Three students from Arcola School have established a new program and recently competed in the Table Tennis Saskatchewan Provincial School Championships on April 17 and 18 in Saskatoon.
Students from the age of seven to 18 were seen competing in a variety of age categories, with approximately 200 players taking part in the competition.
Brandt Freitag, Dylan Cann, and Jared Taylor, all grade 11 students in Arcola, competed in the High School Senior Division. Coaches Dan Graf and A.J. Schlenker were pleased with their performance.
The first day saw the boys compete in a round robin where Freitag was able to win all of his matches earning a spot on the A-side, while Cann and Taylor each earned a win but went to the B-side for singles.
Freitag and Taylor also competed in doubles at the championship. They won all of their round robin games on April 17 advancing to the A-side.
On Saturday, Cann and Taylor would advance to the semi-finals on the B-side where they would meet each other. In a tough battle, Taylor was able to narrowly win over Cann and advance to the finals.
“Jared played a long five set marathon match in the finals and came out the winner,” coach Dan Graf explained. “Dylan then played for the bronze and easily came away with the medal.”
“Brandt played in the A-side of the tournament and as he progressed, he played the eventual champion where he lost 11-9, 11-9 and 11-4. Their matches were very entertaining and close and Brandt placed fourth overall in the A-side.”
Taylor and Freitag weren’t finished there as they moved through the playoff matches during the doubles competition. Reaching the final they would take on a team from the Estevan Comprehensive High School.
“The two fell in three tight sets to come away with the provincial silver medals in doubles,” Graf said.
“All three represented the school very well with some great play and excellent sportsmanship. Excellent job!”
The boys will be taking part in another tournament this May hosted in Fort Qu’Appelle and are very much looking forward to continuing to improve their skills.
The boys practice four-times a week at the school using drills they find on Youtube. They also enjoyed a weekend in Estevan where they learned in a workshop and competition.
Through starting this new program with the help of Graf and Schlenker, the boys have been awarded a grant as well through Saskatchewan Table Tennis. With the grant money they plan to purchase two more tables at the school, six paddles, and 1,000 balls.
In order to cover the costs they will need to do a little fundraising which includes a pie in the face sale where students can purchase a whip cream pie for $5 and pie them.
The boys all agreed they very much enjoy the sport and hope to get more students interested in it throughout the year in order to develop the program.
