KCFreePress.com

In the same way that ping pong helped pave the way for improved American relations with China, an organization in Kansas City is drawing together people of all nations, ages and professions to take part in the time-honored traditions of table tennis, camaraderie and cocktails.

Harling's Upstairs Table Tennis Club, which convenes every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Harling's Upstairs Bar & Grill, is the largest USATT-sanctioned league in Missouri as well as the local paddle-ground for enthusiasts from Brazil, South Africa, Lithuania, Mongolia, India, Micronesia and other countries.

With the popularity of ping pong driving a chic club in New York, a slew of training centers in California and a new company in Chicago, Harling's Upstairs founder Matt McGee is putting the Kansas City bar on the map as the best place to just hang out and enjoy the sport.

"Ping pong Fight Club — that's kind of what it is," McGee said. "It's just a ragtag group of guys that come up here and like to have some cocktails, but at the same time take their ping pong pretty seriously."

The league evolved from a July 2008 barbecue when McGee and friends decided to buy a ping pong table and set up an impromptu 16-person tournament in his Brookside living room. The informal weekend tournaments soon outgrew the house, and when Harling's general manager Chris O'Connor offered McGee use of the bar, the league was born.

Today the league has more than 100 members, with a core group of 15 to 20 players showing up each week to take part in double-elimination tournaments. Players compete in a best-of-three series of games, with the winner being the first to reach 11 points. McGee, who works as a market analyst for a local company, maintains the league's profile through the USATT Web site, sending out a detailed stat sheet each week noting player performance and improvement.

In addition to its strong international representation — much of which is made up from students and alumni at Park University — Harling's Upstairs is notable for the variety of styles and skill levels on display.

"We have all varieties of skill levels and styles of play, from people playing a let-it-rip, wide stance that's more like tennis, to a penhold grip, which is more of an Asian style of play," McGee said.

In contrast to the chic furnishings at Spin ping pong club in New York, the decor at Harling's consists of old couches, empty boxes and beer lights that look like they only see action every other St. Patrick's Day. For league members, however, the worn furnishings and laid-back atmosphere at Harling's only enhance what McGee calls the "basement nostalgia" aspect of ping pong.

When Brian Brooker, Chief Idea Officer of advertising agency Barkley, heard about a table tennis league being held in a bar, he declared himself all-in. Brooker became a regular, and last year he established the newest of the league's three annual tournaments, the Barkley Open.

"My favorite thing about the league is that on any given day, any of the top ten players can win a tournament." Brooker says. "For all of us who weren't good enough to make the varsity squad in high school, ping pong gives us hope."

In addition to the Holmes Road Open — which is modeled on the original tournament at McGee's house and takes place off-site — Harling's hosts the Barkley Open and the Harling's Winter classic, which this year drew about 70 people to the bar the day after Christmas.

"The tournaments are really more of a big party," McGee said of the event, which included a championship jacket for the winner and consolation games of beer-pong for those who bowed out early.

"The competition can get tense, and guys do get a little vocal," McGee acknowledged. "But the game always ends with the two players shaking hands."

Harling's Upstairs Table Tennis Club is open to the public. League play takes place every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Harling's Upstairs Bar & Grill, 3941-A Main Street. Pick-up games are also available.

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