On February 22 and 23, 2019, David Mandelstam - a grade seven student at Dorothy Lynas Elementary, left behind his elementary school to head to Surrey to compete with secondary school students who are the best of the best in table tennis.
"Even though it's not unusual in table tennis to compete with older age groups, I felt very excited to participate in a event with so many high school table tennis players," said Mandelstam.
More than 90 secondary school students competed in the BC Secondary School Table Tennis Championship, hosted at Semiahmoo Secondary School.
"It was fun playing the first two rounds, as I managed to surprise my opponents with my game. And it became harder in the advanced rounds of the knockout," said Mandelstam.
While David did not win the competition, he did learn a lot.
"I learned table tennis is not about the age or size of a player, it's more about the skill and the amount of hard training and hard work. This year I reached quarter finals, and I am planning on training harder to improve my level and hopefully get first place next year!" he said.
