For close to 20 years, the Abbotsford Table Tennis Club has welcomed players from all over the Fraser Valley and beyond to their tables inside Matsqui Institution‘s fitness centre.
But those times will soon be over, as club members were informed that the ATCC must find a new home come by the end of December.
According to club founder and president Andy Anderson, the problem now is finding a new home to house the club’s eight tables and other equipment.
“We’re trying to find a place to move to,” he said. “But with some of the schools we cannot store the tables inside. We would have to find a place outside to keep them and I’m worried about theft or damage to the tables, we paid over $1,000 apiece for them We need a facility where we can store the tables inside a secure building.”
The 91-year-old World War II veteran said it would be a shame to see the club go away.
“I don’t want to close it up because we have a lot of people from Abbotsford who play and I think it’s good for the community to have something like this,” he said. “It seems rather sad if what we created goes away.”
Anderson said he was informed by Matsqui Institution representatives earlier this summer about the news.
“They say there’s nothing they can do about it and that it comes from Ottawa,” he said. “I think it’s a bunch of craperoo, but they say they have to abide by it.”
The ATCC possesses eight tables, and Anderson said every Tuesday and Thursday evening they attract anywhere from a dozen to 18 players.
The club was formed in 1998 by Anderson after he put an advertisement in the Abbotsford News about interest in the sport. An all-day demonstration at Sevenoaks Shopping Centre followed, and Anderson and other members then chipped in to buy the first two tables and other equipment.
From there, the club has grown and now boasts members ranging in age from 15 to 91. The club motto is ‘socialize and exercise’, and the highlight of every year is the summer picnic, where members compete for prizes and share food.
Anderson said he is reaching out to the community for any solutions to keep the club going.
He said he has even delayed a trip to Australia to see his daughter until the club’s future home issues are resolved.
Anyone with solutions for a future home for the club can contact Anderson at 604-855-7233.
