The event is to engage with the visit of three Japanese table tennis players with Parkinson’s. They are part of PingPongParkinson-Japan. Kawai-san and Kanie-san have both competed in world championships in Europe over the last 3 years. They will also be visiting Leeds ParkyPING! group, and possibly one or two other groups in England.
The ParkyBoy group took part in a trip to Japan (part funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation) in February 2025. During the visit, they met with groups of Parkinson’s table tennis players near Nagoya (see photo attached), visited projects near Tokyo, which use table tennis as therapy and took part in an ‘England v Japan match’ in Tokyo.
The aim of the visits is to exchange ideas and good practice about using table tennis for people with Parkinson’s, encourage people with Parkinson’s to take part in table tennis, and to show that being diagnosed with Parkinson’s does not have to mean the end of an active life.
The organisers of the event noted: “Playing table tennis with Japanese people with Parkinson’s was a highlight of the trip. I want our visitors to have an equivalent positive experience.”
