First international ping-pong festival to take place in Long Beach

Global Creative Cities Coalition (GC3), along with the LA Open Table Tennis Association and the City of Long Beach, will host the first ever International Ping Pong Fit Festival on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.

The 2019 International Ping Pong Festival will be free and open to the public, GC3 announced in a press release.

The event will consist of two days of family-friendly activities including celebrity tournaments, arts, culture, music, community ping pong competitions, games, prizes and more.

GC3 co-founders Monique Luo and Barry Sedlik, created Ping Pong Fit to raise awareness of the health benefits of ping pong in communities, the press release stated.

The festival kicks off GC3’s three-year plan to transform Long Beach into America’s first “ping-pong-friendly city”, the organization said.

GC3 will be working with the City of Long Beach in a citywide campaign to find local and corporate sponsors willing to donate and distribute ping pong tables and equipment at parks and other public places in the city.

“This is a first step in our national campaign to promote health, fitness, and socialization through Ping Pong,” Sedlik stated in the press release. “We aim to make Ping Pong tables available throughout every city in America, just like every city in China. We want people to know that Ping Pong is a sport for everyone, regardless of age, income, or physical abilities and it’s fun.”

The festival will be held at the same time as the 9th Annual LA Open Table Tennis Tournament Championship at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Staff Reports, Signal Tribune

August 5, 2019