Members of the Conception Bay North Table Tennis Club are gearing up for the Atlantic championships being hosted at Ascension Collegiate in Bay Roberts this weekend (May 19-20).
Featuring competitors in the senior and junior divisions from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the CBN club has its eyes competing and doing well in the competition.
Each division is broken down into A, B, C and D sub-divisions, and will feature some of the top table tennis talent in Atlantic Canada.
"We should win it all, to be honest," said a confident Adam Drover of Bay Roberts.
Drover will be competing in division A singles and doubles. He is entering the competition as one of the top table tennis players for his age group in the Atlantic provinces.
"Hopefully, this year we'll take home a number of titles from the tournament," he said.
Drover's confidence in his club is based on previous results that saw CBN place very highly in previous Atlantic championships.
"Our club has really flourished over the past two years," he said.
David Milley of Western Bay will be competing in the senior division.
He said that of the top 30 athletes in the province, the majority of them play with the CBN club.
"I'd say we have close to 50 per cent of the top players in this area," said Milley, who returned to the sport in 2010 after undergoing hip replacement surgery.
He said the senior division is a "crap shoot" when it comes to predicting how the club will fare at Atlantics.
"We should do fairly well at the junior level," said Milley.
Nick Hiscock will be Drover's doubles partner, and is a talented athlete in his own right.
Hiscock, 15, is ranked in the Top-5 for his age group in Atlantic Canada and will also be competing in singles.
He has hopes of capturing a 15-and-under title.
Hiscock said he thinks the CBN club is hitting its stride heading into the tournament.
"Our team is overly strong this year, and I feel that we can do good," he said.
Hiscock said he has especially high hopes for the junior portion of the squad.
"All of our players in the under-18 division are rated Top-5 in the division," he said. "We have a really good chance."
Changing perception
It is the first time the Atlantics will have been held outside of Corner Brook and St. John's.
This has club member excited about the chance to play in front of family and friends, as well as the opportunity to display the game for a new group of fans.
"A lot of people think table tennis is just something you play in your basement," said team member Barry Hicks.
Milley said the sport is competing with "the thumb age," making the motion of a video game controller with his hand.
"This is a hard sport to master. You can't master it in six weeks. You can't master it in six years," he said.
Milley believes that in order to get young athletes interested in table tennis, they need exposure to the game at its highest levels.
"I believe that if people show up, see the tournament and find out how big it really is, it will change some people's thoughts on the sport," said Drover.
