Ironman of Table Tennis: Shortz Completes 1,000 Straight Days of Play
Cal Ripken (MLB): 2,632 games A.C. Green (NBA): 1,192 games Doug Jarvis (NHL): 964 games Brett Favre (NFL): 297 games
Pleasantville resident Will Shortz has been playing table tennis since childhood but today (Tuesday) he reaches a personal milestone.
June 30 marks the 1,000th consecutive day that Shortz, 62, has played table tennis. The quest began in 2012, when he made a resolution to play the sport every day that year. The streak was progressing well until Oct. 3, when Shortz was on a trip to Croatia and couldn’t find the table tennis club in which he had intended to play.
“It was kind of a relief that I missed a day but also a disappointment,” Shortz said.
Shortz resumed daily play on Oct. 4, but for 2013 he decided to film each day’s practice to document the journey. Filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, known for the “Paranormal Activity” movies, supplied Shortz with a camera. When the year ended and he had achieved his goal, Shortz turned over the footage and stopped filming, but continued his streak.
Since then, Shortz has continued to make time to play each day, which is often easy considering he owns and operates the Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville, the largest facility of its kind in the Northeast.
Shortz said he established ground rules for himself, including the stipulation that he had to play for at least 10 minutes a day for his streak to continue. On average he plays for about two hours daily.
Since the streak began, Shortz said his ping pong skills have improved exponentially and he has experienced improved health, not having been sick in three years. He noted that when table tennis is played properly for extended periods it provides a rigorous workout.
Although illness hasn’t been an obstacle, there were several other issues that nearly thwarted the streak. As the crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times and puzzle master for National Public Radio, Shortz travels extensively to attend and host various tournaments. He also explores table tennis centers in other countries. Last year in London, he was able to play at a different club for each day of his trip, but during trips to China and Japan the time difference nearly caused him to fail.
Shortz explained that in order to keep his streak alive during his trips to Asia, he had to play at his center early in the morning before leaving. Upon landing in late afternoon the following day, he played at a club that he had prearranged to visit before checking into his hotel. Other obstacles have been locating clubs in advance in foreign countries and navigating language barriers, which Shortz said often involves heavy usage of the Google Translate website.
In order to reach 1,000 consecutive days of play, Shortz also had to find a partner for each day, which can be difficult when traveling.
“It’s not just my mania but I have to find someone else willing to humor me…and do it with me,” he said.
Shortz is celebrating his 1,000th consecutive day of play by hosting a party at Westchester Table Tennis Center tonight (Tuesday) from 7 to 11 p.m. It will include the premier of a short film about Shortz and the sport made by Joost and Schulman, who will attend the event.
Gordon Kaye, CEO of USA Table Tennis, said Shortz’s streak is not only an impressive personal accomplishment but has generated good publicity for the sport.
“On behalf of all of us at USA Table Tennis and table tennis players everywhere, I would like to applaud and congratulate Will on this historic milestone,” Kaye said. “Will has reached today through an unwavering passion for the game along with dedication, determination, ingenuity to find clubs to play in some days and lots of good health. We wish Will the best of luck and another 1,000 days.”
While the streak is a significant milestone, Shortz said he has no plans of taking a break. In July, he will be attending his high school reunion in his hometown in Indiana, where he first began playing the sport in his rec room. With few table tennis clubs there, he was worried that the trip could mean the end of his streak, but he was able to speak with the town’s recreation department, which was willing to pull an old table out of storage for him to use. He is already making plans for when he attends a convention in Vancouver next month and the World Puzzle Championship in Bulgaria this fall.
Shortz is also setting his sights on other table tennis achievements. He is competing to become national table tennis champion for his age group and also hopes to become the first person to play at table tennis clubs in all 50 states. Currently, Shortz has played at 199 clubs in 49 states and hopes to make a trip next year to Hawaii, the only state he has yet to play in.
He knows that eventually factors outside of his control will cause him to miss a day of play, but in the meantime he hopes to keep the streak going for as long as possible.
“I realize someday I will get sick or my plane won’t arrive on time and I will miss that day and that’s life,” he said.
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