Small, plastic orbs dart through the air at lightning speed; with the smack of a paddle, Harrison Ruskin, a senior business administration major, sends a ping pong ball hurtling toward Jeffrey Bessen, a sophomore business administration major and they begin an intense rally until one of them claims the point.

This semester marks Ruskin’s first leading the university’s pingpong club as president, alongside vice president John Pebbles, a sophomore business administration major. Chapman Ping Pong meets Mondays from 8-10 p.m. in Argyros Forum room 119A, and while the matches can get competitive, participants are more focused on having a positive experience.

“We have a wide range of skill levels so anyone’s welcome,” Ruskin said. “Some people take it more seriously than others and play more often outside of the club as well. But, definitely, a majority of people just come out once a week to the club and play for fun.”

J.R. Easley, a freshman business administration major, plays for the tennis team at Chapman, and he said that pingpong is essentially a “smaller version” of a tennis match.

“It’s pretty low-key and laid back, but there’s definitely an element of competition. We’ll friendly trash-talk each other,” Easley said. “Sometimes the games will get really really intense and there will be like a whole crowd of people standing around one table watching the game. So it’s pretty cool.”

Ruskin had the club handed down to him from a previous student and was looking for a vice president for this fall. Pebbles only recently started playing ping pong but took up the position because of the connection that he made with Ruskin last spring.

“For me, I started last year. I was at (Chapman) Grand, so I needed to find something to do,” Pebbles said. “I met Harrison at Grand, started playing ping pong with him… So for me, I’m not at really a competitive level yet, (I’m) just more playing for fun with friends.”

So far, the club has seen incredible success. During the first couple of weeks, the club saw a turnout of approximately 70 members. The attendance has fluctuated over the semester, but Ruskin said that they’ve still had a consistent show of of people

When asked about the potential of being able to compete against other schools, Ruskin said that this is part of the club’s plan, but now there is a greater focus on building solid and committed membership, and also increasing the skill levels of players.

“I think if we get more competitive players in the future, we can start looking into (tournaments against other schools), but I think that won’t be until a couple of years down the line,” Ruskin said.

The Ping Pong Club sets up three tables in AF119 for students to play. During the first hour of their meeting on Nov. 29, six people showed up, but during the second half of the meeting more individuals started rolling in until the club had about 15 people. 

Ruskin said that the way that the club runs ping pong games is “round robin,” where everyone rotates and plays against each other so all students get the opportunity to play regardless of their experience.

“There’s just such a variety of skill levels that it’s not really feasible to have a tournament,” Ruskin said. “We have so many beginners and we also have a lot of players that are really good. So we just keep it casual.”

While big sports competitions like the Olympics include ping pong as one of its events, there is a lot of debate over whether ping pong is considered more of a table game or a sport. 

Pebbles said he considers it a sport. For now, he plays the sport casually, but over time as he improves he wants to become more competitive. Ruskin also considers ping pong as a sport, and pointed out the physical aspects like footwork, and also the mental side of it and being able to deal with pressure and keep emotions in check.

Easley said that a lot of his skills in tennis translate to playing ping pong because there are a lot of similarities when it comes to strokes and the way to hit the ball.

“When you get to higher levels of ping pong there’s a lot of running around you have to do, and it’s basically like you’re playing tennis,” Easley said. “The amount of running that you have to do, it’s pretty crazy… and plus it’s in the Olympics, so definitely a sport.”

Overall, the club has a good mix of competitiveness and is a friendly environment for students to participate. Bessen said the students that show up to ping pong events create a welcoming atmosphere.

“When I’m not playing, or when I just get there, everybody is willing to introduce themselves openly and right away,” Bessen said. “The vibes are top tier … everyone who comes is really nice.”