A Ping-Pong Champ Launches 'Pongstarz'
Raising $15 million for charity with table tennis
It’s more than 5 decades since ping-pong turned the tables on America’s frozen relations with the People’s Republic of China.
In April of 1971, the U.S. Table Tennis Team became the first official American delegation to visit the mainland since the communist takeover in 1949.
The occasion paved the way for President Richard Nixon’s historic trip to Beijing the following year, making ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ a new vernacular catchphrase.
Twenty years on, the sport scored another diplomatic point when a unified North and South Korea team, for the first time since the Korean War (1950-53), played together at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championship.
Fast forward to the 21st century, ping-pong serves as a different kind icebreaker for Kim Gilbert, founder and CEO of Pongstarz.
The former table tennis champion launched Pongstarz in 2011 as a ping-pong themed party business for corporate events and celebrity fund-raisers.
As Brand Ambassador for the sport, a title bestowed on her by the U.S. Table Tennis Association, Gilbert has the contacts and skills to showcase the game as an Olympic sport, a charity event, and a private enterprise.
Based in Los Angeles, Pongstarz serves, swings, and smacks down balls with prominent athletes and celebrities.
She produced events for LA Dodgers pitcher, Clayton Kershaw. The 2020 World Series ring holder is active in donor circles and since 2013, has hosted ‘Ping Pong 4 Purpose’, a charity tournament held at Dodger Stadium.
She joined forces with 3x Beach Volleyball Olympic Gold Medalist, Kerri Walsh, through her P1440 organization, and was voted the #1 activation event at her shows.
Gilbert holds 8 to 10 big events annually and over the years, has raised $15 million for philanthropic causes ranging from the American Cancer Society to the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The roster of pros that she brings to the festivities is extensive and includes 28-year-old Lilly Zhang, current U.S. champ who is ranked 16th in the world.
“I’m able to get a lot of professional players and do exhibition games,” she tells Sports History Weekly.
Gilbert’s involvement in the sport for the past decades earned her a feature in Molly Shiot's 2017 acclaimed book, "Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History".
BUY- 'Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History'
For most kids growing up, ping-pong has always been a basement pastime to be enjoyed with family and friends. But for Gilbert, it morphed into something bigger.
At the elite level, table tennis is a game of lightning-fast rallies and awe-inspiring skills. Behind the pings and the pongs are the deadly spins.
“The ball only weighs 3 grams, but with a spin it weighs up to 75 lbs. Spin creates the weight and mass,” Gilbert points out.
Reaction time is critical and every part of the body is summoned. “It’s not just hands, but it’s actually feet and that is key to becoming a champion.”
Training regimens focus on footwork, sprints for explosive power, and stretching for elongating muscles.
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Gilbert caught the competitive bug at 14 when her stepfather’s business partner invited her to his ping-pong club in Hollywood.
She showed talent and commitment and was soon being coached by Norikazu ‘Cannonball’ Fuji, the 1952 World Table Tennis champion in the men’s doubles.
“I had a very quick trajectory because I dedicated my Wednesday nights, Friday nights, and all days Saturday and Sunday from age 14 on.”
By 1985, she had won the California State Women’s championship, the Pacific Open Women’s championship, and the nationals in the under-18 category.
BUY- 'Peak Performance Table Tennis'
Three years later, Gilbert was a trials finalist for the U.S. team when ping-pong made its debut at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
She was a promising contender for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona when a freak injury from a fall sidelined her just 3 months ahead of the Games.
“Going into 1992, I made the team, had my uniform, and then shattered my right arm.”
Her most memorable sporting moment came a year earlier at the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival, the ‘in-between’ tournaments that were sanctioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee (discontinued in 1995).
Tied 1-1 in a 3-game series, it was match-point at 20-19 during a long-rally when she smacked a backhand that landed the ball on the edge of her opponent’s table.
She took gold and celebrated with a big scream. “It was do or die, and I had to win.”
Internationally, Americans never enjoyed a noteworthy ping-pong ranking, let alone a podium finish. Still, she is bullish on Zhang’s continued prospects and some of the rising stars who are being groomed today.
European countries such as Sweden and Germany have picked up medals in the past, but China has been the dominant force at each of the 10 quadrennial Games since 1988.
“China starts their kids at 3 years old and table tennis has always been part of their culture. They subsidize their sports with a procurement process and with academies.”
As well as continuing to promote Pongstarz, she is now helping to prepare for the 2028 Olympics that are coming to her home city of Los Angeles.
“The next 4 years we want to give ourselves a platform, as well as our sport a platform.”
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