Anchorage Table Tennis Club Officers

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Anchorage & Alaska Table Tennis History

The ATTC was established in the late 60’s. Early Alaskan table tennis was played in pubs, military bases rec. rooms, home basements and local gyms. Boyd Bennett was a the early club director playing in the military and in England while serving in the armed forces. Arriving in Alaska in the 60’s there was not much action for table tennis. The military bases around the world are know for players who take the game serious. Boyd organized events and with his hard bat in hand challenged all comers with his fast off the bounce attacks. Since hard bats preceded new “sponge” rackets. Boyd still plays with “pips-out” rubber and the Butterfly French Style racket. His flick backhand was legendary at swatting the young ones at sharp, close to the table attacks.

Boyd was the early table tennis coach for the Arctic Winter Games from 1970 to 1988. This international competition features athletes representing countries, provinces and states above the 51st parallel. Now the AWG is only 2nd to the OLYMPICS for athlete and coach participation for the whole world. Several Alaskans still play today who were members of team Alaska when adults and juniors were part of the AWG competitions. Traveling to Canada with up to 16 players representing the Great Land, Boyd was coach/player for the men, women and juniors. He also coordinated and organized for the Anchorage tournaments in the 70’s and 80’s. Active former AWG team members include: Juneau’s, Bob Janes and Kenai’s, Mike Hundorf both junior AWG members of the first AWG in 1970 held in Anchorage and 2nd AWG in 1972 in Whitehorse. Other junior AWG players from 1976 include: David Evans and Karl Augestad traveling to Shefferville, Arctic Quebec, Canada for the 4th games. All still active in the ATTC today.

Bob Janes & Andy Hutzel

Boyd Bennett was recently inducted in to the Alaska Table Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005 in Fairbanks during the Alaska Senior Olympics. Diann Darnell honored Boyd for his tireless and dedication to the sport in Alaska. His influence is still appreciated today as he attended the Senior Olympic National Games in Pittsburg, PA in July 2005 with fellow team mates Andy Hutzel from Eagle River and Diann Darnell from Fairbanks. All representing Alaska for this 50 years and over competition. A true Alaskan pioneer for table tennis in the land of the midnight sun.

Karl Augestad and Boyd Bennett ATTC coordinators from 1970 to present, taken 2005

In the early 70’s even legendary Chilkoot Charlie's Bar (aka: Koots) had a ping pong table on their patio with a cable wire wheel holding up the homemade table. Bob Camden and Karl Augestad frequented the bar with a free feed buffet Saturday late afternoon with a “match the pot ping pong tournament” held following. Entry fee of $5 bucks with Koots matching the total amount with the winner taking 75% and runner up taking 25%. Needless to say Bob and Karl took the lions share. Rumor has it that long time ATTC member Lance Morrison won over $5000.00 while betting local non-sober players for cash in the Pipeline days. Lance still plays when the “big prizes” are on the line.

Bob & Karl

Soon Karl Augestad took the reigns of the ATTC as a student of UAA. Moving the club to the campus of the University of Alaska, Anchorage. While attending full time and working part time both days and night for over 5 years, Karl organized table tennis club practice night twice a week and held tournaments with over 70 players at the campus gym and student hall. Karl continues to promote Table Tennis all over Alaska traveling to Fairbanks, Kenai, Homer and Soldotna. Currently member of the ATTC attends local high school racket sports classes helping the PE teachers with the proper rules of the games and basic strokes. The ATTC was influential in selecting Table Tennis tables for many of the local schools and Boy’s & Girl’s Clubs.

In the 90’s Karl has become resourceful to permit the table tennis club in Anchorage with teaching junior players at the Anchorage Boy’s & Girl’s Club to allow the adults to play for many years. His volunteer hours every week permitted locals to play twice a week and host tournaments in their vast gym. He was the Arctic Winter Games Team Alaska Coach in 1994 traveling to Slave Lake, Alberta with junior athletes competing for gold, silver and bronze ulus. Stories abound from that trip with one female Alaskan player not returning home one evening and Karl scouring the streets of Slave Lake with the Chief de Mission at 3 AM. Only to find out she decided to sleep in another female athlete village to get away from the “chainsaw” sounding snoring in the women’s dorm. And another top junior male falling asleep on the bus to the competition venue and not being missed until his first match. He showed up nearly 45 minutes later as the bus circled the loop back to the venue. Not missing a beat he took the Silver.

In 1996 Eagle River/Chugiak hosted the AWG with Karl acting as sport coordinator. Highlights includes inviting the USATT Hall of Fame inductee and World Champion JIMMY MCCLURE as our head official. His history of the game was vast as Boyd Bennett chaperoned him and the international officials from USA and Canada on tours for Alaska’s beauty during our chilly winter days. The Russian team was the top metal winners sweeping all the gold in every event. Even the Russian junior males defeated the Alaska & Yukon coaches along with Karl in a post tournament challenge match. They were rated top 10 for their age in all of Russia.

In the late 90’s and until 2004 the ATTC held practice at API. The Alaska Psychiatric Institute. An adult mental hospital. We played in there large gym with lots of room, wooden floor, great lighting and 8 beautiful Butterfly tables.The only catch was juniors were not allowed to enter the building due to security. The club obtained special passes during the 4 months prior to the AWG to allow coaching of the junior athletes. A great facility but in the late 2004 the writhing was on the wall as the new “state of the art” multi-million dollar hospital opened and the club was asked to vacate. No room for the tables and security in the new open design could not restrict the movement and mix of the patients and guests to the building.