My First USTTA Sanctioned Table Tennis Tournament

On Saturday, I played in the St. Joseph Valley Table Tennis Open, which was held at my workplace, IU South Bend. The gym floor was filled with 32 tables as players from all over the country descended on my workplace to show off their skills.

I did not have an official United States Table Tennis Association (USTTA) ranking, so I was placed in the bracket for those with a ranking under 800 or with no ranking at all. I looked forward to establishing myself as a force to be reckoned with in this sport.

Lo and behold, I swept through my bracket and won five straight matches en route to an undefeated record and first place finish. Not bad for a first-time tournament.

My first match was against Lena, who tried to argue after game 4 that I did not win 3 games to 1 but that we were indeed tied at 2. She also argued over the score in the one game that I lost (she was wrong, but I let her win the game). She also had someone coaching her from the sidelines the whole time, which is a big taboo. But that's alright, I let my racket do the talking. YEAH, TOOK HER DOWN!!!

After that, I had no problem the rest of the way:

. . . okay yes, I did beat Joyce from northern Kentucky, who was not all that good.

. . . okay yes, I did beat Joanne from Toledo, who was about 60.

. . . okay yes, I did beat 12-year old Kevin. Yes, I said he was 12. Hey, he put up a fight in the game I won 11-2.

. . . okay yes, I did beat 9-year old Alma. Yes, that's right, she was 9. But she was tenacious, and the last game I squeaked by 11-3.

So, I guess at my next tournament I'll need to move up a bit and play against those with a higher ranking. But for all you under-800 players out there, Rick is in town and ready to play some pong, so you better watch out!!