LOOP AT WORK Sara Sutcliffe Table Tennis England Chief Executive

Table Tennis England and Loop A bit about me, Table Tennis England and Loop WORKPLACE SPORT AND ACTIVITY increasingly busy lifestyles, difficult to find the time to be as active as we want to be, takes sport right to people, and brings people together and creates a sporting habit (for life) HISTORY OF TT IN WORKPLACE Factory Leagues etc

“If you’re spending 40 odd hours a week at work you’ve got to have a break every so often otherwise you’d get faded and jaded; our table tennis table is there, so let’s go whack some balls around, then get back to what you’re doing with fresh eyes”. Table tennis lends itself really nicely to the workplace as; Doesn’t require much space Is relatively quiet Very inclusive Good fun and very sociable Doesn’t take very long People don’t have to get changed/require showers afterwards Can be done year round WE HAVE CREATED A WORKPLACE PRODUCT/INITIATIVE BECAUSE OF THIS, BUT TT IN WORKPLACE ALREADY HAPPENS WITHOUT US; Large corporates with tables e.g. Innocence Drinks, PillBox London, Google, Hootsuite, Sport Lobster Table Tennis in our office; “Putting a table tennis table into our own offices was an obvious step, but the response has been great. Within the staff we have some regular table tennis players and some complete novices but everyone enjoys having a go. Some people are really rather good – and some like to think they are good! We have run lunchtime ladders, knockout tournaments and ‘beat the robot’ competitions as well as just having a hit. As the Chief Executive I get a lot out of seeing and hearing my staff having fun and interacting with each – a bit of healthy competition has definitely developed. It’s quite fun to challenge a client or customer to a quick hit when they come to our offices as well, a great ice breaker”.   WE HAVE JUST TRIED TO MAKE IT CHEAPER AND EASIER FOR COMPANIES TO GET INVOLVED AND, HAVE CREATED RECOURCES TO ENSURE IT ISNT JUST A SHORT TERM FAD. Hugh Byrne - Form IT

‘Nothing’ and ‘being too busy’ stopped participants playing more Piloted in 5 Workplaces Oct ‘14 – table, bats, balls and basic resources 77 participant responses; 62% male 38% female The majority were 25-34 years old Playing Motivations 94% of participants had been physically active in the previous month ‘Nothing’ and ‘being too busy’ stopped participants playing more Before creating a product we piloted it in five workplace last year, with lots of success. These are some of the findings

Successful and popular Other learning; Decision Makers Ping Pong Pioneers Competition Staff routine Successful and popular Must talk to the Decision Maker to get table in and, helps to create a culture in the business whereby it’s acceptable to play Needs someone/multiple people in the company promoting and encouraging the use of the table Fun but structured competitions lead to the creation of playing behaviours (regularity of play) Encourages staff to stay on site during lunchtimes and after work & sends a message that staff do not have to stay at their desks all day

Loop at work video: https://youtu.be/tZib0zhSAqY?list=PLM_93WJxjFIxyPhfyhJOeOVkthVjtqQ2M

Launched Loop at Work in May 47 packages sold to date ‘’It has proved such a success. Every lunchtime staff are playing and even staying around after work to continue to play. What a great initiative!’’ Liz Verrall - Chief Executive Berks & Bucks Football Association Limited Launched Loop at Work in May with packages starting from just £160 all inc. thanks to SE Capital money Have now sold 47 packages to companies nationwide, from Recruiters to Law Firms and County Councils to Web Developers

Customer Service and ‘Add Ons’ Thank you CSPs Sales and Promotions Customer Service and ‘Add Ons’ Thank you CSPs Sales staff – about to appoint Sales person for 2 months and dedicate more staff time – training from Badminton England Run numerous Promotions; £30 off for staff and members throughout Sept Shape Up Sept – prize sponsor Prize for CSP who sells most packages Mailshot businesses near Ping! tables Advert in Touchline Magazine BHF Interview in N/L SE Tweet (65.4k) LinkedIn About to run; Free table branding in October Christmas Party offer with Pongathon – Early bird Thank you to CSPs for help with promotion and sales – incentivised with Prize of a package for office and 3 x IPP packs to give away Lincolnshire Sport; Active Devon; Coventry Solihull and Warwickshire, and; Leap all sold packages. Lots have been tweeting and have posted information on websites

PLEASE KEEP HELPING! We need more help! We have a target to sell 150 packages to workplaces by end of March and are only 1/4 of the way there Please keep Tweeting Please put some information on your website about Loop at Work and Loop in the Clubhouse, our new offer for community sports clubs with clubhouses Please invite our staff to your business events so that we can do demonstrations and promote Loop at Work e.g. SportsAid Please use our Loop at Work packages as prizes Please share with us good news stories and case studies of Table Tennis in the Workplace