"You can get mental health and body health from ping-pong"
Klik her for dansk
By Stacey Goldberg, Communications Intern
Ping-pong has helped create an immersive and fun atmosphere in Trampoline House. Located in the multi zone, it is rare to see the ping-pong table folded up. Instead, the sound of the ping-pong ball hitting the table is a soothing and constant presence in Trampoline House.
In January, David Jason Lou, from China, started a ping-pong workshop in Trampoline House. Ping-pong has brought David a lot of fun in his life and he says it’s kept him young both physically and mentally. He started playing when he was only 6 years old and continued throughout his life thus far.
The idea behind the ping-pong workshop
David says, “Trampoline House is a place where asylum seekers and refugees can relax, get energy, and communicate. I think that ping-pong is the most fun and people who play ping-pong can easily have fun and become happier. So that’s the idea of bringing the ping-pong workshop to Trampoline House. The workshop allows people to jump to a higher level and lets more people play ping-pong and enjoy playing it.”
Trampoline house has a variety of activities happening throughout the day. David explains that his other motive for creating the ping-pong workshop is that “Trampoline House has a lot of language courses, such as English, French, and Arabic. And they have the democracy class, but all these things have to do with mental training, rather than physical training”. Thus, ping-pong gives people physical activity in Trampoline House.
Come along to ping-pong!
The ping-pong workshop is every Friday (except the last Friday of the month) at 2:00–4:00 pm. Ping-pong brings a different energy to Trampoline House.
David (right) organizes ping-pong workshops every Friday in Trampoline House. Photo: Anna Emy
“Some people come to my course because it’s very fun and they get some training and become healthier,” David says. “You can get mental health and body health from ping-pong and it’s a good reason for them to come my class.”
There is no need to be shy if you don’t play ping-pong well. David’s workshop helps serious and fun players of all levels and he says, “I can see many people enjoying when they come to my course. Sometimes many people come to my course, other times not too many, maybe just five people. Some people who come to play are good and some people are just at the first level. It is all different levels. None are professional so I’m teaching them how to have the standard movement.”
Competition is the mission!
David is often challenged by his students and explains, “If it’s a serious player, I don’t give them any chances. But sometimes I’m not so cruel. Sometimes I give them a chance.
David hopes to see more people for ping-pong workshops: “I hope more players come. I think it’s very important that people are challenged and I think competition is really good in life. People need to become strong and it’s good to have exercise and competition to struggle for the good life”.
Let’s see who can be the first to beat David in a match. ∎
Keep an eye out for David's ping-pong workshops and Trampoline House's other activities in our calendar or by signing up to receive our weekly program by email.
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At this year’s Roskilde Festival, Trampoline House’s catering service Sisters’ Cuisine opened their own food stall in the Festival’s food court. It was a great experience, and hopefully a step towards opening a permanent Sisters’ Cuisine restaurant in the future.