On the second floor of the Student Recreation Center (SRC), an echo of constant pitter-patter can be heard. Entering the Matarena, tables are lined up, with the table tennis club rallying against one another in recreational play and training for an upcoming tournament.
The CSUN Tennis Table Club was first started in 2013 and has been meeting every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. They compete with the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA), a non-profit organization that organizes competitions and championships at the collegiate level.
The club is led by students, with all of the officers contributing. Matthew Fernandez, the club president, said he became interested in the club not only because he enjoyed the sport but also because of its community aspect.
“My freshman year I was really, I had no one to talk to … so I wanted to find something I could find a community, and I knew already how to play table tennis so this was like an easy in for me,” he said.
Fernandez discovered the club at CSUN’s Associated Students’ Sports-A-Palooza during his first year. Soon after, he became president during his sophomore year due to most members being graduating seniors.
“It was either let the club die out or take control,” he said.
The club is beginner-friendly, with members who both dabble in recreational play or want to compete. Officers are more than willing to help new players progress further.
“They wanna see your progression too,” Joseph Martinez, the equipment manager for the club, said. “They wanna challenge so they can come back and see how well you’ve done now, and then later on, you’ll be able to challenge them now and you’ll feel so much better you’ll understand [technique] more a little.”
The club holds round-robin tournaments. Members can engage in play against one another and win prizes.
Adrian Chua, the vice president, started playing 10 months ago when his friend invited him to the SRC. He gradually found himself enjoying the sport, later joining the Allen & Sons table tennis club. He heard about the CSUN’s own club from other members and soon joined to take the opportunity to improve further and teach others as well.
“I knew that there was a team as well, and almost everyone was better than me, which makes sense, ya know. I started out, and everyone else had more experience,” said Chua.
While competing against each other, the club also plans to attend the NCTTA tournament on Nov. 1 to compete against other schools, including the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Cal Poly Pomona and Orange County.
“This year, we’re actually training hard for it. For us, last year we just did our individual training, but now this year we’re doing team training,” said Jackson Burrell, the event organizer
Although the sport is a very important part of the club, members also appreciate the community they have built among themselves. The club not only gives them a chance to play a sport and learn skills, but also to make new friends.
“We’re all about community. We’re all about progression. We want to help you build a sweat but also have fun at the end of the day too,” said Martinez. “Just learn a fun sport that some people might not learn or may learn in the future.”
