It should be a beautiful day for Ping Pong Alkmaar. For the first time in 35 years, a club from Alkmaar is playing table tennis again in the Eredivisie. The team started energetically against Hattem, but the curtain fell after only one game. The referee thought the Olympic floor was too dangerous and stopped the game.
Mark Smith, one of the players of the first team of Ping Pong Alkmaar, once taught in London. There he played on the floor used during the 2012 Olympics. The table tennis player was then given the mat and decided to put it down in the hall during the first competition match in the Eredivisie.
Long preparation
The volunteers of Ping Pong Alkmaar spent days giving the gym on the Tochtwaard a makeover. A new light installation, tinted windows and a brand new floor were to provide the location with a new impulse. But because the floor was bumping and sliding, the arbitration decided that everything had to come out. The wooden floor also did not meet the requirements, so it was decided to stop the game.
The referee was not available for comment. It is still unclear when Ping Pong Alkmaar’s match against Hattem will resume.