Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological condition that slows down movement. There is no cure, but thousands of people with Parkinson’s around the world are discovering the message that “exercise is medicine.” They continue to play sports that they love or indeed, take up new ones.
Table tennis is one of these “brain sports”, with many benefits: athletically, socially, emotionally and cognitively. Table tennis activates different parts of the brain simultaneously, sharpening alertness and decision making. The unpredictability and high speed of play requires mental and physical agility. It’s been described as “90 mph chess”. Post-lockdown, it also presents a great opportunity to bring people together socially again.
One venture that has been happening in South Ayrshire, Scotland, is being held at Mossblown Community Centre. Twice weekly sessions are being offered to People with Parkinson’s (PWP), delivered by Level 3 coach Roy Claxton, ably assisted by his colleague John White. The two-hour long sessions involve warm up practices, serve and return practices, movement drills and game play, with water breaks throughout.
Leona Braund, a former PE teacher who is keen to create opportunities for PWP to be physically active, first contacted Roy early in 2020. She highlights the huge impact that this has had in her life: “The community of coaches and players at South Ayrshire Table Tennis Club (SATTC) have invested many hours to nurture our skills and develop our confidence as players. Fellow PWP Joy Paul and I have been totally embraced and welcomed into the body of the club as full members. This has been a huge game changer in our lives.”
As Joy says: “My initial desire was to improve my level of play so that I could take part in the World Championships, but since becoming involved with SATTC I have realised there are so many benefits to playing the sport. My fitness levels are greatly improved, I feel more alert, more positive and above all accepting of my condition. Table tennis has literally changed my life and it has given me the confidence to be open about my diagnosis and talk freely to my colleagues and others about my situation for the first time.”
With such tangible benefits, it is important that the infrastructure and existing sports clubs encompasses the wider community, allowing opportunity for all.
SATTC team player, Robert McLuskey says: “Our new members have shown great enthusiasm and determination and the progress has been hugely visible. We have witnessed how valuable table tennis can be for improving both motor and social skills. We are proud that they are part of our club and wish them the very best in their upcoming events.”
PWP players from as far afield as Alloa, Falkirk, Glasgow and even Aberdeen travel to SATTC every Saturday to train with Roy and John. Five of these PWP will represent Scotland internationally at the World Table Tennis Championships. The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Parkinson’s World Table Tennis Championships in Berlin (9-11 Sep) is welcoming 142 players from 26 countries. The Scottish team are Leona Braund, Brian Carson, Gary Laing, Joy Paul and Stuart Robb.
Leona saysL “We are so excited to be travelling to Germany, not just for the honour of representing Scotland, but also to meet others in the PWP community, and to be a launchpad for raising awareness so that others might join us, and experience the benefits and joy of playing table tennis!”
The national governing body, Table Tennis Scotland (TTS), is fully behind the venture and has shown support by providing full playing kit and tracksuit for each player going to Berlin. TTS Chief Operating Officer, Richard Yule is encouraging clubs throughout Scotland to embrace PWP players and to integrate them as full members. Roy has been in contact with clubs in East Stirlingshire and Glasgow that have readily accepted local players who travel to attend the SATTC group sessions – as full members.
For more information, please contact pdttscotland@gmail.com.