Bang! Swoosh! Slam! Well since ping-pong balls are rather light and small, the Ping-Pong Tournament, AHS's first intramural event of the year, started off with more of a...ping! Students of all grade levels competed in the cafeteria during lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the ASB-hosted tournament.
Potential competitors entering the tournament submitted an interview form to the ASB Office and attended an informational meeting in which they were briefed on the rules and regulations of the tournament. The tournament is a single elimination tournament, which means competitors are ousted after only one loss. There is one match per day, and players can either bring their own paddle or use one of the ones provided depending on how much luck they think their own paddle will bring them. The victor has to win three out the five total games to triumph over the entire match. Each game goes up to eleven points and each player gets to serve twice and then the opposing player gets to serve so both competitors receive equal serving opportunities. The games are fairly short, keeping things interesting and lively.
Amid the deafening buzz of the cafeteria, freshmen Wesley Yang and Stephen Smith competed against one other during one of the preliminary games back in October, playing with quiet intensity while serving up many hard slams and spinning backhands. Stephen, who wanted to join the tournament because "[he] enjoy[s] playing ping-pong and [he] wanted to see how good [he] was against other people", won the game and shook his competitor’s hand afterward in a refreshing display of sportsmanship.
The tournament ended on Nov. 10, with as the ultimate winner.
Potential competitors entering the tournament submitted an interview form to the ASB Office and attended an informational meeting in which they were briefed on the rules and regulations of the tournament. The tournament is a single elimination tournament, which means competitors are ousted after only one loss. There is one match per day, and players can either bring their own paddle or use one of the ones provided depending on how much luck they think their own paddle will bring them. The victor has to win three out the five total games to triumph over the entire match. Each game goes up to eleven points and each player gets to serve twice and then the opposing player gets to serve so both competitors receive equal serving opportunities. The games are fairly short, keeping things interesting and lively.
Amid the deafening buzz of the cafeteria, freshmen Wesley Yang and Stephen Smith competed against one other during one of the preliminary games back in October, playing with quiet intensity while serving up many hard slams and spinning backhands. Stephen, who wanted to join the tournament because "[he] enjoy[s] playing ping-pong and [he] wanted to see how good [he] was against other people", won the game and shook his competitor’s hand afterward in a refreshing display of sportsmanship.
The tournament ended on Nov. 10, with as the ultimate winner.