75 hits in 60 seconds challenge

Hi,

I'm Nick Heaps, an enthusiastic table tennios player and occasional coach. However, I'm also 73 years of age with three hip replacements and a slipped disc.

I'm raising money for a cause that's very important to me.  Please help me reach my £200 target in aid of Draycott & Long Eaton Table Tennis Club who desperately need to replace the flooring across 2 playing halls.  

Costing in the region of £50k, the new flooring will future-proof the facility, making it safe for all users.  However, we've already raised £18k and club members like me are now looking at innovative challenges to raise the much needed funding.

My challenge

To bring the project a little closer to completion, I'm seeking sponsorship from personal friends and those in the table tennis community that know me.
My challenge is simple: to be filmed hitting 75 or more consecutive forehand drives in a minute, and without missing a single one!

To do this, I'll have to complete each stroke (with the ball travelling over the net to my playing partner, then back to me) in less than .8 of a second ... this will require playing at a continuously fast tempo with control and accuracy.  

Furthermore, if I, or my playing partner, miss even a single shot, the challenge becomes invalid and we'll have to start again.  We have just two hours to complete all attempts at the challenge.

In training I'm currently averaging around 60 a minute. However, whenever I try to play faster, my accuracy drops ... and I miss!  See the video below, taken on December 21st, where I hit 20 shots within the 21 second clip.

Fellow players will know just how difficult this challenge will be. It'll require speed, good technique and consistency from both myself and my playing partner, Jon Bayliss from the Draycott club.

We'll attempt the challenge over two hours on Tuesday January 17th - every attempt being filmed and timed, with the best outcome posted on Draycott's Facebook page within 24 hours.

Please sponsor me

Please sponsor me in my attempt to hit 75 forehand drives within a minute ... something I've not achieved before, and a 25% increase on my personal best!

If you could sponsor me with £n for every forehand drive above 60 that you believe I can achieve, both I and the club will be massively grateful.  

For example: if you think I can successfully execute 75 hits in 60 seconds, and wish to sponsor me at £1 for every shot above 60, then please make a donation of £15.

Why is this important to me

The Draycott club needs new flooring. Replacing the worn out floor will make the venue safer for all its users. Well over a thousand people play table tennis at Draycott every year and the floors have now become slippery in places, some of the welded seams have started to split and are at risk of lifting.

The facility is currently used by more than 50 juniors every week; players in 18 teams who compete and train at the club; athletes from across the country who compete there in tournaments, county and British League matches; an active Over 50’s club who meet 3 times a week; a weekly wheelchair table tennis group; an ‘Exercise for the Heart’ group who attend twice-weekly rehab for heart attacks; a local Tae Kwon Do Club and Draycott primary school pupils who use the club for PE lessons and table tennis coaching.

What do you need to do?

To support my challenge please click on the Donate button, enter the sum you will sponsor me for ... don't forget to claim Gift Aid - this will increase the sum by 25%.

I really do hope you can help.

Thank you,

Nick Heaps

PS - Let me know if you'd like to witness the challenge.