We’ve had an amazing first year at North Uist Table Tennis Group.

It feels like a long time since we started out at Carinish Hall, using their table, as we had none of our own, back in 2024. We were testing the water to see if there was any interest. Five players came along to the three sessions we held over three weeks at Carinish Hall.

Soon we were offered three tables from various local sources, to whom we are very grateful. We transferred these to our new venue, Balivanich Hall, one year ago, at the end of January 2025. Two months later we were presented with two brand new tables, one from Table Tennis Scotland and the second, a very kind donation from Kallin Shellfish. That took the total to five tables! Not bad considering we started with nothing.

Through the rest of the year, we had a regular attendance of between 10 and 16 players at our weekly session at Balivanich Hall.

Table Tennis Scotland visited us in September and ran their ‘Introduction to Coaching’ course, which is a three-hour session. Six members of our team were awarded certificates upon completion.

Table Tennis Scotland also carried out some basic training at two local schools, which have now gone on to develop their own lunchtime clubs. It’s been fantastic to see this growth in the game! We donated a table to Balivanich school along with a scoring board. The school then secured a second table, which allows all pupils to take part in the lunchtime sessions.

We’ve also noticed the enthusiasm and commitment of our own group members. There’s also a degree of competitiveness, with some players investing in their own bats and table tennis shoes. We’ve been told table tennis was once popular on the island, and therefore it’s good to see the game being played again and increasing in popularity.

For those who still don’t know, we play on Thursday evenings at Balivanich Hall, 7 – 9 pm. We provide bats, balls and basic coaching. Players of all abilities are most welcome. We currently charge £5 for adults and £3 for children, aged 15 and under, and this includes refreshments.

We’re looking forward to another successful year and hopefully seeing more of you in the future. Thank you, once again, to everyone who has supported North Uist Table Tennis.