Standard size Table Tennis

Imagine walking along Chicago Avenue when you begin to hear a peculiar, yet familiar sound. As you get closer you realize that two people are playing ping pong, outside in a grassy area between two houses. They are playing on what looks like a regular ping pong table except it appears to be sitting on wheels, like it could be towed behind a car. It turns out to be made from steel, adding a distinctive metallic sound to the thwock of the ball hitting the table. You can’t resist and stop to play several games and converse with strangers.

For his second Arts on Chicago project, Peter Haakon Thompson has created a Temporary Table Tennis Trailer (TTTT) that will visit 3-5 sites along the Chicago Avenue corridor to engage residents in the sport of ping pong (also known as table tennis), through Popup Ping Pong Parks (PPPP). An Olympic sport, table tennis can be played by people of any age or skill level including singles and doubles.

The TTTT is a tool for play, for conversation and to create more lovers of the sport of table tennis. The Temporary Table Tennis Trailer is fabricated out of steel with a frame for axles/wheels, a detachable tow bar and four trailer jacks to level and stabilize the table. It follows standard dimensions for a Ping Pong table, 5’x 9’ with a height of 30 inches with a metal net. The table functions perfectly for the sport; it is meant to feel the same in play as any tournament quality Ping Pong table. The table is similar to those found in parks across Europe and increasingly in the US and even in Minneapolis.

There are several planned ping pong events, and the TTTT will live at a site for several days; it has paddles and balls with it to allow spontaneous, walk-up play. The TTTT/PPPP was fabricated in March and April and began to make pop ups in May through the summer of 2014.

Follow the TTTT/PPPP for news on where it will spring up next:

• The Temporary Table Tennis Trailer at Pillsbury House + Theatre
• The Temporary Table Tennis Trailer at Powderhorn Park
• Mockup of Temporary Table Tennis Trailor
• PPPP/TTTT in production
• PPPP/TTTT