There is a new club that has arrived at Fargo North. This club is the peak of athletics; the one thing that everyone must learn at some point in their life. This club is the Ping-Pong club.
Dylan and Brady Demers created this club because they wanted people to have a safe place to play Ping-Pong and have fun. Dylan and Brady started getting into Ping-Pong (seriously at least) when COVID hit. In fact, they would play every day. That was about three years ago, and the brothers still try to play Ping-Pong every day.
In regards to who is better, an ‘anonymous student’ gave this statement: “Dylan is so good at Ping-Pong and so much better than his brother, Brady. There is no one better than Dylan at Ping-Pong. I look up to him.”
This club isn’t just for the most serious Ping-Pong players. Beginners and casual players can also come and hang out while playing. “If you want to get better seriously, you can absolutely come. If you want to just play and chill as a beginner, that’s totally cool,” said senior co-founder Dylan.
The club mainly does small games between the members, while also doing tournaments. Dylan expressed his desire to play against other ping-pong clubs at other high schools due to the fact that there is no state Ping-Pong tournament for high schoolers. Unfortunately, the schools around us have either disbanded their clubs or never had them in the first place.
The club isn’t just loved by the founders, but also by the members. Freshman member Thomas Webb said others should join the club because “It’s a fun activity, and you can just be with so many other fun people while you do it.”
Ping-Pong started in the late 19th century in England. It was mostly played by middle-class Victorian society. It would’ve been played using a cork as a ball, cigar boxes as bats, and books as the net. The first table tennis tournament was organized in Hungary in 1897 and was held in 1901. It has been an Olympic sport since 1988 in Seoul.
Why? According to the Sport and Art Educational Foundation, “In 1988, table tennis finally became recognized as an Olympic sport and has drawn record crowds ever since. The game can be played at any level and regardless of skill level, it develops quickness of mind, faster reflexes, and uniquely activates portions of the brain that no other sport does.” It is incredibly beneficial to health and provides a good and casual way to be social.
Now, it is a very popular sport, played all over the world by all ages. It is a household staple and can be played as seriously or as casually as wanted. If anyone in your life doesn’t know how to play Ping-Pong, knock some sense into their head with a plastic ball and teach them.
Overall, the Ping-Pong club is an amazing place for people to come and hang out while learning to get better. It’s a very welcoming place and is a great spot for those who want to play but don’t have a table or someone to play with. All players, casual and serious, can play Ping-Pong with the very best (Dylan). After all, Ping-Pong is the greatest sport (and yes it is a sport, no arguments accepted).

SIDEBAR OR CAPTION:
The name ‘Ping-Pong’ comes from the sound of the bat (ping) and the bounce on the table (pong).