The current BBHS Ping Pong club was most recently restarted by senior Logan Smith during his freshmen year, with the vision of being an inclusive place for all students to belong.

“I had the idea because I saw that there was a need for something where people could just go, hang out, have fun,” said Smith, “and I realized there were some tables in the locker room that no one was using. So I asked around, talked to Mr. Bocian, [and] restarted the club.”

The purpose of the group is simple and obvious: to provide a place where students can hang out and play games with their friends in a stress-free environment. Ping pong games provide a good structure for such a club, as there is no inter-school competition and the focus is not on winning.

“It’s really just a low key opportunity for students to connect,” said supervisor Twila McDonnell. “I think it fills that need of just being welcoming…. The vision or the goal for the students comes from the students.”

The club did previously attempt to include competitive games, and hosted a match against O’Dea’s Ping Pong players; however, since then they have decided to stay as an non-competitive club, at least between schools.

“We’re more intramural,” said Smith. “We like to keep things inside the school; we’re not exactly competitive either… but if someone wanted to come along and start that, I’d be more than happy to see it through.”

With Smith graduating at the end of the year, he is taking steps to ensure the club does not fall dormant. Smith is talking with several students who would be interested in taking it over, hopefully with the same spirit of inclusivity, but he also encourages them to take the club in whatever competitive or noncompetitive direction they chose.

The current members appreciate the connection the club offers, and cite it as a low-stress time with friends.

“I would say to anyone who’s thinking of joining: just show up and see if you like it,” said senior member Elise Valdez. “This is a chill club so there isn’t any commitment to go every week, which is the best part.”

Smith summed up the club in a sentence: “We just want people to smile, basically.”

Ping Pong club meets every Friday in front of the trophy case across from Bocian’s office.