Sharing The Joy Of Playing Table Tennis

Values in Action: Table Tennis Academy

By Dale Teyu Jia Hui

Table Tennis, Secondary 2

It was a different training experience for the Table Tennis Academy on 2 November 2019 as we opened up our training facilities at the Singapore Sports School to APSN Tanglin School, a school for persons with mild intellectual disability. Student-athletes from the secondary level turned coaches and buddies to provide guidance and training on the basics of a table tennis game.

It was more of a learning experience for us than the students from APSN Tanglin School. Although there were communication barriers, we saw their determination to pick up a new skill. With hand gestures and demonstrations, they soon got the hang of the game. We were glad that we were able to share the joy of playing table tennis with them.

Through the activity, we learnt how to better communicate with people with mild intellectual disability. This is the first time that the Table Tennis Academy collaborates with APSN Tanglin School as part of the Values in Action initiative to encourage student-athletes to give back to society.