ONE of Canberra’s oldest table tennis players, Arthur Wilks, 81, will represent the ACT in the Australian Veterans Championships in Kingston, Tasmania, next month (Oct 18-25).

Wilks is a retired Canberra school principal who published a history of ACT table tennis in 2013 and has been awarded an OAM. He has struggled to get on the court in recent months, with multiple episodes of surgery including snapping his Achilles tendon.

He returned to the court in early September, to build his form for the championships.

He will be joined in Tasmania by Noel Hart, 80, and Vic Bannon, 80, in an ACT team of more than 20 players, competing in age ranges from over-40s to over-80s.

Though podium finishes have been hard to achieve for the ACT in the 30-odd year history of the championships, there have been a few gold silver and bronze medals. For example, the ACT won the men’s over-30 title in 2012.

This year, Division 1 players including Weng Ung, Brian Peppy, Paul Hendriks, Marc Piquet and Brian Harper are competing, with Division 2 players Paul Libauer, Song Chen and John Parker and about a dozen others.

Regular table tennis competitions, for players ranging from school age to old age and including athletes with a disability, are held at the Table Tennis Centre in Kingston, next to Eastlakes Football Sports Oval, on weekdays and weeknights.

The centre is open seven days a week. It is wheelchair-accessible. There also is a part-time centre in Tuggeranong.

Contact: 0409 607 588
tabletennisact@gmail.com
www.tabletennisact.org.au