Table tennis players dig deep as they smash 24-hour marathon

The players involved were aged from eight to 80, and kept the rally going around the clock.

They have so far raised more than £3,000 for cancer support charity The Hummingbird Centre.

There were players from Fritwell Table Tennis Club, as well as the Banbury and Oxford Table Tennis Leagues who took part.

They raised their bats at 8pm on Friday, April 10, at the charity’s headquarters in Launton, near Bicester, and finally laid them back down at 8pm the following evening.

One of the organisers Ian Critchley, of Fritwell TTC, said, “What a brilliant event! It even got a bit competitive at times, though the scoring went a bit awry in the middle of the night!

“Overall, it was really good fun and there was a lot of laughter from the beginning to end.  We are delighted to have raised over £3,000 so far, but we would love to get this figure up to £5,000. There is still time to donate to our Just Giving Page.”

Paul Harris, one of The Hummingbird Centre’s trustees, said the event bought the community together.

“We had many supporters, friends and family pop in and say hello. Some had never heard of the centre before, but came along after hearing about the challenge to take part and show their support.”

Centre manager Zoe Draper said: “Everyone involved should be incredibly proud. It was a fantastic event and a great opportunity for members of different clubs to meet and play together.

“We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone for their time, commitment and brilliant fundraising - we really appreciate it.

“The money raised from the 24-hour table tennis marathon will enable us to keep supporting people with cancer and their families. As a volunteer-run charity,  we are extremely proud of what we do.”

There’s still time to donate, view https://www.justgiving.com/page/hbc-ttchallenge