Val Jones confesses over a steaming cup of tea, that she is not sure why TTNZ would want to do an article with her. “There are much better players than me” she professes. To us, Val’s story is special, and as she turns 80 this year, she is a testimony to the fact that table tennis truly is a sport for all, for life. 

Val grew up in the small farming district of Springfield Valley near Whangarei. At 14 years old, she began playing table tennis once a week. “I went to a little hall on a Friday night, I was just so keen!” Val’s parents didn’t have a car, so she had to make her own way to the hall to play her new found sport. Wrapped up in her coat, Val braved the cold, dark winter conditions, navigating her way down an unformed road in the countryside with her torch and a spare set of clothes. Finding the cows intimidating at night she would make the three kilometre journey to state highway 1 to be picked up by fellow players who drove her the rest of the way to the club.

As Val reminisces about the early days of table tennis, she brings out a folder of carefully preserved newspaper articles and finds the one she is looking for. The article from the 1968 Northern Advocate reads ‘Northland takes both men’s, women’s titles’. It is one of Val’s fondest memories of her former table tennis years. Northland were not the favourites, but defied the odds to take out the men’s and women’s titles at the New Zealand Table Tennis Teams Championships. Val, who at the time was Val Carter, receives a special mention for her outstanding play in both the singles and doubles, helping her team to Northland’s first ever victory at the championships in Christchurch. 

Life became busy for Val. Raising a family full time and playing other sports meant she didn’t pick up a table tennis bat for decades, only finding her love for the sport again when she was 65. She decided to join the Waitemata Table Tennis association in Auckland thinking “I don’t need to be competitive, I am happy playing socially” however, Val’s competitive streak has not left her and she relishes challenging other players on the table. Rodney Bygrave from Waitemata told Val that she needed a bat with pimples on it. Val credits the pimples for helping transform her backhand into her secret weapon. “Here’s this old lady, playing these young men and beating them” she laughs. She confesses she doesn’t know how the pimples help her backhand, but recognises that not all of the credit should go to the bat. “I am the one holding it” she grins. 

"The thing I love most about table tennis is that I am able to do it. I had to give up tennis because of my knees, squash too." Val has an annual pass and plays Table tennis at Waitemata three times a week. She has also begun competing at the New Zealand Veteran Championships. “I only started playing the NZ Vet Open championships in 2020. I played more competitively after my husband passed away 8 years ago. I have never been that great at table tennis, but it is something I can do” says a modest Val. In 2021, Val teamed up with Ngaire Garrett whom she had last played Table Tennis with 50 years ago at the 1971 South Island Championships. These lifelong connections are something she appreciates about the sport.

Val turns 80 this year and played in the over 80s category at the 2023 New Zealand Veteran Championships. Even a major surgery prior to the event couldn’t stop Val from journeying to Nelson to play. Heading down with a group of friends, Val reflects that “It was the most enjoyable weekend I have had in a long time.” Val teamed up with Esme Grifiths in the ladies over 75 doubles, reuniting with a friend that she played tennis with 35 years ago. 

Val's story is testament to table tennis being a sport for all for life. It is a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities in a social or competitive setting. It is a sport that can help people stay active and healthy throughout their lives. 65 years after she first picked up a table tennis bat, Val is still just as keen as she was when she was 14 years old. The difference is that nowadays she doesn’t have to journey down unformed country roads in the dark to play her sport. 

Article added: Friday 04 August 2023 - Luuka Jones - TTNZ Communications