Table Tennis for people living with Parkinson’s and other neurodiverse conditions
Registration link: https://form.jotform.com/NSTTC/tt4bh-programming-2025-jan-to-mar
We would like to THANK Via SPORT for funding this program in 2024 with Community Grant program and being part of this successful programming that brings community together
“That’s why it’s so important that we at NSTTC develop opportunities for people living with Parkinson’s and other neurodiverse conditions to be active in a way that is both fun and suitable for them. We hope to grow awareness of playing Table Tennis and the BRAIN benefits that this Sport brings among People with PD and other neurological diseases and create new opportunities to be active.” coach Luba said at recent interview.
Our heartfull Thank you goes to BA BLACKTOP for sponsoring new T-shirts with beautiful NSTTC and MiLTT Logos
“Parkinson’s is more than one disease and everybody responds differently to a disease”, says Bena , 74 👍 She is one of the participants of Table Tennis 4 Brain Health programming at NSTTC…watch her master this Sport and learn new skills while having fun
Peter had a massive stroke in 2015 that left him paralyzed on his entire left side. Visually he was affected by left neglect making it unable to see anything on his left side and with attention deficit. He spent 3 months in hospital. His recovery has included two years of Physiotherapy and three and half years of Hydrotherapy (Physio in the water). Peter’s wife Hege learnt about the neurophysiology benefits of #tabletennis 🏓 and Peter began playing under the guidance and coaching of Luba Sadovska and her team of instructors every Saturday for one hour and fifteen minutes. In just five classes the changes in Peter have been remarkable. His left neglect is minimizing. His attention has changed considerably in all aspects of daily life. He is more optimistic and his reflexes are much better when transferring himself out of bed and from his wheel chair to the car. “ “Table Tennis changed his life towards better and in such short time… We are so very grateful to have found this program and the professional, dedicated and caring staff (coaches)” says Peter’s wife Hege Jahr
Research shows that Table Tennis delays the progression of Parkinson’s symptoms.
Not only motor symptoms can be detected in advanced Parkinson’s. Affected people also suffer from the fact that their ability to function is limited and need help with the activities of daily life. The best form of medicine is exercise and Table Tennis can do it for PWP.
Table Tennis drills/focus/hand eye co-ordination/learning balance and footwork/learning or improving new skill and the repetitive practices have great results for People living with Parkinsons.
Regular physical activity can help manage symptoms of Parkinson’s, but there are particular benefits associated with participation in table tennis.
Reasoning behind this extends to the idea that table tennis is not only aerobic, but requires fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, balance and stimulates various parts of the brain and helps to create new neural pathways.
🏓 It is also known that being active can help a person live well with PD condition helping both their motor and non-motor symptoms.
Recent articles and interviews:
At recent 2023 North Shore Table Tennis Open we had Parkinson’s+ category and 8 athletes competed for the trophies and everyone had so much fun. We had a warm up success where everyone in the tournament participated and enjoyed the environment:
and the competition was intense. The winners of 1st Parkinson’s North Shore Open 2023:
1st Trent MacLean (LA player and CEO of Ping Pong For Good )
2nd place Maurice Freivokh (NSTTC)
3rd Rob Bodie (NSTTC)
TT4EVER 🏓 Fundraising Tournament at NSTTC (BC)
Saturdays Stroke Recovery Table Tennis Group programming
One of our most popular programming HAPPY HANDS ADAPTED Table Tennis for kids and youth
Recently coach Luba travelled to Denmark, Bornholm where she was coaching at Parkinson’s Table Tennis Denmark camp. Experiences and feedback was far beyond her expectations…you can read the full article and watch the interview of Denmark TV2 here:
Coach Luba: “I was recently (June 1-13) in Denmark coaching people with Parkinson which in most cases is a disaease that affects older population. Our Parkinson Table Tennis camp was featured in Denmark TV. This of course made me start the same program in Canada, North Vancouver and around.”
Here is the link to the video:
https://tv2bornholm.dk/artikel/parkinsonpatienter-spiller-bordtennis-paa-bornholm
Parkinson Table Tennis camp practice day 1
Coach Luba teaching footwork to players living with PD
The very nature of table tennis allows for fully inclusive participation, a view shared by Parkinson’s TT community all over the world who are on a mission to change attitudes and improve the quality of life for people affected by the condition.
Our ultimate aim is to help other clubs including ours www.nsttc.ca be more inclusive for people with Parkinson’s and to help club coaches and volunteers feel confident to support this inclusion.
“That’s why it’s so important that we develop opportunities for people with Parkinson’s to be active in a way that is both fun and suitable for them. With our new Table Tennis 🏓 programming we hope to grow awareness of Parkinsons disease in communities in Canada and beyond.
Please email coach Luba at info@nsttc.ca if you have any questions or are interested in more information.
Registration will begin soon .. you have questions? Inquire below ..