By David Kavanagh | posted on August 25, 2019
FOR Albany table tennis players Dulcie Davis and Teresa Greeve, age is hardly a showstopper.
The two women recently celebrated their induction into the ranks of Australian nonagenarians with a special get-together at Albany Table Tennis Club.
“I enjoy playing games at the club but I also enjoy the company of everyone,” Ms Davis said.
“It’s just amazing, it’s just so wonderful to see everyone there. Even though they’re not as old as I am, some of the players have diseases like Parkinson’s and still play quite good table tennis.”
Ms Davis spent 61 years of her life living on a farm in Borden, and in that time participated in other sports like hockey, golf and a bit of netball.
She decided to move to Albany after losing her husband 11 years ago and said she has since been “so active” that she “hasn’t had time to think”.
“I like to be active. I swim on Monday with a group, Tuesday I play bridge, Wednesday I play croquet and Friday I play table tennis,” she said.
“We have lots of fun.”
While Ms Davis joined the table tennis club in 2013, Ms Greeve first started playing back in 2011.
Both were born in 1929, little more than two months apart.
Club President and Coach Peter Muller described the duo as “very popular” at the club, adding they still played “quite a good game”.
Mr Muller has been co-ordinating the group’s Friday social matches and Tuesday senior club since he resurrected it in 1994.
“We get about 50 to 60 people there on a Friday morning … they’re mostly in their 60s, 70s and 80s,” he said.
“They benefit greatly because it keeps them active and it keeps their reflexes up and it’s also a big social thing.”
According to Mr Muller, the social match side of the club had grown significantly since 2000 with more than 120 members regularly attending last year.
“It’s amazing what Peter does there, it’s really good company and good fun,” Ms Davis said.
