Senior Corner

July/August 2005
By Olga & Stan Kahan,

Co-Chairs, USATT Senior Committee

949-830-6699 (ph) · 949-240-7167 (fax)

This year brings us an important centennial anniversary.  The year 1905 brought forth many accomplishments but one, in particular is worth our attention.  A young man in Bern, working in a Swiss patent office as a third-class clerk, wrote a series of physics papers, one of which he submitted for his doctoral thesis.  Another paper claimed that the speed of light was constant and therefore time and motion are relative to the observer.  So Albert Einstein began to reshape the way we looked at the universe.

A second earth-shattering event about this time was the disappearance of “Ping Pong” or table tennis as a parlor sport even though there had been agreement three years earlier to use celluloid balls for the game.

This game had become an international craze at the beginning of the 20^th Century.  No more champagne corks bounced over dining room tables, or small wound up balls of yarn to pit pat over a cardboard barrier in the middle of the table.  The little celluloid ball made a “ping-pong” sound as it bounded around the table.

The relationship between these two major invitations and changes 100 years age?  Despite claims by many players to the contrary, no player to the contrary, no player has yet smashed a forehand or backhand faster than the speed of light.  But doesn’t it seem that some of these balls travel faster than our eyes can see, or are we getting a little bit older? Perhaps it’s just relative.  One theory is that they are now in the fourth dimension. At least it seemed to be the case when the ping-pong fad faded away.  However, these red celluloid balls slowly returned back to Earth as white and then yellow with the revival of table tennis as an international sport in the 1920s. Since then these balls have been with us, even though from time to time they change their color or size.  As for the rackets – well that’s another story entirely.

Now let’s come down to our time and space.  A letter from one of the qualifiers of the National Senior Olympics attracts our attention.  Andy Hutzel from Anchorage, Alaska, describes in detail his visit to Denmark and Sweden where he attended the European TT Championships and the Team Competition, in which forty teams from all over Europe were fighting for the championship. Danish Allan Bentsen (#29 in Europe) made history for his country of 5.5 million people in his final match, defeating Chen Weixing (#6 in Europe).  Bentsen won, Denmark won, and the Danish people celebrated for two days.  This exciting victory happened on the eve of Bentsen’s retirement!  His new phase of life already started after the 2005 Euro championship, when he joined us, the table tennis veterans, scattered all over the world.

As far as Andy Hutzel is concerned, he did a lot of training in the hopes of getting him ready for the USA National Senior Olympics in Pittsburgh.  Andy was representing Alaska in the 55-59 age group.  To come back from the European TT championship and to compete in the Pittsburgh Olympics was a great challenge for the Alaska State Senior Gold Medalist.

We also received brief information about a new senior tournament in Utah.  The Timpanogos Table Tennis Tournament was held Saturday, April 25, 2005, in Pleasant Grove, Utah.  The director was John Pratt, assisted by Grant Misbach, a USATT Senior Committee member, who took first place in the Over 60 Singles.  Zorigt “Joey” Radmassed of Mongolian (who was the Mongolian team coach at last year’s Huntsman World Senior Games) won first place in the Open Singles.

Ivan Slade, James Therriault and Rev. Mr. James Lane, all top players during their heyday, were inducted into the California Table Tennis Hall of Fame, on June 3, 2005, at the Eleventh Annual Banquet in Laguna, Woods, CA.

“This sport has afforded me many fantastic memories and has kept me active and healthy.  I will never forget all the people I have met and the camaraderie through all the years,” contemplated Slade, the octogenarian table tennis player and former world-ranked athlete, widely known among his opponents and doubles partners at senior tournaments and “Ivan the Terrible.”

To the contrary, James Therriault from Sacramento participated in his first Senior Nationals only last year.  However, he has already made an enormous impact as an organizer, coach, promoter and a top table tennis player.

Rev. James Lane was ranked as one of the top three in California and the Pacific Coast for several years and had many great wins during the 1970’s and 1980’s.  Even when he chose to pursue a spiritual path over his beloved sport he thrilled spectators at one of the Meiklejohn National Senior Championships when he took off this cassock and played against Sister Mary (Pat Crowley) in a table tennis exhibition.  They both demonstrated “youthful vigor, humor and fun,” to the general delight of all.

So remember as we continue to win tournaments, celebrate centennials, smash the ball and confuse our opponents, to keep the game relatively light!