Upcoming Tournaments
July 6 & 7th, 2024 – 2024 Aurora Summer Open
November 23 & 24th, 2024 – Aurora Fall Open
Online Registration – Registering for the first time? View user’s guide showing each step. How to use the website on the day of tournament is described here.
Past Tournaments
2023 Aurora Fall Open Tournament Report
Fox Valley Youth League
CANCELLED until further notice. Meets weekly on Sunday from 8:30 – 11:00 am. More information can be found here…
Open Gym Information
Dates on which Open Gym is Cancelled in 2024
March 31; April 12 & 14; May 24, 26, & 31; July 5 & 7; Aug 30; Sept 1; Nov 22 & 24; Dec 13 & 27
The Adult Table Tennis Open Gym is a Fox Valley Park District program for patrons 13 years old and older. Patrons 13 – 17 years old require a parent or a guardian to be present at all times when the child plays. The open gym is held on Fridays from 6:30 – 8:30 pm and Sundays 8:30 am – 10:30 am at the Eola Community Center. In addition, it is held at the Prisco Community Center located at 150 W Illinois Ave, Aurora on Wednesdays from 5:30 – 8:30 PM. The cost at both locations is $5 for Aurora residents and $7 for non-residents. If you are not sure if the open gym will meet on a given day please contact the Eola Community Center front desk at 630-851-8990 and ask if Open Gym Table Tennis will be held that day. If you plan to go to Prisco call (630) 859-8606 to check if table tennis is open.
While we are a USATT affiliated table tennis club we do not collect any fees from patrons. The park district runs the open gym program and they collect the fees.
On a typical night we get 25 – 35 players so you will be able to find someone to play with. We setup all 12 tables in 3 rows so 24 players can play at the same time. The courts are 13 ft wide and 28 ft long.
Places
The Eola Community Center
555 S. Eola Rd.
Aurora, IL 60504
630-851-8990
We play in the north side of the main gym.
150 W Illinois Ave, Aurora, IL 60506
(630) 859-8606
We play in the exercise room very close to the front desk.
Parking
The parking lot around the park district building may fill up due to a multitude of park district activities. If you don’t find a free spot, you can park in the adjacent church’s parking lot, just south of the E.C.C.
Cost
Daily fee for adult Aurora residents is $5, non-residents $7. If you don’t have a park district ID yet, the front desk personnel will make you one for free on the spot. You must have another photo ID to prove you are who you claim to be and also sign a waiver form protecting park district from lawsuits. They will not sell you daily pass without the park district ID. If you loose this ID they can make you a new one for $5. You can pay with a credit card at the front desk.
Once you pay they will give you a colored paper bracelet to indicate that you paid. There are no club dues or annual memberships. However, you can buy a monthly individual open gym membership allowing you to play table tennis and use the gym with weights room for $33 per month. This will be billed to your credit card monthly. Please check at the front desk if the monthly membership price is still available and priced as mentioned above.
Club Rules
To play on a table we don’t put paddles next to a table like some clubs do. Instead, we use the yellow board shown below to reserve play at a table. The board is usually put on the bleachers behind the barriers facing the tables. If you like the action on a particular table put your park district ID card or some other card in the slot for that table number. If there are cards in that slot already, put yours behind them and wait your turn. Tables don’t have numbers on them but are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 from right to left in the first row and then 5, 6, 7, 8 in the second row. Then 9, 10, 11 & 12 in the last row.
The winner stays at the table, and you take a place of the looser. Please take your card with you while you play. Some people forget it and then leave the club without their card. We frown upon players who move their card to another slot while they play at another table to shorten their waiting time.
If there are no people waiting for a table you can play as long as you want, but please watch the board occasionally. If there is someone waiting you need to start the match promptly. If you just got to the table and people are waiting behind you, take no more than 5 minutes to warm up and start the match. If you don’t want to wait and there is room to setup another table simply ask the park district staff member sitting by the computer station in the other corner of the gym and and he will roll out another table for you. If you see that the players are not starting the match just walk over and ask if they are playing yet because you are waiting. This needs to be done usually for players in the second or third row of tables because the board is quite far for them so don’t see they can’t see it too well.
On particularly busy nights with 30+ players present, each player is limited to 2 matches at the table. So if you win one match you stay to play another match. Regardless of whether you win or lose the second match you must leave to let other players play.
Table setup
On January 4th, 2022 the Park District took delivery of 10 brand new, blue Donic Waldner Classic 25 tables and in March 2023 two more identical tables.
The tables are rolled out by the park district staff but we need to set them up and attach the nets. The steps for setting up Donic table are:
- Take the net set posts and net out of their storage on the back of the table and set them on the ground.
- Pull the halves away at least 2 feet, so you don’t scratch the surface of the other half when unfolding the first half.
- Pull up on the red bar near the playing edge of the table to unlock the table and lower it.
- Repeat this with the other half.
- Pull the halves close together and line them up. Then lift one half up a bit, bring it closer and drop it so the two halves are mated together using the plastic teeth. Repeat the same procedure on the other side.
- Install the net posts and net. Use the net cord to tension the net very well or else it will have different height at different points. Use the net measure to measure net height and adjust as necessary using knobs located below the posts. The stick is stored in the pocket located under the light blue net set storage.
To take down these tables:
- Revert the process of installing the net and set it aside.
- Lift up one halve to separate the teeth and pull the half away but only far as needed to separate the the halves. Repeat the same on the other side.
- Reach under the table and pull on the red bar to unlock the hinges which hold the legs in vertical position, then pull the half up without releasing the bar. Once the table is fully vertical release the red bar to lock the table in vertical position.
The park district staff takes down the nets , folds the tables and puts them back in storage for us at the end of the open play.
Paddles and Balls
We don’t have paddles to give out or rent. You can buy a beginner paddle at the Sports Authority but I recommend contacting one of the table tennis equipment stores listed on our website. They can help you choose the right paddle for your style of play and skill level.
In 2016 a new plastic (also known as poly) ball became the official ball to be used at the tournaments and they are almost exclusively made in white color. We play with such plastic balls of best quality i.e. 3 star. These balls have the most perfect round shape and therefore received 3 star quality rating. We like JOOLA, Nittaku or Butterfly balls. White balls are easier to see on our black tables but you may find the orange ones better. The new plastic ball are 40+ mm in diameter so if you have a ball look for 40+ label on it. The old celluloid balls had 40 mm and were marked 40.
If you don’t have a ball – don’t worry – your partner will have balls or in the worst case you can borrow a ball from other players.
Coaching
Coaching is available in group lessons held on Saturdays. See coaching page for more information
Contact
If you have questions about our club you may contact: Swavek Lorenc at swaveklorenc@yahoo.com.
fvttc.org 