Please send me updates!
Started in 1996 by Michael Wang, Philip and Karen Lam, Steffen Plistermann, and the Inimitable Lock Brothers, Raymond, Rodney, and Roscoe, the founders personally bought tables and equipment and made a deal with the city for Friday through Sunday afternoons/evenings. Friday 6-9, Saturday 5-9, and Sunday 4-9 was the schedule for decades.
Initially Parks and Rec charged a nominal rental fee to this extremely informal club which worked as long as Karen Lam went around collecting the $3 drop-in fees. It was their mission, after all, to support community recreational opportunities.
> After a decade or so Seattle thought the club might be saving money, so they incrementally raised the rent. We went to $4, and immediately lost half the headcount. Later, rent went up again, to the point we were indeed losing money and could not keep it up. Then the City said they'd just take over the operation as a City activity like the swimming pool or the pottery studio, collecting fees at the entrance counter, apparently expect more profitability.
Somehow the city is happy for recreational activities to lose money, swimming can lose money, basketball and tennis and soccer can lose money, every program can lose money because they are taxpayer-supported public services of the Parks and Recreation department which has the mission of supporting city recreation; it's a pro-social thing, and a good reason to pay our taxes. But table tennis has to make money on weekends.
So the next step in the dance was recently when the city changed policies during the Covid closure, first, to impose special-event rental rates designed for corporate events and weddings onto our every-single-weekend low-budget operation, and second, to require two city employee staff members on site for their new cash handling rules. Sure, that creates more employment for staff and is an easy policy for regularly, fully staffed weekday hours, but to impose doubled staffing fees on a shoestring, participant-run, weekend table tennis activity, which only needs the gym and bathroom doors unlocked and locked and the lights turned on and off, no more, is demanding corporate-level resources from group that can't support it.
We are a smallish group of mostly fixed-income retirees and immigrants looking for economical, fun, social exercise. A teenager came in in a wheelchair, and found the support to become a national champion (Google Eric Pattison). Our diversity is so amazing, there are almost as many languages spoken as players in the gym; and Chief Seattle's own great great grand-nephew himself has been playing pingpong on weekends at Green Lake for 25 years.
Green Lake has been distinctive among table tennis clubs for being especially welcoming to new players and having great conditions and enough tables and time for everyone to play plenty. More typical in our sport is a more intense, competitive, wait-long-play-briefly-wait-again-longer experience, which can be characteristic of the crowded small clubs around the country, which makes it relatively unfriendly and difficult to enter for newcomers, beginning learners, and the casual drop in player. You need a table to play, after all.
Green Lake TTC has been a precious, invaluable, community-supporting resource for these 27 years, especially because of its great conditions, retiree-friendly lighting, easygoing and long open hours on the weekends, all supporting our friendly, devoted aficionadoes and welcoming teachers who get their exercise and maintain their health and social connection through this wonderful sport.
But it seems the city has changed its view on its mission. Instead of finding a way to support us as part of their mission in support of community recreation, they see us f through the lens of a rigid, disqualifying, new ruleset and don't want us unless we satisfy their new, corporate income and staffing requirements.
So it goes. The standards ratchet up, the bureaucratic flexibility ratchets down. and the lovely niche of Green Lake weekend table tennis, after 27 years of Parks and Rec community-supportive flexibility, seems to be about to be lost.
If you have the ear of any Seattle politicians, the mayor, the city council, or others, please reach out to Kim, or me, and consider putting in a good word for Green Lake Weekend Table Tennis. Maybe the mission of Parks and Recreation, to support parks and recreation, will be reprioritized once again. Watch this space for updates.
Day | Time | Type | Location |
Sun | 2:00pm-8:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Sun | 5:00pm-10:00pm | Open Play | Tacoma Table Tennis Club |
Mon | 10:00am-11:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Mon | 2:00pm-8:30pm | Open Hours | SPTTC |
Mon | 3:00pm-5:00pm | Senior Free Play | Chinatown/ID |
Mon | 6:00pm-8:30pm | Open Play | Chinatown/ID |
Mon | 5:00pm-10:00pm | Open Play | Tacoma Table Tennis Club |
Mon | 7:00pm-10:00pm | Open Play | University of Washington Husky TTC |
Tue | 10:00am-11:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Tue | 2:00pm-8:30pm | Open Hours | SPTTC |
Tue | 3:00pm-5:00pm | Senior Free Play | Chinatown/ID |
Tue | 5:00pm-10:00pm | Open Play | Tacoma Table Tennis Club |
Tue | 6:00pm-9:00pm | Open Play (League restarted August 3 2021) | Federal Way TTC |
Tue | 6:00pm-8:45pm | Kanban League | Green Lake TTC |
Wed | 10:00am-11:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Wed | 2:00pm-8:30pm | Open Hours | SPTTC |
Wed | 3:00pm-5:00pm | Senior Free Play | Chinatown/ID |
Wed | 5:00pm-10:00pm | Open Play | Tacoma Table Tennis Club |
Wed | 6:00-8:30pm | Open Play | Chinatown/ID |
Thu | 10:00am-11:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Thu | 2:00pm-8:30pm | Open Hours | SPTTC |
Thu | 5:00pm-10:00pm | Open Play | Tacoma Table Tennis Club |
Thu | 7:00 - 10:00pm | Open Play (for members) | University of Washington Husky TTC |
Fri | 10:00am-11:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Fri | 3:00pm-5:00pm | Senior Free Play | Chinatown/ID |
Fri | 4:00-6:00pm | Open Play | University of Washington Husky TTC |
Fri | 2:00pm-8:30 | Open Hours* | SPTTC |
Fri | 5:00pm-5:45pm | 2 tables by reservation | Bellevue/Crossroads (otherwise closed for Covid) |
Fri | 6:00pm-6:45pm | 2 tables by reservation | Bellevue/Crossroads (otherwise closed for Covid) |
Fri | 6:00pm-9:00pm | Open Play | Green Lake TTC (was closed for Covid and during basketball season; reopening 3/24/2023) |
Fri | 6:00pm-8:30pm | Open Play | Chinatown/ID |
Sat | 12:00pm-8:30pm | Open Play | SPTTC |
Sat | 10:00am-11:00pm | Open Hours | Seattle TTC (Everett) |
Sat | 1:00pm-4:30pm | Open Hours | Chinatown/ID |
Sat | 2:00pm-5:00pm | Open Play | Federal Way TTC |
Address: | 13249 NE 20th St, Bellevue, WA 98005. |
Contact: | Office Number 425-644-7833; also 206-922-9282 |
Notes: |
Cost: $16 drop-in fee. Monthly and annual fees for a discount. Schedule: Monday-Saturday to 8:30pm. See spttc.net for details. M-F 2-8:30 Sat 12-8:30 Sun closed. Up to 10 tables. The junior program is amazing. Great coaching available from Coach Judy. A world class table tennis club in Bellevue; please support it! * Open Hours at SPTTC are primarily for structured training or lessons; Open Play is for drop in play. Vince runs the league; Jerry is there weekdays. Best times are after 4pm. Junior program only is a camp; no junior program after Covid.
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Phased Opening after Covid. First, news: the old church burned down in an arson attack. Second, we were at the Buddhist Temple for a couple months. Third, we were at the YMCA for a time. Then, July 2022, TTTC opened at the Andercaf Center, their new building off South tacoma way in Lakewood. Congratulations!! This is a big green building behind the apartment complex. Open hours are Sunday through Thursday night 5pm-10pm. Henry Blankenship is president and says, Never go to the bathroom when people are voting. Tacoma TTC has announced a Senior games tournament June 10-11, 2023. Please participate. There are 8-10 tables; cost is $5 for a drop in, $40/month with access during all club hours.
Many thanks to the TTTC leader, Chris, for developing the new site in
Lakewood.
Chinatown Community Centerin the International District near downtown SeattleOpen for many sessions six day a week during fall 2020 (September 1 to December 30). Weekdays 11:30am-2:30pm. MWF 5:30pm-8:30pm, Saturday 1:00pm-4:30pm. Free senior schedule TBA. KIDS PLAY FREE! Up to 16 at a time, reserve & pay on line. Fees are: basically, $3, but $2 if over 65, free if under 18, and free senior sessions 2x/week.
Husky TTCAt the University of Washington
Bellevue/CrossroadsGym is closed for Covid.Game room has 2 tables available by (phone) reservation Friday 5:00-5:45 and 6:00-6:45.
Everett Senior CenterClosed indefinitely. But perhaps due to Covid.
Federal Way Table Tennis ClubWas closed for Covid, but reopened in early August 2021 for Tuesday Night League and Saturday 2-5pm.
Green Lake TTCClosed for Covid. As of mid-August 2020, due to rapidly changing predictions,we don't even know when we'll know but maybe in September or October we'll have an idea.
Seattle Table Tennis Club (in Everett)Open. Coach Jin appreciates your support.
Send me a text if you discover any errors. |