In New York City, we play in public spaces and our play proposes a broad range of social meanings. In our first piece of the series we call “Urban Play”, Wayne Chin, an academic skills staff member at JSMI, recounts an experience at a thrilling table tennis tournament in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that is as dizzying, fast-paced and unpredictable as the NYC table tennis circuit itself.

December 8th, I needed a sub for the New Jersey Table Tennis Club’s Thursday league on short notice.

One of my FIT students emails me about a membership at a rec center in NYC but in that email she mentions that there’s this tourney at a place called Pips (pipsout.com) in Hipsterville Williamsburg with a first place cash prize of $300, and a second place prize of a $100 gift certificate at a local Apple/electronics store in Williamsburg. She thinks I can win this thing but I know nothing is ever that easy in TT. And there is almost certainly going to be another ringer showing up with a rating. Continue reading Tourney d’Hipsterville →