Reading Room launch new website for Ping! England
12/04/2012 - Manchester
Ping! England today launched their new website http://pingengland.co.uk/ created and developed by Reading Room Manchester. The new site has been created as part of the Sport England launch of Ping! the Public - a new initiative to boost recreational table tennis.
The new website allows the public to locate their nearest temporary and permanent Ping pong tables as well as find out the latest information on Ping pong events and news in their area. The site is designed to encourage and support high levels of Ping pong interaction between enthusiasts and allows them to upload and share videos, photos and comments of them playing ping pong at the various UK locations.
“Ping! has grown considerably for 2012 and we are really happy to have such a user-friendly, engaging website which has reflected how the project has changed and grown. We can’t wait to see how the public interacts with all the great aspects of the site.” Said Natalie Curd from Ping!
Reading Room have been working closely with the Ping! team over the past 18months to develop their digital presence and create a highly engaging online destination for anyone looking to play Ping Pong this summer.
“We’re delighted to have been involved in such an exciting project where online interaction and engagement has been so key. Like the Ping! team we are very happy with the results and hope that Ping! England continues to see the same support and popularity this summer as it did last year. In the process of working with the team we’ve been completely bitten by the bug and now house a full size table in the office.” Said Garry Byrne, Managing Director of Reading Room Manchester.
The Ping! project first launched in London in 2010 - with 100 tables placed across the capital – before moving to Birmingham and Hull last summer. In each city the public response has been huge.
“Ping! has proved one of our most successful sports participation projects, attracting over 150,000 participants to date,” said Jennie Price. “Moreover, our Active People Survey shows that once people start playing they don’t want to stop.”
The website will play a vital part in promoting Ping Pong in the UK in 2012 - the year of the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, when ping pong is certainly coming home. Summer 2012 will see Ping! sweeping across the country: local councils in five more areas have already secured lottery funding from Sport England’s Small Grants scheme to produce their own version of Ping! Birmingham, Brighton, Hampshire, Leicester and Sheffield will all be placing tables in prominent locations for everyone to enjoy.
Ping! is produced by Sing London – the non-profit organisation whose projects include London’s Street Pianos Project and Talking Rubbish bins. “A ping pong table is a relatively small intervention, but it’s amazing how much fun it can generate,” said Sing London’s Creative Director, Colette Hiller.
It is co-produced by the English Table Tennis Association – the national governing body for table tennis – whose Chief Executive, Richard Yule, said: “Table tennis can be played by anyone, anytime, anyplace, anywhere. Ping! proves it. Great exercise and great fun is guaranteed on a Ping! table this summer.”
To find your nearest table and get playing as part of Ping! this summer, go to www.pingengland.co.uk
