Table tennis enthusiasts battled it out on the pingpong table on Monday during “SPiNBLEDON,” a tournament that’s part of a weeklong celebration that lines up with tennis’ Wimbledon championships.
SPiN, a pingpong/table tennis social club on East 23rd Street co-founded by actress Susan Sarandon, invited the community in to compete for bragging rights and the Spinbledon Cup, an actual golden trophy that resembles the real Wimbledon award.
The tournament is meant to honor and put a spin on the prestigious tennis event in England — The Championships, Wimbledon, which end on July 15.
The team “Overseas Spin” took home the award on Monday night, but there’s more competition planned for Friday.
After a series of Wimbledon screenings, food and drink specials all week long (with staffers all in white), there is a free, late-night party where you can play matches (and must be dressed in white) to win Wimbledon-themed prizes and watch a show featuring “The Dirty Dozen,” a group of pingpong pros who paddle ferociously for a theater-like experience.
Those who decide to battle it out during the party will get a free strawberries-and-cream treat (another Wimbledon tradition), which is normally $8.
If you’ve worked up an appetite or need to wet your whistle, SPiN has a full bar (including special drinks like the “Spinbledon Smash”and “Spinbledon Cup” for $8 each) and a full food menu of shared plates, and internationally inspired entrees.
SPiNBLEDON may sound like an off-the-wall thing but pingpong is a sport that is gaining some steam among New Yorkers, according to Matthieu Forget, SPiN’s community and culture manager.
Forget, who calls himself and his co-workers “pingpong propagandists,” said, “everybody has played pingpong at some point in their lives but people are talking a little more about it,” he told amNewYork. “There’s an amazing social aspect to it because it’s so easy to play. We want more and more people to play pingpong. It’s such a fun sport.”
For more information visit SPiN’s website.
