THE Horsham Table Tennis Association has found a new home.
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After years of searching for a permanent place and playing out of the Maydale Pavillion, the association has purchased the former home of the Italian Social Club at 11 Harriett Street, Horsham.
The association bought the building after an auction last week for an undisclosed price.
The association’s president Leon Forrest said the purchase was a big move forward in helping grow the association’s numbers and viability.
“The Italian club has done a lot of work over the years for the community, and we want to continue on their legacy if we can,” he said.
“We want the place to be for the community. We cover all age groups, from juniors to seniors, and we want to provide a hub for enjoyment.”
Once we have a base and a home, we can do fundraising and grow the club – the land and position is perfect for us to extend and grow.
- Leon Forrest
Mr Forrest said the association had grown out of the facilities at the Maydale Pavillion.
“People would be amazed how often we use the Maydale Pavillion,” he said.
“We use that for table tennis up to five days a week. The Maydale Pavillion has been used for other things too and we are greatly appreciative to have used that facility, but we have outgrown it.
“It has small toilets and concrete floors and it gets very cold. We need to have reasonable facilities if we want to grow, and that’s the main thing.”
Mr Forrest said having a permanent place the association can call its own would provide it with an opportunity to hold a range of events.
“Once we have a base and a home, we can do fundraising and grow the club – the land and position is perfect for us to extend and grow,” he said.
“We are getting bigger. It’s a good enjoyment sport for everybody. The trouble is, when you don’t have those facilities, you can’t grow. We want to have corporate nights and things like that.
“The place will be used for our tournaments, but also other things. A dance studio currently uses it. It’s only early stages, but we are looking at other options for what the space could be used for. It used to host darts and pool and that seems to have faded away.”
Mr Forrest said the feedback from members of the association had been overwhelmingly positive following the purchase.
“We have a really good team and a lot of great members, so we want to give back to everyone,” he said.
“The feedback from the club has been positive. We needed a home and somewhere to go. We have been trying through other options and finally something has opened up. It’s been a long time in the making.”
An exact timeline has not been set, but Mr Forrest guessed the association would be able to move in to the space later in the year.
“We will be looking to move in later this year but we have a lot of work to do. The space needs a bit of love,” he said.
The association will look at renovating the space, but no plans had been discussed as of yet.
“We think seven to eight tables can fit in there currently, but we need to get in there and see what we have,” Mr Forrest said.
“We don’t know what we can and can’t do with the space at this stage. We will absolutely look at potential renovations. We have a lot of semi-retired people and those who are willing to do some painting or removal if they need to and that’s a great thing about the club.
“Once we are open and the renovations are done, we will have come and try nights and can take enquiries about the usage of the space. Any other community clubs that want to hire or rent it, we can talk about that down the track.”