We Celebrate World Table Tennis Day

Community Integrated Care welcomed Paralympic table tennis medallist, Jack Hunter‑Spivey, to our head office on Thursday 23^rd April to mark World Table Tennis Day, delivering an inclusive and inspiring event focused on health, wellbeing and accessible sport.

This initiative has successfully enabled thousands of new people to play table tennis, and won Table Tennis England’s ‘Pride Of Table Tennis Award’.

The interactive session, delivered in support of World Table Tennis Day and funded by the International Table Tennis Federation Foundation, brought together people we support and colleagues from across our charity, to experience the joy and wellbeing benefits of table tennis in a fully accessible way.

We had the honour of hosting this event after being selected by the ITTF Foundation as an official ‘Promoter’ of World Table Tennis Day. This prestigious recognition celebrates our work to innovatively enable the wellbeing benefits of table tennis in social care.

The event highlighted the importance of World Table Tennis Day, this year’s global theme of health and wellbeing, and the role sport can play in improving physical and mental health for people with disabilities. Working alongside the ITTF Foundation, Community Integrated Care aligned the event with the sport’s international mission to make table tennis accessible to all.

Jack Hunter‑Spivey – who won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and bronze at the 2020 Summer Paralympics – led an inclusive introduction to the sport, sharing his personal journey and demonstrating how table tennis can be adapted to suit people of all abilities.

Participants then took part in a range of exciting activities centred around the sport. Rather than focusing solely on competitive play, the event showcased multiple ways table tennis can be adapted to encourage movement, social connection and enjoyment for everyone, whether playing at home or on a professional table tennis table.

A lively Q&A with Jack gave participants the chance to ask questions about his career, the impact of table tennis on his life, and why the sport is such a powerful tool for improving confidence, coordination and mental wellbeing.

The event also built on our free ‘Care to Play’ training programme, www.CareToPlay.co.uk, which equips people who provide care and support with the skills, confidence and knowledge to promote table tennis in any social care setting. Through a unique video series, Care to Play demonstrates how table tennis is a brilliant, adaptable activity that can benefit people with a wide range of needs.

To keep the momentum going beyond World Table Tennis Day, everyone who attended received a free table tennis kit and was invited to make a personal pledge about how they will continue using table tennis to support health and wellbeing in their own homes.

Jack Hunter-Spivey said, “It was incredible to highlight this fantastic sport to colleagues and people supported by such a brilliant charity. It’s a privilege to work with them. It was an amazing day, everyone really enjoyed it and hopefully we’ve inspired even more people to get involved with table tennis and enjoy the many benefits it brings.”

Susan Hill, a person supported by Community Integrated Care, who joined the event, said, “I’ve had a wonderful day learning more about table tennis and even meeting a Paralympian. Before the event I didn’t think I could play table tennis, but I’ve had so much fun. It was lovely to be with everyone and learn new skills.”

Luke Parry, Senior Programmes Design Manager at Community Integrated Care, said, “World Table Tennis Day is a fantastic opportunity to shine a light on how accessible sport can transform lives. Working alongside the International Table Tennis Federation Foundation, we are proud to show how table tennis can be adapted to support health, wellbeing and inclusion for everyone.

Having Jack with us was truly inspiring and reflects our commitment to ensuring people who draw on care and support have equal opportunities to stay active, connected and confident. We’d like to say a big thank you to Jack for joining us and to the ITTF for supporting us to bring the joy of table tennis to social care.”