The players of table tennis in Bariloche are still waiting that the Municipality allows them to resume the activity.
The local teacher Paulina González reported that days ago she presented the protocol to the municipal authorities with the idea that it be approved in the short term, for the boys to go back to training. And, above all, play.
“On Friday I sent the protocol to see if they authorize us to return to activity “, Paulina said.
The pandemic, caused by the new coronavirus, put players in almost all sports disciplines to the test, who had to adapt to the new reality.
He said that he had to resort, along with his father Jorge, who is also a renowned coach in the city, to virtual classes by zoom.
“It was something totally new for me and my old man and also for the players and it demanded that we have to get used to the internet platform”, He explained.
Paulina said that in order to organize the work in a virtual way, she asked the Argentine Table Tennis Federation for help.
There, he got the routines dictated by the physical trainer of the Argentine team. But that information had to be molded to the reality of the Bariloche boys. That was another challenge.
He stated that the work was focused on coordination and speed activities. It was the aspects that they prioritized in order to maintain the link with the players in the city.
Anyway, not everyone joined. It is that the compulsory social isolation took away the possibility of playing. Thus, they were left without the essence of the sport. “The kids are desperate to get back to playing at a table,” said Paulina.
He noted that there are not many children who have the possibility of having a table in their homes. And if they do, they lack the friction of competition with their peers.
“We have a small group in Bariloche that has a very nice level and it is a pity that we still do not have the OK # to return to training,” he lamented.
He said that between 18 and 20 players make up the stable group. Paulina stated that this week they are working with the boys on everything related to foot coordination. But they also do exercises to strengthen the legs, the abdominal area, and arm strength. The idea is that the physical routine is as entertaining as possible. Paulina said that she has taken several exercises from her sister Aldana González, who trains by zoom with the Argentine table tennis team.
He assured that the workouts last between an hour and an hour and a half, three times a week.
He said that these weeks he took advantage of his free time to do online training with teachers from other cities in the country.
“These meetings help us to share experiences and propose alternatives,” he said.
He revealed that one of the ideas that came up in those meetings was to put together a table tennis manual for beginners. Boys long for tournaments. To play. The last championship was played last December. On that occasion, Thiago Mrakovich was champion in the U-13 Promotional category.
For this reason, Paulina regretted that due to sanitary restrictions the Grand Prix that would be played last September in Bariloche, with national and Chilean players, was suspended. It was a good opportunity to meet players of a very good level. “The boys were good. That is why I am so sorry to be standing up ”, he admitted.
A sport that keeps the distance
Professor Paulina González said yesterday that the protocol that she had presented to the municipal authorities has the necessary guidelines to comply with health prevention measures.
Anyway, he observed that the distancing is fulfilled because the boys play at a table that is 2.10 meters long.
He explained that the idea is for each player to play in their space, which will be demarcated by a corralito formed by the fences they use in tournaments.
Each player must have their balls and clean them with alcohol gel at the end of each game.
Paulina pointed out that the idea, in principle, is to resume with workouts of no more than 45 minutes.
“Each of the boys with their bottle of water, their towel and their alcohol gel,” he said.
