The Barrow and District Table Tennis League has received a £10,000 grant from Sport England which will be used to network with other organisations and build a sustainable new league.

The Barrow and District league, which covers Barrow, Ulverston and Millom, is looking for schools, community groups and organisations to get in touch with so they can build connections and invigorate the sport across the county.

Chairman Keith Dymond said: “We got the grant before Covid but we didn’t get a chance to get a lot done before everything was shut down.

“We have until the end of the year to spend the grant and we have a lot of ideas.

“The main thing we are looking to do is help existing organisations who may have a table in the corner, mostly schools or village halls who have them.

“We will support them in increasing what they do, maybe give them bats, balls, or nets on loan.

“Maybe loan tables out to them, or come down and do some coaching for them. 

“We are looking to set up a village hall league or an inter-school competition maybe for people to join.

“The ultimate aim is to set up these new leagues and expand the sport. Hopefully make it sustainable.

“We want to get kids away from their PlayStation. The best thing about table tennis is anyone can do it, you don’t have to be young like in football, we have people of all ages join us.

“We are looking for venues to get in touch, and maybe we could get a volunteer from each one who can work with us, and ultimately train to become a qualified coach themselves.

“We are looking for organisations within the district’s range, around 10-15 miles around us. Mainly Barrow, Millom and Ulverston.”

For interest forms get in touch with Keith on keith@btp-cumbria.co.uk.