The Fun and Fitness Table Tennis Club (FFTTC), founded by Ratana Dong, exists to promote the sport of table tennis throughout The Villages for all residents, including those with mobility challenges. The club is committed to fostering fitness, enjoyment, and a strong sense of community by providing an inclusive environment where players of every ability level can play, train, and compete together. As a recognized Olympic sport, table tennis offers residents a low‑impact way to stay active, enhance coordination and reflexes, and experience the physical, cognitive, and social benefits of regular play.
The FFTTC Table Tennis Ladder is a custom-built ranking system designed to track competitive play, encourage regular matches, and maintain an active community of players. This app uses a "Jump-In" ladder logic. When a challenger defeats a higher-ranked player, they immediately take that player's spot, pushing the former rank-holder and all subsequent players down by one position.
Integrated with real-time match validation, the app prevents repetitive "gatekeeping" by enforcing a 7-day cooldown between identical matchups and ensures challengers only play within a realistic 3-rank reach.
Conceptualized and designed by John A. Schmidt along with other club members. Built to provide a mobile-friendly experience for players to view their and other club member rankings as well as challenge other players -- while hoping to move up the rank.