This new post from OOAK Forum was from new forum member Xixor, who expressed his frustration about his treatment from other members of his club.
The discussion really brought out some good points, not only about the areas of weakness of the clubs, but also what new people can do to be better accepted in the clubs.
Most successful clubs have just a few key people that do all the work and ensure new people are welcomed and looked after. This is often a thankless and much under-appreciated job that is taken for granted, so anything we can do to help these people, or show our appreciation in other ways, will no doubt be appreciated by the individual, but also helps the new players and the club…. everyone wins! 
Here is the starting post:
Hello all.
I feel like this forum is a great place to ask this question because it provides some anonymity to me and everyone who might choose to reply. Here is my frustrating situation –
I joined a table tennis club about a year ago. When I joined I had just started playing. I have since improved my game. Someone at my club estimated that I might have been a 500 level player a year ago and have improved to maybe 1100 currently. The club has about 30 total members, about 20 of which will show up on any given session. ALL of the regular players at this club – and I mean ALL – are above 1800 level, many over 2000.
People don’t want to play with me. Examples: No one ever goes out of their way to ask me if I want to play. I will ask someone if they want to play, they tell me “oh I’m taking a break for a minute, sorry, and then turn right around to walk over to another player and start playing. At one point, someone at the club actually told me in a very indirect, and matter-of-fact way, that it is not fun to play with someone who is much lower level than them.
I think I am a pretty nice guy, and I have been taught the proper etiquette for games, so I don’t think either of those things are the cause. My interpretation of the situation is that the club I belong to is VERY competitive, and it is simply not challenging or fun for others to play with me because I am at such a lower level than everyone else.
When I do get someone to play with me, they either appear to be completely disinterested and apathetic while playing, or they deliberately play down (lobbing the ball a lot, not hitting it hard or fast). Seriously? These are 30, 40, 50 year old men acting like F*** children.
I have persisted with this for over a year because I really enjoy playing the game, and as a exception to the general rule I stated above, there are 2-3 players who sometimes go out of their way to help train me, but when they are not there, it is very difficult for me to enjoy going to the club. There have been a few other beginners show up over the past year, only to leave after a few sessions because they also encountered this atmosphere.
Thoughts? Ideas? Have any other beginners experienced something like this? What do you more experienced players think? Do you treat your beginner club members like this?
