The Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) table tennis team welcomed some of the province's top talent to its home Table Tennis Saskatchewan tournament on Saturday.
School clubs from Arcola School, Nakoda Oyade Education Centre at Carry the Kettle First Nation, ECS and Bert Fox Community High School in Fort Qu'Appelle competed in Estevan alongside a number of individual child and adult players. Each participant in the tournament was vying for a higher standing in the Table Tennis Saskatchewan rankings, as opposed to a trophy at the end of the competition.
Shortly after beating Fort Qu'Appelle’s Tyree Cyr three sets to one mid-way through the tournament, ECS table tennis team member Kevin Sylvestre said he was having a good showing on the weekend winning a few games and losing a few. He said a person can play anywhere from eight to 20 games in a tournament depending on their rating category and how many other players in that same category are also competing.
Sylvestre said the game against Cyr was a difficult one, but he managed to overpower him with his shots and defended well. Cyr noted he had trouble returning Sylvestre’s hits due to the spin he put on the ball and also had trouble with his serves in the roughly 10-minute match.
“There is a ratings system in Saskatchewan, so you get rated based on how good you do in games and what you do versus other people,” said Sylvestre. “Once you reach a certain level you play new tiers of people. For example, me and (Cyr) are both in the middle tier, so not the best people but we’re not the worst people. If we play good enough versus each other we’ll advance into the higher tier and get to play against the more elder and experienced players.”
Fellow ECS table tennis team member Zac Anderson faced former ECS player and current University of Regina student Tate Wrubleski shortly after the Sylvestre-Cyr match. Wrubleski won 3-0 on scores of 11-9, 11-9 and 11-7.
“I was using a lot of top spin and that seemed to work well,” said Wrubleski, who won a silver medal in table tennis doubles with Jay Ross Be while representing ECS at the 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games.
Anderson said the ECS table tennis team averages about one tournament per month over their September to June season and seem to be doing well so far. He said between competitions the club gets together twice a week after school for practices.
“It’s something I find interesting and something I enjoy,” said Anderson, about why he competes on the ECS table tennis team. “When I tried it, it was something I was good at, so I stuck with it.”
Derek Mercer, a gym teacher at Nakoda Oyade Education Centre, said table tennis is not an official Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) sport and school clubs are run mostly by teachers as an extra-curricular activity like cheerleading or debate. He said their tournaments involve school clubs playing each other, but there are people outside the school invited to participate as well.
“Table tennis is based on skill level more than gender or age,” said Mercer. “Some of the best players in the province are very young kids, better than most of the adults, and that’s probably the way it should be. It’s a great sport that way. It’s not about size and strength nor male and female.”
Mercer said table tennis is a growing sport in Saskatchewan with the majority of active clubs in the southern part of the province. He said the game appeals to kids because a beginner to the sport no matter the age, body shape or size will fit into a certain level of play at tournaments and be able to compete.
“At the end of the year, even though it’s not a high school athletic sport, there is a school championship that we compete for,” he said, noting the 2016 championship will take place on April 15 and 16 in Saskatoon. “Players compete and earn points towards the school title and a team trophy.”
