CRC
Carpenter Park Recreation Center
In my opinion, from the perspective of
formal sport of table tennis, the table setup at Carpenter Park is the absolute
worst for no
absolute reason that I can perceive especially if you also consider the fact
that the solution is extremely simple.
It is extremely nice & generous of Plano Rec. to make the room
available for table tennis anytime the center is open but IMO these
tables should be removed if they cannot be properly configured for tabletennis. That sounds so rude but why
am I saying that ? Let me explain.
It seems to me that from the perspective
of Plano Rec. Administration, table
tennis is not an (Olympic) "sport" but is a basement "game" of ping pong. Which is absolutely fine if that is how Plano
Rec. wants it to stay. This approach & mentality is perfectly fine if most of
the players who use this room are recreational hackers. But probably 75% or
more who use the room are serious competitive “tabletennis” players at least
intermediate level & rest even advanced level. Given that the set up of that room is
extremely dangerous to say the least with tables sitting so close
together. These players can move fast
& to make things worse, doubles is also played for significant portions of
time I have seen & it makes the safety
situation far worse.
To
compound the problems further, the air hockey table is sticking right up to the
back of one of the tables. And they have
sofas sitting next to walls, which absolutely should not be there because probably
at least 50% of the (competitive)
players play farther away from the table and can use every inch. There are more than
enough tables & chairs near the TV for players to sit while waiting. Players can also trip on these sofas and fall
down & hurt themselves bad
Again I do TOTALLY understand that we are dealing
with conflicting & competing priorities of accommodating various sports. But there is no absolute logical reason on earth for me
to have this room configured this way if you want to allow table tennis to be
played in this room even if Plano Rec. wants to allow some games to be situated in the same
room. The room can be configured
properly in like less than half hour to make it safer for everyone who uses
that room including tabletennis and pool & air hockey & foosball
etc. The current
set up is very unsafe absolutely for no reason.
And at the
very worst all the 3 tables must be properly barriered & spread little more
farther apart. Again this can be
achieved even if Plano Rec wants to keep other activities in the same room as
table tennis. But ideally it would be nice
if the other activities can be moved to another location in the rec. center.
Again this may be wishful thinking on my part but IMO there is room in
Carpenter Rec. center to easily situate the other three activities (foosball,
pool & ai hockey). But again if this issue is
approached with the mentality of looking at the formal sport table-tennis as a
silly basement game of ping pong, my suggestion is indeed outright laughable
& ludicrous.
Buying barriers
should not be an issue for Plano. Rec. but if it is I am sure those who play
there regularly will be more than happy to raise the money EASILY
Therefore unless
at least 3 fully barriered courts can be created with all obstructions removed,
it is my opinion therefore that tabletennis must be completely removed from
Carpenter Park because it is a safety hazard.
The pool table, air hockey table & foosball table can be easily moved at least 3 feet away from the tabletennis tables by removing few sitting tables neat the TV area. I am not all al sure who uses that many sitting tables & for what (unless I am missing something here) because only the few tabletennis players may be using those sitting tables while waiting. I doubt if lots pool & air hockey & foosball players sit there all at the same time if any.
I do understand
that the tabletennis tables are heavily used at certain times & I also know
the from desk does a good job of assigning the tables but allowing coaching
& personal training (multi-ball & multi serve) would follow the same
process & very little difference
from current process
But players
must be able to use the tables for multi-ball & serve training (on their
own without a coach) at their allotted time slot but this only possible is the courts
are individually barriered. Of course like any other sport like swimming (or a
whole bunch of coach based activities allowed by Plano Rec) any table tennis coach
who registers with Plano rec. must be able to use time slots that Plano Rec is
willing to make available for them such as at off peak hours
BTW I want
to make it very clear that I am not being disrespectful to other activities (pool,
air hockey & foosball) when I say they can be moved elsewhere. I don’t mean
to imply that they are less important. All I am saying is that there is room
for these activities in other parts of the rec center. Again,
it can also be easily reconfigured even inside the current location but
there is absolutely no reason to be as it Is now. I would be happy to discuss &
also help the reconfiguration of the room with anyone if anyone is willing to
listen. If not may be table tennis should be completely removed from the game rooms of Carpenter Park, Oak Point & TMRC. rather than treat the sport as a silly basement game with risk of injury.
The air hockey table could easily set up on opposite end of room where there are a/c outlets
In picture below, the tabletennis table is stcicking up against both pool tables . This definitely must be barriered if tables are allowed to be used by competitive players.
I wrote this like a few months ago but I have noticed that the number of players haev significantly increased since then and also spreads over from morning to evening. IMO opinion the only solution is to move all the other games to another area or room ( I know there i sspace) & add the fourth table at the area where the chairs & tables are located now.
I am also told that the tables at Carpenter Rec. Center are garbage & this is true. But these players are not professional players to be complaining about table conditions & a good player should adapt to any playing conditions.. On the flip side, the tables & nets should at least be of decent standards.
There are extra tables at TMRC. I do not know who they belong to , whether Plano TTC or Plano Rec. Regardless they could move these tables to Carpenter Park or they could take up a collection from players at Carpenter Park to but better tables , nets & barriers.
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