In 2011 NHS Grampian contacted Aberdeen & District Table Tennis Association (ADTTA) with the idea of promoting the sport as a healthy activity for over 60s. In June 2011 it was included as a sport in the first NHS-sponsored Golden Games at Aberdeen Sports Village. A series of free tasters were promoted enthusiastically by the Sports Village and these proved so popular a weekly session was started in autumn 2011. Numbers gradually increased to more than 40 players per session on 14 tables and by 2013 ASV agreed to start a second session.

Table tennis has changed my life

Evergreens’ session attendee

By January 2015, close collaboration with Sport Aberdeen (an agency of Aberdeen City Council) resulted in 6 more sessions starting in Aberdeen City. More than 120 keen players attended every week at Aberdeen Sports Village and the Sports Centres at Jesmond, Peterculter, Westburn and Torry. New venues were also springing up in Aberdeenshire at Westhill, Turriff, Ellon, Crathes and Inverurie. In the meantime, the National Governing Body Table Tennis Scotland realised the potential benefits for older people and used the Aberdeen experience as a template with the aim of introducing Over 50s TT throughout Scotland.

A session was also started at the Kincorth Sports Centre in 2016. One of the leaders in 2016 was George Urquhart who had been instrumental as an Aberdeen City Councillor in getting the finance for building the Kincorth Sports Centre 30 years before in 1986.

This press cutting from 2005 recalls the opening of the Centre in 1986 when George with frying pan (on the right) battled with Aberdonian Richard Yule who was an outstanding international table tennis player for Scotland at that time. To bring the story up to date in 2026, George at well over 80 years young is still leading the Kincorth TT sessions enthusiastically and Richard Yule is the current CEO of the National Governing Body, Table Tennis Scotland!

In 2018 Radio Scotland featured the ASV sessions in an interview at ASV with Dick Ferro, the Development Coordinator for ADTTA. Positive comments by some of the Evergreen players were also broadcast.

After the hiatus of the Covid pandemic, attendance is now getting back to previous levels and there are around 20 venues in the North East of Scotland (see Where to Play page), with new sessions in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Mintlaw starting up recently.

Charlie Flint was the moving force in 2011 behind the formation of the Evergreens group at Aberdeen Sports Village (ASV) and ensured that it went from strength to strength since then, introducing untold numbers of people to a more active lifestyle and a welcoming community. Sadly Charlie passed away in January 2026 and his family have generously donated a trophy to commemorate his name and recognise the huge contribution he made to table tennis not only in the Aberdeen area but also more widely in Scotland (see Tribute to Charlie Flint article). His wife Brenda and sons Alan, Stuart and Chris have agreed that the Award should be linked to the ASV Evergreens Group. The family and the Committee of Aberdeen & District TT Association (ADTTA) have decided on the following criteria to choose the winner each year:

“The award should be given to a table tennis player in the Evergreens group at Aberdeen Sports Village (ASV) who has contributed significantly in any of the following ways:

• To maintaining the ethos of the ASV Evergreens community of TT players,
• To running the Evergreens TT sessions at ASV,
• To promoting participation in the sessions by the general public or
• To encouraging improvement in standards of play.

The ASV TT Evergreens community should choose who is to receive the Award which would be presented at the AGM of Aberdeen & District TT Association each year.”

The first recipient of the Award in May 2026 was Dick Ferro who had been a colleague of Charlie’s for many years and helped to set up and lead the ASV Evergreens group since it started.

In 2014, a care home resident regularly attended one of the over 50s sessions at Jesmond with his carer and enjoyed it enormously. As a result, ADTTA suggested to Aberdeen City’s Wellbeing Team that other care homes or sheltered housing residents might benefit. An additional activity for residents was an attractive idea to management so grants were obtained in 2017 and 2018 from Active Aberdeen Partnership and the TTS Community Fund. A table, net, bats and balls were provided to 8 venues and expenses paid for an ADTTA volunteer to give initial guidance for a few weekly sessions. All the feedback from those taking part was positive although staff training was needed to demonstrate how to feed the ball to players with limited mobility to maximise their enjoyment and minimise the risk of injury.

John Dickie led the project at Denmore: “The benefits to participants’ well-being in their increased social interaction and in personal achievement is tangible and therapeutic.”

The atmosphere was extremely positive, with lots of light-hearted banter, singing (with piano accompaniment) and story-telling.

John Dickie, table tennis session at Lord Hays Court Sheltered Housing

Rae Ferro reported on the Tor-na-Dee sessions: “About 8-10 residents played table tennis on each occasion and several more enjoyed sitting and watching and joining in the fun. It was noticeable that even the spectators reacted to amusing and unexpected incidents and contributed to the positive atmosphere.”

There is a huge potential to develop “Evergreen” groups in communities even with modest populations. There may be opportunities to obtain grants for equipment (tables, bats, etc) through local environmental projects such as windfarms. These community groups can form the nucleus of a table tennis club which becomes self-sustaining. Further developments might include one or two members taking coaching qualifications such as the Introductory or Level 1 courses, and thus helping ADTTA development officers to run taster sessions in local schools, as well as improving standards in their club.