Club de Tennis de Table

Apparently table tennis plays an important role in physics, not so much because physicists are interested in the theory of table tennis ball scattering, but probably because it provides useful breaks from their deep intellectual occupation. It seems that many of the greatest physicists took table tennis very seriously. For instance, Heisenberg could not even bear to lose a game of table tennis, Otto Frisch played a lot of table tennis, and had a table set up in his library, and Niels Bohr apparently beat everybody at table tennis. Therefore, as the CERN Table Tennis Club advertises on a poster for the next CERN Table Tennis Tournament: “if you want to be a great physicist, perhaps you should play table tennis”.

Outdoor table at restaurant n° 1

For this reason, and also as part of the campaign launched by the CERN medical service “Move! & Eat better”, to encourage everyone at CERN to take regular exercise, the CERN Table Tennis Club, with the support of the CERN Staff Association, decided to install a table just outside the main cafeteria (Restaurant number 1). This table is in self-service, 4 racquets are available, and you are all encouraged to go and try your skills with the little ball. Either, in defying one of your colleagues or in playing double, which is always a lot of fun.

CERN Table Tennis Tournament

The traditional CERN Table Tennis Tournament will take place at the Meyrin CTT club, which is also the home of the CERN Table Tennis Club, 2 rue de Livron, 1217 Meyrin, on Saturday, August 17, 2013, in the afternoon (starting at 13:30). It is open to all CERN staff, users, visitors and families, including of course summer students, who are strongly encouraged to participate. CERN 2012 champion is Denis Moriaud, a retired CERN staff, who will certainly defend his title this year.

To register, simply send an E-mail to Jean-Pierre Revol (jean-pierre.revol@cern.ch or to cern-ttc@cern.ch). You may also find useful information on the CERN Club Web page: http://www.cern.ch/tabletennis
Note: inscriptions will close on Friday, August 16, at 18:00

Challenge Interentreprises 2013

Again this year, four CERN teams participated in the Challenge Interentreprises, which gathered teams from Vaud and Geneva. For the first time, three CERN teams qualified for the final round (CERN 1, CERN 2 and CERN 3), on June 29, and CERN1 (Pavel Binko, Petrik Binko, Lasha Sharmazanashvili and Achintya Rao) won the Challenge against EPFL (5-4), in a very tight match.

par Table Tennis Club