Short
history of STTC senior dinner
We just
concluded our 2017 Senior Dinner on Saturday, December 23. This was I think,
our 24th year. I don't remember exactly when we started it. Many of our club
members or regulars are new and don't know about the history of sunset table
tennis club, senior dinner, why, how and when it started. So this is for your info.
Seniors, in
this context, are defined as kids who were juniors-under 17, stayed with the
program, graduated from high school, went on to college or in their field of
work, became Seniors.
The club
started informally with three 13 year olds, Kevin Zhang, Henry Ng and Mark Liu
at Sunset Recreation Center in the Sunset District of San Francisco in 1986
just a few blocks from my house. The club officially became affiliated with
USATT in 1988. Within the two years, other kids from around the Bay Area joined
so we moved to more spacious center in Glen Park District (just a block away
from our current location). In 2005, we
moved to our current location at St. John School.
Back then,
most of the players were kids, and as time passed, some moved on and some
stayed with the club. The ones who stayed and progressed in table tennis and
academics, went on to college in the Bay area or around the country, and when
they came back for Christmas and New Year, we decided to get together and
catch-up on things.
We started
with just a few, I think in 1993, informally at a local restaurant. But as the numbers grew each year, new batch of kids
becoming college age, we decided to have it at my house or at one of the
student's (my house became too small) so that we won't be constrained by
restaurant business hours. We started
informally, then became more formal with some requirements, and now, back to
informal because the elder seniors have kids of their own to bring.
"Times,
they are a-changing" (Bob Dylan).
Merry
Christmas,
Masaaki
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