hsu in the final to win the U-1500.  Rajiv Karanam won the U-1300 by defeating Alison V. Wen in the finals.  The U-1000 event was also won by Tia Hsieh who defeated Cory Mayon in the final.

In the U-11 Tianming Xie defeated Tia Hsieh. 

Congratulations to all of the Cadets and Juniors who entered these events.

In the Hard Bat category, James Rautis finished first by defeating John Harrinton.

In the non-sanctioned events, we had the following winners:  Men’s Single: Kyle Drake 1st place and Kedar Karthik in 2nd place.  The O-50/60 Larry Kesler finished in 1st place by winning over Grant Bergmann in the final.  In the U-16 Ajay Reddy finished 1^st while newcomer Oison Tanner finished in 2^nd place.  In Doubles Class A Kyle Drake and James Rautis defeated John Stiles and Stephen Kornegay.  In Doubles Class B Mubashir R Ahmed and Murali Hanumanthakari won over Rajiv Karanam and Kedar Karthik.  Mixed Doubles: Winners Aparna Kher and Khushal Tare defeated Gwen Pruett and Dulie Reavill in the finals.

For complete tournament results go to: http://www.dfwtt.com/Results_File/Results_2010.htm#2010FallOpen

Special thanks go once again to Grant Bergmann for taking pictures at the tournament and for making them available to all of us at the following link: Grant's Photos – Please feel free to browse, download and print them.

 

In addition, pictures of our winners and some action shots can be viewed and download from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43269950@N05/sets/72157625315681827/

 

We thank you for your continued support and we appreciated it very much that some of you have traveled a few hundred miles to participate in our tournaments!  Also, we want to express our gratitude to our local players and those who participated in the 2010 DFWTT Fall Tournament making it once again a great success.

 

Congratulations to all the winners.  We hope to see you at our next tournament in January 2011 at the Texas Winter Games!

 

 Coach Rutenberg achieves his ITTF PTT level 1 Certification – Four USATT coaches completed their ITTF PTT Level 1 accreditation. Congratulations!  http://www.usatt.org/news1/four_new_ittf_level_coaches.shtml

 

DFWTT 2010 Chinese Double Ten Celebration Tournament – On Saturday, October 9, 2010 at the Cimarron Recreation Center in Irving, Texas we celebrated the Chinese Double Ten Table Tennis Celebration Tournament. 

 

For more than 15 years Donna Chen, President and Founder of DFWTT has organized back to back this classical event in the Metroplex.  The Chinese Double Ten tournament brings people from all ethnicities, genders and ages to make this a complete ping-pong festival here in Dallas.

 

More than 70 players of different ages and skill levels participated in 13 different events!

 

We were very pleased to see how many kids under the age of 20 and adults over 60 showed up and played under the Age Categories.

 

The DFWTT 2010 Chinese Double Ten Celebration Champion was Russ Hamilton, who defeated Yijun Feng in the finals of the Singles Open Class A Category.  The Singles Open Class B was a repeat from 2009 with the winner Allen Chaung and Kam Mak in 2^nd place.  Class C 1^st place Vijay Khopade, 2^nd place Shi Chiao Fang; Class D 1^st Place Ryan Liou and 2^nd Place Jeremy Wood.

 

The Doubles Champions in Class A were Russ Hamilton and doubles partner Ketan Parmar by defeating in a very exciting and closed match opponents Kyle Drake and doubles partner James Rautis.  Class B 1^st Place Allen Chuang with partner Zack Fuquay 2^nd Place Kai Ko and partner Vijay Khopade.  Class C 1^st Place Serena Kong / James Trinh 2^nd Place Sam Soo / Ming-Kann Tzeng. Class D 1^st Place Bob Donahoo / Dorothea Taschner 2^nd Place Ganesa Parmar / Jeremy Wood.

 

In the Age Events we had the following winners: O-70 Ming-Kann Tzeng; O-65 Grant Bergmann; O-60 Shi Chiao Fang; O-50 Chris Ou; O-40 Changdong Liu; 14-20 Tim Wang; 10-12 Class A Ryan Liou; 10-12 Class B Amushka Limaye; 8-10 Josuah Mak; U-8 Tia Hsieh and Women Open Tina Wang.

 

For complete results please go to: http://www.dfwtt.com/Results_File/Results_2010.htm#2010ChineseDoubleTen

 

Jason Lai, Deputy Director-General of the Taipei Economic & Cultural Office in Houston and Stella Fang with the Double Tenth Celebration Committee attended the tournament.  They greeted some of the players and participants and we were honored to have them with us in such an important table tennis event – their presence and support is greatly appreciated.

 

Congratulations to all winners and those who participated in this tournament. Also, we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our members, volunteers, sponsors, special guests and you the participants who helped us to make this DFWTT 2010 Chinese Double Ten Table Tennis Celebration a classic event in the DFW area!  We hope to see you next year!

 

A special thanks to Grant Bergmann for taking pictures at the tournament and for making them available to all of us at the following link: Grant's Photos – Please feel free to browse, download and print them.

 

Here are a few samples of some of the pictures!  For our DFWTT tournament pictures please go to:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/43269950@N05/sets/72157625164396672/

 

 

  

DFWTT at Hotel Zaza in uptown Dallas – Last October 1^st, DFW Table Tennis showcased the Olympic sport of table tennis at the prestigious Hotel Zaza in Uptown Dallas.  Nelson Ramos and Daniel Rutenberg delighted guests, patrons and visitors of this well known and luxurious boutique hotel.  The evening started at the driveway of the hotel with a table next to the elegant restaurant & club Dragonfly. Then we moved to the Zaza Art House in the corner of Leonard and McKinney.  Definitely this was a night of fun, entertainment and perfect weather, where the crowd had an opportunity to play and show their table tennis skills.  Hotel Zaza thanks for having us and we look forward to doing it again!

 

 

Have you been to our Cimarron Club Lately? – Every Monday and Friday nights from 6 to 9 pm our members meet at Cimarron Club location.  Our Junior program continues to grow and kids are having a lot of fun while learning all the fundamentals about table tennis.  In addition, our adult players continue the “open game” tradition and high level matches always happen in the middle tables (5, 6 and 7).  We invite you to stop by on Mondays or Fridays at our club.  Kids and Juniors are welcome!  We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

 

 

 

Coach Daniel Rutenberg earns ITTF Course Conductor Status – Click here for details: http://www.usatt.org/news1/usatt_coaches_ittf_status.shtml - Congratulations Daniel!

 

Raise your game – On October 9^th, 2010 we will be hosting the Chinese Double Ten Celebration Tournament at our Cimarron Club location in Irving, TX.  This tournament offers 15 different events and it’s a very popular tournament in our community.  This is a non-USATT sanctioned tournament. This tournament is perfect for all players to come out, compete, and raise your game.  For complete details and entry form go to:

http://dfwtt.com/Tournament_Files/2010DblTen%2010-09.pdf

 

ITTF PTT Level 1 Coaching Certification and Course Conductor Seminars offered by USATT – Our Coach Daniel Rutenberg was selected to attend the first ever ITTF PTT Level 1 Coaching Certification and Course Conductor Seminars in the USA.  The seminars were organized by USATT on September 5-11, 2010 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.  A group of 23 enthusiastic, positive and energetic coaches from different levels nationwide attended the seminars.  The course conductor and mentor for the seminars was Glenn Tepper (ITTF Executive Director of Development and author of the ITTF Training/Development manuals).  For more details go to:

http://www.ittf.com/_front_page/ittf_full_story1.asp?ID=22040&Category=General&Competition_ID=&

 

1^st Copa Costa Rica 2010 – U.S. Paralympic Table Tennis wins 6 medals! – Coach Daniel Rutenberg led Team USA at the 1^st Copa Costa Rica 2010 in San Jose, Costa Rica on August 10-15.  Team USA won 6 medals in total at the different events including Open, Singles by Class and Team competition.  For complete results go to: http://www.ipttc.org/results/international/2010/costarica/index.htm

 

Paralympic table tennis is separated into 10 classes depending on player’s disability.  Classes 1 to 5 are for players seated on wheelchairs while classes 6 to 10 are for standing competitors. The smaller the number is in the class, the more severe their disabilities are.  For more information on U.S. Para Table Tennis please visit www.usatt.org.

 

 

JCC Maccabi Games 2010 – Team Dallas Table Tennis won 7 medals at the JCC Maccabi Games 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska.  Athletes played in Open event – White & Blue categories; and Doubles event.  In addition, based on results, players were recognized in their age categories (13-14 & 15-16) as well.  This year’s Team Dallas Table Tennis, under the leadership of Coach Daniel Rutenberg, was composed of 3 players – Jonathan Ochstein, Kevin Chaiken and Samuel Waranch.  The kids trained twice a week in preparation to the games.  Evidently, their hard work, training and practices paid off during competition.  The Maccabi experience is not only about sports, it is also a cultural and community activity, which may last in the life of the participants for a lifetime!  Team Dallas won 3 Gold medals (Kevin in Doubles Blue Div; Samuel Singles Blue Div and Boys Age 13-14); 1 Silver medal (Samuel Doubles Blue Div); and 3 Bronze medals (Jonathan in Doubles White Div; Kevin Singles Blue and Boys Age 13-14).  It was obvious that by the end of the week long of the Games the table tennis athletes had a much better understanding and appreciation for this amazing Olympic racket sport!  Thank you to JOOLA USA for their continued support to Team Dallas Table Tennis 2010!

 

Team Dallas at the JCC Maccabi Games 2010 in Omaha, Nebraska

 

 

 

Upcoming Tournaments – Please be reminded of our upcoming 2010 Chinese Double Ten and 2010 DFWTT Fall Open tournaments.

 

The 2010 Chinese Double Ten tournament is a very popular non-sanctioned event, which will be on October 9^th, 2010 at our Cimarron Club location.  For complete details go to: http://dfwtt.com/Tournament_Files/2010DblTen%2010-09.pdf

 

Then, on November 13 at our JCC Club location we will be hosting the 2010 DFWTT Fall Open tournament.  This tournament offers both USATT sanctioned and non-sanctioned events.  For more information please go to: http://dfwtt.com/Tournament_Files/DFWTT10FOR1.pdf

 

Remember, DFWTT will donate $2 for each participant in our tournament to a non-profit charitable organization.  Thank you in advance for playing and for helping in making a difference!

 

If there are any special formats or events that you would like to see in future tournaments, please drop us an email or tell us next time you see us.

 

 

JCC Juniors Closed Tournament – On Wednesday, July 28, 11 players ages ranging from 10 through 17 were invited to play at the JCC Club Closed tournament.  This tournament was in preparation to help the athletes from Team Dallas that will be attending the JCC Maccabi Games later on in August 2010.  This year’s invitational tourney included an excellent group of well diversified Cadet and Junior players from around the Metroplex and 2 international players from Venezuela.  “This type of event is perfect for our young players, as they have an opportunity to compete with other teens playing table tennis in the area,” said Coach Rutenberg.  In addition, he added that this tourney allows athletes to implement the skills they are learning in their training sessions and also kids are really looking forward for this yearly event!  This tournament was a coordinated effort between DFWTT and the JCC of Dallas.  Thank you to all of you who participated in this event!

 

 

Nathan, Jonathan, Tiffany, Wyatt, Kevin, Jeffrey, Torin, Enoch, Eduardo, Sebastian, Gene and Daniel

Paralympic Table Tennis Camp - Newington, CT - June 12 & 13, 2010, Paralympic Table Tennis Camp.

 USATT Appointed New Para Table Tennis National Coach – Last May 2010, Rutenberg Named Paralympics National Team Coach. 

Charity Program – A $100 donation went to Rainbow Days torwards their kids reading program. The non-profit organization provides important life skills children need to overcome adversity and stay drug-free. Thank you to Rich Card for his donation.

To learn more about Rainbow Days go to: http://www.rdikids.org

Everything’s Bigger in Texas! Including the world’s largest table tennis paddle!

 

Last Friday, May 3^rd at our Cimarron Club location we witnessed the ambition of Todd Thomas, a resident from Corinth Texas, who is trying to set a new Guinness™ world record by building the world’s largest ping pong paddle – of physical size!

 

Todd contacted us at DFWTT early in the year when he embraced his project.  He wanted to make sure that the paddle not only met all the requirements set by Guinness, but also to involve the table tennis community in this accomplishment.

 

Our Scott Ryan, USATT Certified Referee and International Umpire worked with Todd to make sure that the paddle resembled a table tennis paddle in look, feel and technical aspects.

 

Thomas’ paddle is 106 inches (8.8 feet) tall, about 70 inches (5.8 feet) in diameter and 2 ¾ inches thick.  The handle itself measured 41.5 inches (3.4 feet) tall x 21 inches (1.75 feet) thick.

 

Todd’s paddle carried the following message: “One small step for man…One giant paddle for Texas pride!   The handle reflected the lone star colors – red, white and blue bearing the Texan’s slogan “Everything’s Bigger in Texas”.  We are delighted and grateful that Todd has also reflected our DFWTT logo on the rubber as well.

 

We are very excited for Todd Thomas and all of us at DFWTT wish him good luck entering this record and his name in the world’s records book!

 

    

                     The world’s largest ping pong paddle                                                          Todd Thomas      

 

  

  Scott measuring the paddle      Donna, Scott & Daniel with Todd        DFWTT Juniors players  

 

 

                 DFWTT Club Members

 

2010 DFWTT Spring Tournament – Congratulations to Andrew Chen as he won the tourney!

Our Classical Spring Tournament took place on April 17 at the JCC in Dallas.  First of all we want to thank all of the players who entered the tournament.  Also, we want to extend a special thank you to our volunteers and organizers whom have made this tournament a complete success!  In particular, we want to acknowledge and recognize the significant and growing number of young players who participated at this tourney!

The competition was played on 17 sanctioned Butterfly tables surrounded by Newgy and Butterfly barriers creating a perfect environment for table tennis.  At least 90 players entered in 19 different events.  This one-star tournament attracted players from the DFW area, including our DFWTT club and other clubs in the area plus other players’ representative from the State of Texas.   The tournament hosted both sanctioned and non-sanctioned events.

Rating Events – In the Open Singles Class A – 1^st Place Andrew Chen, 2^nd Wang Yin and 3^rd Yijun Feng.  Class B – 1^st Place Connie Chen and 2^nd Tina Wang.  Class C – 1^st Place Alexander Mentzelopoulos and 2^nd Robert Estell.  Class D – 1^st Place John Savage and 2^nd Boris Yinhei Tsang.  Class E – 1^st Place Serena Kong and 2^nd Valarie Phong.  U-2400 1^st Place Nelson Ramos and 2^nd Tim Wang.  U-2200 1^st Place Randy J Nedrow and 2^nd Kehinde Ogunbemi.  U-2000 1^st Place Randy J Nedrow and 2^nd Kehinde Ogunbemi. U-1700 1^st Place Mohammed Alsadah and 2^nd Chat Verna.  U-1500 1^st Place Aswhin Parthosarathi and 2^nd Chris Tian.  U-1300 1^st Place Ethan McBride and 2^nd Ryan Mak.  U-1000 1^st Place Yalan Hu and 2^nd Allen Hung.  Congratulations!

Non-Rating Events – Open Singles 1^st Place Yalan Hu and 2^nd Daoxing Hu.  Doubles – Class A 1^st Place Chat Verna & Ashwin Parthosarathi, 2^nd Gary Wiederhold & Stan Vosburgh and 3^rd Wen-Chi Lee & Eric Lee.  Doubles Class B 1^st Place Youfeng Nie & Daoxing Hu, 2^nd Alexander Mentzelopoulos & Peter Hu and 3^rd Dorothea Taschner & Bob Donahoo.  Mixed Doubles – 1^st Place Yalan Hu & Youfeng Nie, 2^nd Louisa Ho & Ken Pots and 3^rd Dorothea Taschner & Bob Donahoo.  Women – 1^st Place Yalan Hu, 2^nd Jamie Huang and 3^rd Louisa Ho.  Age Categories: O-50 – 1^st Place Doaxing Hu and 2^nd Grant Bergmann.  O-40 – 1^st Place Akm Azad.  28-40 – 1^st Place Ashwin Parthosarathi, 2^nd Yalan Hu and 3^rd. Youfeng Nei.  U-20 – 1^st Place Allen Hung and 2^nd Jonathan Jordan.  U-15 – 1^st Place Gene Azad, 2^nd Christina Liu and 3^rd Alexa Jones.  U-11 (A) – 1^st Place Kelvin Sun and 2^nd Chris Tian.  U-11 (B) – 1^st Place Joshua Mak and 2^nd Justin Liu.  U-11 (C) – 1^st Place Anushkla Limaye and 2^nd Amruta Deole.  School Team Challenge – 1^st Place Justin Liu & Christina Liu, 2^nd Van Cope and 3^rd Kyle Davis & Sangam Dhanju.  Congratulations!

For complete results please go to: http://www.dfwtt.com/Results_File/Results_2010.htm#2010SpringOpen

Following our on-going pledge to support other organizations devoted to children’s education or other causes, DFWTT will be making a $2 donation for each player entered in the tournament. The donation went to FNDR - FNDR Foundation "Manifesto" -- an organization for the kids' education.

For tournament pictures go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43269950@N05/sets/72157623821749421/

DFW Table Tennis (DFWTT) is one of the leading table tennis membership organizations in the nation that promotes and implements programs for the sport of table tennis regardless of players’ experience or level through family values, excellence and quality in sportsmanship environment in the Dallas and Ft. Worth area.  DFWTT is a USATT Sanctioned Club and it was established in 1996.  For complete details go to www.dfwtt.com.

Charity Program – A follow-up story on the on-going efforts to bring table tennis back to the country of Haiti after the destructive earthquake in January. (click here)

Photo courtesy of Herold Francois

Information on the ITTF's Goodwill fund for Project Haiti (click here)

First Annual Celebrity PurplePingPong Tournament.  On Sunday, March 14, 2010 from 1 to 4 pm, Moody Coliseum at Southern Methodist University was the stage for the First Annual Celebrity PurplePingPong Tournament.  All of the proceeds raised will benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing research, supporting patients and creating hope for those affected by pancreatic cancer.

 It was a great afternoon of fun including raffle, silent auction, 16 celebrities playing ping pong and 12 top ranked national table tennis players.

 

DFW Table Tennis (DFWTT) was one of the sponsors and it was responsible for all the table tennis logistics including coordination and running of two simultaneous tournaments.

 

First and foremost we would like to extend our gratitude to all of the volunteers who helped with this event, including all of our Control Table Supervisors – Judy Chen, Tim Wang, Azad Akm, Justin Aten, Stephen K, Tina Wang, Connie Chen, Helen D, C Cl, DW, Serena K, Chris, Waytt Head, Lilly Q, Kevin T and Louisa H; Floor Manager – Donna Chen; Referee – Scott Ryan; Umpires – James Rautis, Ken Potts, Stephen Banko, Spencer Friend and Brandon Gardner and Tournament Directors David Livings and Daniel Rutenberg. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

 

In addition, we would like to thank all of DFWTT members and the table tennis community in general for attending this event and for their continued support to our combined efforts in promoting and showcasing our Olympic sport of table tennis here in the Metroplex!

 

Needless to say that our appreciation is beyond words and we THANK Coach Carlisle for putting together, in cooperation with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the inaugural PurplePingPong tournament!  This was a tremendous event that raised so much-needed awareness for not only pancreatic cancer but also for table tennis and increased the visibility of our organizations in the local community.  Needless to say it is amazing to see all of the media attention the event received!

 

Two tournaments were run simultaneously. Here is a recap of them:

 

PurplePingPong Celebrity Challenge:

64 Players - 16 Celebrity teams included:

Darrell Armstrong, JJ Barea, Rodrigue Beaubois, Caron Butler, Coach Carlisle, Derek Harper, Brendan Heywood/Dixon Edwards, Jim Kern, Nastia Liukin, Valeri Liukin, Tre’ Newtown, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlie Patterson, Jeff Russell, DeShawn Stevenson, and Jason Terry.

 

The winners of the Celebrity Championship were: Team V. Liukin finished in 1^st placed, Team Nowitzki 2^nd followed by Team Beaubois in 3^rd – In the Consolation rounds we had Team Patterson finishing 1^st followed by Team Harper.

 

 

PurplePingPong Table Tennis Challenge:

12 Players including: Andrew Chen, Anne Deng, Yijun Feng, Chance Friend, Sara Shu Fu-Hazinski, Mark Hazinski, Petri T Heinonen, Brian Sulieman Pace, Nelson Ramos, Samuel Mark Smith, Shuai Wang and Yin Wang.

 

Results:

1^st Place Mark Hazinski, Sara Fu-Hazinski 2^nd, Wang Yin 3^rd, Wang Shuai 4^th, Chance Friend 5^th, and Yijun Feng 6^th. 

 

Thank you and congratulations to all players who participated in this wonderful event!

 

To learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network go to: http://www.pancan.org

 

We are thankful for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and the Dallas/Ft Worth Affiliate including Mary Jo Jennings, Coach Carlisle, Mike Weinar and the Mavericks’ players, baseball celebrities, gymnasts, all of the sponsors, all volunteers and the table tennis community who made this event possible!

 

Official PurplePingPong website:

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network http://www.pancan.org/pingpong/

 

Please find here a few links to some of the media coverage and pictures:

 

Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/031510dnspomavslede.3139624.html

 

Star-Telegram:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/14/2039484/mavs-play-in-ping-pong-tournament.html

 

Half-time Table Tennis Exhibition Mavericks Game 3/3/10

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1236645678134

 

CBS- Channel 11

http://cbs11tv.com/local/rick.carlisle.dallas.2.1557759.html

 

DMN Sports-Day

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/03/picture-of-the-day-mavericks-celebrities.html

 

Associated Content:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2792446/dallas_mavericks_team_up_and_pingpong.html

 

Brian Pace and Rick Carlisle talk about it in this video clip.

 

DFW Reporting providing an HD video summary of the event:

http://dfwreporting.com/2010/04/07/dirk-nowitzki-among-celebrities-offering-needed-help-hd/

 

For pictures go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/43269950@N05/sets/72157623640446870/

 

 

 

Without any doubts this was the biggest table tennis event in the Dallas/Fort Worth area … some people even called it “the ping-pong festival of DFW!”  See you next year!

TABLE TENNIS EXHIBITION DURING NBA BASKETBALL GAME HALF TIME SHOW – “PURPLE PING PONG”

On March 3rd, 2010, four Texas Wesleyan University table tennis athletes showcased and demonstrated the sport of table tennis at the half time show during the Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves at the American Airlines Center. 

This exhibition was done to promote the upcoming “Purple Ping Pong” tournament from 1 to 4 pm on Sunday, March 14, 2010, at the Moody Coliseum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. 

The event is a benefit for the Dallas/Fort Worth affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.  16 Celebrity Teams and 12 nationally and locally ranked table tennis athletes will participate in this event.  Celebrity players will include: Rick Carlisle, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, JJ Barea, Nastia Liukin and many more! 

The athletes from Texas Wesleyan University (TWU), Mark Hazinski, Sara Fu Hazinski, Chance Friend and Aldis Presley entertained the over 19,000 fans in attendance to the game for 4 minutes during the half time of the basketball game.  The exhibition started with a brief clip from the movie Forest Gump as a Butterfly Centerfold table was assembled in center court, immediately followed by power shots executed by the quartet. 

It was interesting to see that many of the spectators stayed at their seats and watched the athletes play with curiosity and interest.  At the end, players tossed balls as souvenirs!  Definitely this was a different and innovative half time show! 

Coach Carlisle invited us to visit with him and then we all played some table tennis at the clubhouse and locker-room for a great post-game fun.  For some pictures of the TWU Post Game go to: http://friends.mavs.com/photo/albums/texas-wesleyan-table-tennis  

DFWTT is one of the sponsors of Purple Ping Pong.  It was great to see some of our local table tennis players in attendance at the game. 

On behalf of all table tennis players in the Dallas/Fort Worth area we want to THANK YOU Coach Carlisle, his team and the organizers of Purple Ping Pong for allowing some of our best players in the nation to showcase the Olympic sport of table tennis in such an important stage as the half-time show of an NBA basketball game! 

We hope to see many of you at the Purple Ping Pong event. The Moody Coliseum doors open at noon on Sunday, March 14. For tickets and more information visit: http://www.pancan.org/pingpong/  

(Photo – courtesy of Dallas Mavericks – Danny Bollinger)

From L-R: Kevin Millikan, Aldis Presley, Chance Friend, Mark Hazinski, Coach Rick Carlisle, Sara Hazinski and Daniel Rutenberg

  

(Other Photos - courtesy of Daniel Rutenberg)

 

 

  

March 14, 2010 – Purple Ping Pong.  Come to see Celebrities, professional basketball players and top ranked table tennis Players from Texas playing table tennis on March 14 at Moody Coliseum (SMU).  The event is scheduled from 1 to 4 pm.  Come for an afternoon filled with lots of table tennis and entertainment.  Remember this awareness and fund raiser event is for Pancreatic Cancer.  You will need tickets in order to gain access to the event.  Tickets and complete event information is now available at: http://www.pancan.org/pingpong/.  Come and support your sport and this even!  We hope to see you there! 

Save the Date March 14, 2010 – Purple Ping Pong.  This is a special event that will help to raise awareness and funds for Pancreatic Cancer.  This event is hosted by Rick Carlisle and it will feature 16 Celebrity Teams, 12 invited players, and other special guests.  This is an event that you don’t want to miss!  More info to follow shortly!

DFWTT 2010 Texas Winter Games Tournament – Timothy Wang from Houston, Texas gets the Gold medal and wins the 2010 classic, congratulations!

On Saturday January 16^th, DFWTT hosted once again the 2010 Texas Winter Games Table Tennis Tournament at the Staley Middle School gymnasiums in Frisco, Texas.  This year we had 135 players from Houston, Wichita Falls, Oklahoma, Paris TX and DFW area competing at this tournament, which is a favorite for players in the area!

Players, sponsors, spectators, volunteers and organizers together with Tournament Director Donna Chen, Tournament Referee Scott Ryan and head coach Daniel Rutenberg made this tournament for the 4^th year in a row a complete success.

In particular we want to thank the 2010 Texas Winter Games organizing committee, the Texas Amateur Federation (TAAF) and its sponsors for their continued support and help making this tournament a reality.  In addition, we want to extend our special thanks to Bill Garrard for his help and assistance during the event. Also we want to express our gratitude to the volunteers who helped during the tournament.  Our special thank you to our Juniors players including those athletes representing the Christ the King Presbyterian in Houston and Hirsch High School in Wichita Falls TX!

The stage was set in the two main basketball courts and the presence of more than 200 spectators for competition that started at 8:45 am until 9 pm on 24 Butterfly tournament tables.  There were 22 different categories, which included both USATT sanctioned and non-sanctioned events.

Rating Events – In the Open Singles Class A – total purse prize $500, Timothy Wang ($250) and Yijun Feng ($150) met in the final.  Spectators and players were delighted with this match, especially after watching the semi finals!  Wang defeated Feng 3-1, where we enjoyed watching very powerful shots from these offensive players.  Loops and counter-loops dominated each rally, plus slight change of finishing shots down the line on Wang’s part, plus the slick and smooth off the table backhand flicks, gave him the competitive edge to beat penholder Feng.  Jeff Xiao ($100) finished in 3^rd place securing the Bronze medal!  In Class B – Gold medal Kehinde Ogungbemi and Silver medal James Smith. Class C – Gold medal Warren Lemma and Silver medal Johan Noori. Class D – Gold medal Larry Kesler and Silver Medal Marcos Alves.  Class E – Gold medal Sasha Parfenov and Silver medal Jack Zhang.  U-2400 – Gold medal Yijun Feng, Silver medal Nelson Ramos and Bronze medal Jeff Xiao.  U-2000 – Gold medal Randy J. Nedrow and Silver medal Brandon Gardner.  U-1600 – Gold medal Zaheer Aziz and Silver medal Austin Elston.  U-1200 – Gold medal Sam Lisook and Silver medal Linda Piatt.  Congratulations!

The unrated events were also very competitive and well diversified – ranging from 8-10 to Over 75 years of age events in the age categories. Plus our doubles categories are becoming very popular in our Clubs and area.  Needless to say how much fun the kids had in the School Challenge Team Competition.  Lastly, the Coach’s event was not only fun but also very competitive.  Congratulations to all the winners, runner ups and all athletes who participated.  Gold, Silver and Bronze (where applicable) were awarded in the different events and categories.

For complete results please go to: http://www.dfwtt.com/Results_File/Results_2010.htm#2010WinterGames

Following our on-going pledge to support other organizations devoted to children’s education, DFWTT will be making a $2 donation for each player entered in the tournament.  However, the funds from this tournament will be donated to help with Haiti’s relief efforts.  Thank you for your participation and for helping to make a difference for the benefit of others in need around the world!

DFWTT Table Tennis (DFWTT) is one of the leading table tennis membership organizations in the nation that promotes, develops and implements programs for the sport of table tennis regardless of player’s experience or level through family values, excellence and quality in sportsmanship environment in the Dallas and Ft. Worth area.  DFWTT is a USATT Sanctioned Club and it was established in 1996.  For more information go to www.dfwtt.com.  The Winter Games of Texas is the ultimate amateur athletic sports festival for Texas. Established in 1986 at the Summer Games, the Games are patterned after the Olympic Games and U.S. Olympic Festivals. The Games provide a forum for training and competition among Texas’ own Olympic hopefuls as well as both youth and adult recreational athletes, with participant’s age ranging from 6 to 70. The inaugural Winter Games of Texas was held in 2006 in Frisco, Texas.

Photos courtesy of Azad

Charity Program – For the past few years DFWTT makes a $2 donation for each player who participates at any of the DFWTT tournaments to a non-profit children’s educational organization.  So far since the inception of this program, DFWTT has contributed and donated $2,142!  Thank you for helping us to make a difference in the future of children’s education.

Happy New Year 2010 – We would like to take this opportunity to THANK YOU all of our members, athletes, players and volunteers for their continued and unconditional support.  Without you we couldn’t reach any of the goals and activities we are working on for you.  Your continued contribution helps us to do our part to provide you with multiple playing locations, activities and also allow us to promote the Olympic sport of table tennis in the Dallas & Ft. Worth area.

2010 Texas Winter Games Tournament – Our first tournament in 2010 is a classic and part of the Texas Winter Games festivities.  This year’s tournament is on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at Staley Middle School located at 6927 Stadium Lane in Frisco, TX 75034.  This tournament attracts a lot of different players from all skills and levels.  Also, this event has brought players from Houston, Austin and Wichita Falls. For more information and entry form go to: http://www.dfwtt.com/Tournament_Files/TWG10R2.pdf.  If you are not playing please come by and say hi and show your support to the sport of table tennis. 

In addition, DFWTT makes a $2 donation for each player who enters the tournament to a non-profit children’s education organization.  Thank you in advance for playing and for making a difference!  We look forward to seeing you at the tourney!  

2009 Coach of the Year Announcement – Last November, USATT announced the selections for 2009 Coach of the Year.  Our Daniel Rutenberg once again has been recognized by USATT and this year he has been awarded as the 2009 Paralympic Coach of the Year.  He joins 3 other fine and excellent table tennis coaches who also have been awarded with 2009 Coach of the Year commendations.  On behalf of all of us at DFWTT congratulation to all these coaches including our own Coach Daniel Rutenberg for their well deserved recognition and for their continued dedication to their athletes and the sport of table tennis.  For more details please visit the USATT site at: http://www.usatt.org/news1/2009_coaches%20_of_the_year.shtml