World Table Tennis (at Home) Day

World Table Tennis Day is a project of our TT4ALL programme, which is celebrated annually on April 6 marking also the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. We want this day to be socially inclusive and use it as an excuse to celebrate our sport for one day. The ultimate aim is to keep as many people as possible involved with table tennis.
 
April 6, 2020 was all about being physically distanced but socially united, focusing on the power of table tennis to stay safe, active and healthy at home by flattening the curve and blocking Covid-19.
 
For the first time World Table Tennis Day was celebrated at home or rather without big events because of its transformation to the World Table Tennis ‘at Home’ Day. Due to the limitations and restrictions forced by the global pandemic, people were not allowed to gather, and many had to cancel their events. Nevertheless, we wanted to motivate people worldwide to stay optimistic, mindful, and healthy. Therefore, a combination of the three pillars of this special day popularity, universality, and inclusiveness with the importance of health and safety come first was necessary, and physical activity being even more important than in "normal" times.
 
Using the benefits of our digital era, all members of our table tennis community and beyond were invited to take part in the craziest, longest online table tennis rally. As not everyone has table tennis equipment at home, we asked everyone to also us random objects from the everyday life to hit the ball or to perform a trick shot in front of any table. Happily, people managed to have fun at home using the most creative items to still play table tennis. For example, playing with a garbage bin, a flipper, a banana; passing by on a bicycle; using the coffee table as a table tennis table or toilet paper as a net.
 
In total, we have received more than 2,700 videos and photos showing how almost 3,900 people have celebrated in 171 countries and regions. This huge geographical distribution is one of our highlights as table tennis has never been shared in so many countries and regions at the same time before!
 
Looking forward to celebrating the next World Table Tennis Day with you on April 6, 2021, using table tennis for FEMpowerment!