Manchester’s Ping! Hub, which aims to build a legacy and social impact from the WTT Feeder event in the city, is already a hive of table tennis activity.

The Ping! Hub opened last week at the Great Northern Warehouse in the city. Set up in partnership with the Great Northern Warehouse, MCRactive – on behalf of Manchester City Council – and Cornilleau, it is designed to bring table tennis to the Manchester public and celebrate world-class table tennis coming to the Manchester Velodrome over the next few days.

The first event saw 20 women and girls from across the city, ranging from seven years old to adult, coming to the Ping! Hub to take part in a women and girls-only activity, led by Ping! Hub coach Mel Canham. The event ran for five hours and saw a range of social competition, coaching and free play, with everyone taking away new skills and for some a new love of table tennis.

This session was designed specifically to encourage those women and girls that have never picked up a bat before or were looking to return to the sport and is part of Table Tennis England’s drive to ‘Level the Table’, enabling more women and girls and under-represented communities to take up table tennis.

The Ping! Hub has been specifically designed to provide free to access table tennis, supported by specific and targeted activity to encourage more people to find a lifelong love of table tennis. More activities are being planned over the next four to six weeks.

Andrew Wilesmith, Head of Development at Table Tennis England, said: “Getting the first women and girls’ activity off the ground at the Ping! Hub is a fantastic step forward in bringing this space to life and providing opportunities for everyone in Manchester to play.

“The position of the Ping! Hub in the amazing Great Northern Warehouse, providing both free access and targeted activities, means we can remove some of the barriers that we know exist to participation, such as cost, access and feeling comfortable in an environment. Mel did an amazing job with this and we plan to do much more.”

To find out more about upcoming activities or how to play at the Ping! Hub at the Great Northern Warehouse and to be in with a chance of winning a Meta Quest VR headset, click here.