Written By Kingsley Harrison

Burnley St Peter’s Centre, as a relatively new and additional ‘Bat & Chat’ hub of East Lancashire Table Tennis League recently held its first Christmas Lunch at the Rosehill House Hotel in Burnley.

The event attended by circa 16 guests and members of the Burnley table tennis forum was arranged partly as a social gathering to meet with friends in a relaxed setting; but also for members to come together and celebrate the growing popularity of the group through a small awards ceremony for those who achieved success in winning local and internal competitions.

The Burnley Bat & Chat group is styled on and aligned to its more established mothership model @ Hyndburn Leisure Centre, Accrington and is currently held on Wednesday mornings and Thursday evenings each week depending on demand.

It caters for people of all ages & from all walks of life and provides fun sessions of social interaction, as well as all levels of table tennis incorporating such fundamental activities ranging from unsupervised open play to more structured, organised competitive practises. There are also opportunities for anyone to improve their current table tennis skill set through structured development, which can lead to joining some existing members as part of a team or teams participating in the ELTT League.

The man responsible for creating the Burnley St Peter’s TT Forum, Fred Wade who is himself a long established veteran and supporter of table tennis activities in and around the Burnley area said “ I’m really pleased with the way this group is developing. They’re a great bunch of people who seem to enjoy spending time together in both a social and sporting setting, and the overall standard of table tennis on display has improved significantly in recent months as attendance continues to grow as we progress.

We encourage all those involved to volunteer any ideas for further developing the group & hope to continue providing a relaxed but active setting for all to enjoy”