Pass the paddle Ping Pong Club becomes the largest club on campus. The sound of ping pong balls hitting the tables, chatter amongst friends, and laughter can be heard from the basement of Parker Student Union. The ping pong club is the largest club on the Hutchinson Community College campus with a total of 64 members and growing. The club was formed many years ago but it eventually faded out. Guthrie Turner, Arlington, wanted to see if it would be hard to get the club up and running again. After many people were contacted,Turner found Allen Pinkall, Mathematics Professor, and Sam Ramakrishana,
Instructor of Mathematics, to serve as the Ping Pong Club advisors. The advisors have a straight forward job, which is to help with the budget, take care of buying supplies when needed, and go to the meetings if they have questions. “The students run the meetings and run the tournaments. I’m just there to help them out if they have questions and things,” Pinkall said. The students are a big part of why the club is successful. Turner, the president of the ping pong club, found that
really working hard to recruit has been beneficial. “Where there’s a ping pong table, a couple of paddles, and a ball there’s going to be people there, whether they’re good at ping pong or not,” Turner said. One reason the ping pong club is so successful is because of the benefits that come with being a part of the club. Something many members enjoy is the people they meet. “Just all the friends you make, people that you probably would never talk to you bond through different things like ping pong,” said Grant Graber, Wichita. There is a wide variety of students in the club from all majors including agriculture and engineering. “First of all, there’s like an intermingling of friendships within it,” Turner said. “That’s a game-changer right away, we all become really close in the first place. Once you bring in something that everyone enjoys, it accentuates it even more.” Joining the ping pong club is very simple. “If you have the slightest interest in ping pong whatsoever even if you haven’t played it before, just come talk to me or really any of the other members,” Turner said. “And since there’s no prerequisites, they can just add you in the Group Me and you’ll know information in the future, like when we have our meetings and when tour-
Myranda Stika, Reporter & Designer
◄ Grant Graber, Wichita, plays a game of ping pong as Ben Pankratz, Inman, observes. During club meetings, students played games like “Around the World” in the basement of Parker Student Union. Photo by Myranda Stika
Want to join Ping Pong club? Contact Allen Pinkall pinkalla@hutchcc.edu 620-665-3404
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