Cary will get a taste of Olympic glory in early February as the host for its first-ever Olympic trials in table tennis.
The U.S. Olympic Trials will be held February 9-12, with 39 registered qualifiers competing.
The top eight finishers (four men and four women) will be invited back to Cary for the North American Olympic Trials on April 20-22. The U.S. competitors at those trials will face off against the Canadian table tennis representatives, and the winners will head to London for the summer 2012 Olympics.
Table tennis may not be frequently associated with the world of professional sports because of its alter ego of Ping-Pong, a game that teenagers and college students have adopted as their own. But watching these Olympic-caliber table tennis stars is nothing like playing it in your garage.
One of 26 sports featured at the Olympic Games, table tennis has a strong following internationally, particularly in parts of Asia and Scandinavia. More than 19 million Americans also play table tennis.
The Triangle even has two USA Table Tennis sanctioned clubs, including the Cary Table Tennis Association, which is one of the hosts of the Olympic Trials. Cary is also the home of the Cary Cup, an annual table tennis tournament that draws competitors from around the world, which gave Cary a boost in the host city selection process.
The event will be open to spectators with the purchase of a ticket, starting at $5 for Feb. 9, $10 for other single days, or a four-day ticket package for $30. The trials will be held at the Bond Park Community Center, which the event organizers are hoping to fill with spectators. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Olympic Table Tennis Trials website, www.cary2012.com.
Cary Magazine is proud to sponsor the table tennis Olympic trials in Cary.
Read more: http://www.carymagazine.com/social-calendar/cary-host-us-olympic-table-tennis-trials#ixzz1kbTmBbYA
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