A 16-year-old and a 59-year-old stand at two ends of the table. There’s a long back-and-forth, each fires a few hard shots at the other, and finally, after what seems like minutes of stress, sweat and strain, the point is made.
No, they weren’t discussing the repercussions of a teenager coming home past curfew, or taking an impetuous nap during the Sunday sermon. In fact, there would be no church at all this Sunday, because 16-year-old Benjamin Jaffer and 59-year-old Will Lyons were facing off against each other in the novice division’s championship match at the 11th annual Chappy Pong tournament. And, like most heated exchanges between people of these two generations, the 59-year-old came out on top.
All in all, 30 participants tightened their grips, to play on Sunday at the Chappaquiddick Community Center. They ranged in age from seven-year-old Berend Michels to 81-year-young tournament organizer Bob O’Rourke. Mr. O’Rourke formed the Martha’s Vineyard Table Tennis Club (they use ping pong and table tennis interchangeably) more than a decade ago, and has packed up the club’s German-imported tables and league-official balls for a once-a-year trip on the On Time ferry ever since.
“We started as a small tournament for kids,” Mr. O’Rourke said, “and it got bigger and bigger every year, and now we have this event for inexperienced young people, and older players who are rated. So we have the whole gamut.”
“It’s the most we’ve ever had, I think,” said Mr. O’Rourke’s daughter and the tournament’s round-robin logistician, Brenna Wongue. For the O’Rourkes, ping pong has become a family affair. Bob’s wife Marvene worked the registration table, while his granddaughters served as impromptu ball girls.
This year, two of the rated players and former Chappy Pong champions Rod Backus and Alina Wen highlighted an eclectic field of occasional backyard pongers, teenagers looking to get out of the house and tennis players who were looking to get out of the sun. Both Mr. Backus and Ms. Wen considered 72-year-old Eddie Parker, who at age 65 tabled tennis to take up, yes, table tennis, a dark-horse contender.
“I found a coach named Ping,” Eddie said. “I had to hire him.”
“Eddie can be Island champion,” Ms. Wen admitted before the tournament. “He beat me last week. He’s a new star. Ping pong is very addictive, and he got the addiction.”
Ms. Wen’s prediction would prove prescient. Halfway through the tournament, she got a call that there was an emergency at her bicycle shop and had to leave. That was only after she had easily dismantled most of the field, and before she had broken a sweat. Her departure left the tournament wide open.
New players took advantage. Teenagers Mark Clements, William O’Brien and Anderson Grennan won hard-fought matches against more experienced players, and Chappaquiddick resident and self-professed tennis fiend Andrew Gordetsky perspired his way to the quarterfinals, losing a nail-biting five-setter to club regular Rae Carter.
“There’s a lot of new blood here,” Mr. Parker said. “My God, those guys can move.”
After his match, Mr. Gordetsky looked like he had just swum from Edgartown with his clothes on. “I feel like my life’s purpose is to open up a ping pong karaoke bar,” he said, wiping soaked hair out of his eyes. Name ideas included “Song Pong” and “Ping Sing.”
“A lot of opportunity there,” the real-estate developer added.
In her semifinal match, Ms. Carter ran into a determined Eddie Parker, and lost to her longtime friend and hitting partner in three quick sets. Ms. Carter’s defeat set up a final between the 72-year-old Mr. Parker and tournament favorite Rod Backus.
“I’m just going to try to keep it on the table,” Mr. Parker huffed after his semifinal victory. “Rod is a tough guy to play. Very unconventional, gets everything back. It’s like magic.”
For the final match, the extended O’Rourke clan and their crew of volunteers helped move all tables except for one out of the community center, transforming the humble building into the MGM Grand with a World Welterweight Title on the line. At least, Mr. Parker thought of it that way, taking the courtesy of introducing himself Michael Buffer-style.
“Aaaaaaaand now, with a record of...something...he’s old, he’s slow, but he sure can play. Eddie Parker, folks!”
During the first point, it was clear the two were ready to rumble. They exchanged a 30-stroke rally that saw brilliant footwork, soft hands and eventually, a knock-out winner from Mr. Parker, putting him up 1-0. But that would be both the first and last time he led in the match, unable to contend with Mr. Backus’s impenetrable defense.
“My butt is black and blue from all the times I’ve been beaten up by this guy,” he said of Mr. Backus, who accepted his award of a Morning Glory pie after the three-set-to-love dismantling.
Mr. Backus took his victory in stride. “I love this community,” he said. “It’s like going into a bar where you know everybody.”
Mr. Parker didn’t waste any time lamenting his defeat.
“When I tell people about ping pong,” he said, “they smile and think China or Forrest Gump. But it’s a real, aerobic sport. When I play, I drive better. I think better. It keeps me young.”
Shuffling around in his specialty Tibhar Titan Ultra Strong shoes and defeating players a third his age, Eddie Parker, and all the Chappy Pong participants for that matter, looked young too.
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