The rhythmic bouncing of pingpong balls and shouts of victory could be heard from the senior cafe as the table tennis club gathered for its weekly meeting at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday Oct. 25. A normal meeting for the club includes table tennis matches to 11 or 21 and king of the court. Students of all skill levels are welcome to attend the meetings.

The table tennis club is new to the school this year and was started by junior club president Aidan Thomas and senior vice president David Boatwright.

Thomas decided to start the club because he felt table tennis was something a lot of students were passionate about and could benefit from.

“We were playing some ping pong in a basement and it was a blast,” Thomas said. “I wondered why there wasn’t a ping pong club at Mill Valley… so I started it for the good times.”

Co-sponsor Kurtis Bangle wanted to encourage Thomas’ passion.

“I had a bunch of kids that were really excited about maybe trying to do something and I wanted to help them find something that they could create,” Bangle said. “They came up with the [table tennis] club and got really excited about it, so I decided that I would help them out.”  

Junior Ben Stove is a member of the table tennis club and is excited to continue the meetings.

“I am looking forward to meet new people and have fun with some of the things we might incorporate into what we do with our time,” Stove said.

Even with Bangle’s help, it was a challenge to find supplies for the club for Thomas. So far, one table has been donated and two have been bought.

“We made a 10 dollar fee for everyone and we were able to get on Craigslist [to buy tables]” Thomas said. “People also donated ping pong balls and paddles.”

Stove is looking forward to being a part of the club as it evolves.

“I would like to see the club have more tournaments and have more competitive games that the members could play in,” Stove said. “I would also

 like to us get more tables in the future so more of the members in the club can play.”

While several students attend the meetings, the club is still looking to expand.

“We tell people all the time to join,” Thomas said. “People ask [about the club] and we plan to have people tell their friends and get our name out there.”

The long-term goal for the table tennis club is to find similar clubs from other schools to compete with and to possibly make table tennis a sport in the future.

“My major goal is for this to become a competitive environment where lots of kids can come and play and just have fun,” Thomas said.