Greater Manchester players flock to welcoming Double 6’s table tennis event

The best thing about the Double 6’s Competition was not the trophy list. It was the way the Great Northern Ping Hub in Manchester made competitive table tennis feel open, busy and usable for players who are not chasing the top of the county ladder.

On Sunday, April 12, social and lower-league players from across Greater Manchester filled the venue for an event built to be welcoming rather than intimidating. Six tables were used in the Double 6’s format, with organisers sorting players by level in the morning through groups of six rotating across two tables. That gave everyone a fairer read on the field and kept the day moving without the grind of a full tournament bracket.

The afternoon tightened the rhythm further. Players moved into bands of six and every entrant got ten matches, regardless of standard. Every match was best of three, which kept the schedule compact enough for the competition to finish comfortably by mid-afternoon. Daniel Shiu Kam Lui, Tiago Amarelo Lok Ping Hong and Ary Luz Ryszard Smolen emerged as the winners of the three groups, but the real story was the format itself: a day designed to reward turnout, not just the strongest ratings.

Bill Mackie and Pawel Mlynarski kept the event running smoothly, and the organiser push toward the next competition underlined what makes the Great Northern Ping Hub matter. This is not a one-off showcase space. It is a repeatable pathway into organised play, where casual players can step up without having to buy into the full burden of a traditional tournament.

That role has been central since the hub opened on January 25, 2024, at the Great Northern Warehouse as part of the legacy of the inaugural WTT Feeder Manchester. Table Tennis England described it as the first of its kind in England, with seven tables, bats and balls on site, and free play designed to strip away the usual barriers to participation in a central city location.

The numbers since then explain why the model has stuck. Around 300 pupils from 17 schools were scheduled for TT Kidz-based PE lessons, the venue was extended until December 31, 2024 after early demand, and it averaged about 40 participants a day in its first stretch, reaching roughly 2,680 people in just over two months. Table Tennis England also reported 47 new members through the hub, then more than 14,000 people had played there by November 2024, including over 2,300 in coached or activator-led activity. With about 35% of participants being women and girls, the hub has done more than host ping. It has helped build a local scene that keeps bringing people back.