By Abbey Cannan
Table tennis has kept Ari Conis of Castaways Beach fit and thriving, celebrating his 90th birthday with Noosa Seniors Table Tennis Club.
The club’s oldest and active player was joined by 40 fellow club members to wish him many more serves and games ahead at Noosa Leisure Centre on 26 June.
Ari said, “It was fantastic. What they did for me was unbelievable. I’ve never had that before. They’re very nice people.“
Ari said in his thank you speech that he looks forward to a similar event for his 100th birthday.
“I’ve been playing for 35 years. It keeps me alive. I love the game,“ he said.
“It’s good for my brain and good for the exercise. I’m 90 and I’m still here and I think it’s helping me keep living on.“
The club has 84 active members who play competitive doubles three times a week at the Noosa Leisure Centre.
“It’s very popular. We have new people wanting to join all the time because it’s an indoor game,“ Ari said.
“I came to Noosa in 1979 and my friend who lived here took me to the National Park and I fell in love with Noosa. I’ve been playing table tennis ever since then.
Ari can still surprise those that forget that his years of practice backed up by a variety of spin shots can still win points and games, even if he is slowing down… a little.
“The hardest part of a game is playing with a better player. I can’t win every game; I win some, I lose some, but it’s all fun,“ he said.
Breathing down Ari’s neck is another 89-year-old, who will also turn 90 in September, and another half dozen very active and skilled octogenarians that set an amazing example of fitness despite age – use it or lose it, as they say.
Spin can beat agility, and reading the game is a skill that the older players have in abundance.
