Not having witnessed the incident you mention, it sounds as if you were walking behind or beside players during a point in a match. I can’t think of any other reason for the reaction you received.

If that’s the case, you made an error in table tennis etiquette. While I personally wouldn’t have grabbed your shoulder, some people are more “touchy feely” than others and you were violating their “space”. I extend my apologies that you were offended by that.

I’ll be emailing you after I post this response for more info.

Regarding which table you were placed on, if you don’t have an established club rating or an established USATT rating, we don’t have much to go on.

The players on the table above you may have also been able to beat the players on your table with their non-playing hand. Which of these established players should we have bumped in favor of you as a player of unknown skill level.

It takes a few weeks for a new player to work his or her way up or down to the correct level if we are off on the initial rating.

I’m sorry your experience wasn’t a positive one. Speaking from personal experience of about 15 years on and off attending the club, I can only say that your experience is the exception rather than the rule.

If you ever change your mind and decide to visit again, look me up.

Best wishes for continued growth and success for your Johnstown club. If I’m ever in the area, I’ll swing by.

Being Truthful.

As they say, your sister is “good people”.

I’m looking forward to testing my game against yours again this fall.

Nobody else in the club pushes and chops as consistently or heavily as you do, at least nobody under 1800 USATT.

As frustrating as it is to play against your style, it’s a necessary evil to help us improve.

The variety of styles in our club is great experience for those of us that play in tournaments.

See you soon.

And yeah, I was hurting for the next couple days from standing for so long. It was like taking an 8 hour walk. Strange that I can play for just as long and not be sore, just tired.

You told me between your semifinal and final match that you would send your gold medal(if you won it) to your sister, but I didn’t want to get too personal here without your consent.

Thanks for spreading the word about this site and our sport in general. Some day soon, I’m hoping those of us in the North Hills have a club close by to attend.

I may drop a line to Team Pittsburgh, but you’ve probably covered at least a few of those.

Congrats again on a well deserved medal.

We’ll see you in the fall. LOL, no AC in the Home Ec building.

Winning the Gold Medal was a real thrill for me particularly since it was my first Transplant Games and I really didn’t know what to expect. As you know from talking to my wife - Sue, I received my kidney transplant from my sister Jana 6-1/2 years ago. You may be interested to know that I sent my gold medal to Jana for if it had not been for her “gift of life”, I would not have been able to participate in those 2008 Transplant Games…or any games for that matter.

You might want to make contact with the head of the Team Pittsburgh and get the names of the Team Pittsburgh members who entered the Table Tennis events as they could all be potential members of the SPTTC. Many of them never heard about the SPTTC.

Have a successful summer season at the club. I will re-join the club after the hot summer…..unless you tell me the Home Economics Building has been air-conditioned. If that were to happen, I would pitch horseshoes at only one of the two horseshoe leagues at which I currently play.

Sincerely,
Jeff Mazur
(2008 Transplant Games Gold Medal Winner)

Thank you Ed.