Moray Table Tennis Club to restart in memory of founder Ken Kennedy
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MORAY Table Tennis Club is set to restart after the coronavirus pandemic and run in memory of its founder Ken Kennedy.
Mr Kennedy, who sadly died in March, was a well-known face in Moray sporting circles – but his chief passion was table tennis, and he founded the Moray Table Tennis league.
He also had a passion for getting youngsters involved in sport.
After his passing, coach Stephen Gertsen is determined to get the club back up and running to honour his former colleague's memory.
He said: "It hasn't been straightforward getting things going, because Ken did so much for table tennis in the area over the years.
"But I really want to get the club up and running again for Ken. He's done a lot of work and I want to keep his legacy going and ensure youngsters have an opportunity to play table tennis.
"We have been out of action for a year and half now so it's kind of like starting fresh a little bit – but the club was going well before the pandemic.
"We had about 14 or 15 regulars so I've been getting in touch with them, but we want to promote the club and get new people coming too.
"We don’t care how good or old they are, we are open to ages and abilities, we just want to get people out of the house and playing."
While sessions used to take place at Elgin Academy, they will move to Moray College Sports Hall when they restart on Tuesday, October 26.
This is so students at the college can help with the running of the sessions.
"We wanted to move the club to Moray College to get students involved and help them learn and develop," Stephen said.
"There will be good structure and coaching available – one girl started with us and was playing with Scotland's under 12s within a year so that shows what can be done."
Stephen himself is a vastly experienced table tennis player and coach, having played for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 in Delhi.
He is now a part-time lecturer at the University of the Highlands and Island, while working for Table Tennis Scotland. He is also Scotland team manager for the Commonwealth Games.
Table tennis sessions at the college will take place every Tuesday from 4pm until 5.30pm, and are open to all aged seven plus at the cost of £5 per session.
To register, or for more information, email stephengertsen@hotmail.co.uk.
