There’s ping pong … and then there’s table tennis.

For a group of avid players meeting twice a week at the Old Dungeness Schoolhouse on Towne Road, the sport/recreation of table tennis is a serious pasttime.

“New Years, Christmas Day, Thanksgiving … we don’t miss a day,” player Sandy Boudrou said in between matches.

Some people play four days a week, she said — here and with another group, or on home tables.

After years of friendly competition at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club, this group made the switch to the schoolhouse about a year ago, player Mark McNabb said.

There’s good light and high ceilings that make for prime table tennis conditions, he said.

Set-up starts at about 8:30 a.m. and play lasts through noon each Monday and Thursday, come rain, shine or holiday.

“We usually get enough to get two tables going,” McNabb said. “They are fun people, and it’s great exercise.”

While some “double dip” by also playing in regular games at the Shipley Center, some folks are tentative about trying their paddle with this advanced group, and for good reason.

McNabb, who has played with the group since 2010, said usually would-be players stop by and watch, seeing if they’re up to the task.

Boudrou said she’s been playing with the group for about 13 years.

“For most years I was the only woman,” she said.

“I didn’t know anything about spins or anything but I kept coming,” she said. She even went so far as to go to Seattle for table tennis lessons. That didn’t stop her from considering dropping the group.

“They probably wanted me to quit, too,” Boudrou joked.

On this early summer day, players are taking up all eight spots (two doubles games) while four or five hang out, awaiting a turn.

Boudrou said this crowd is predominantly retired folks, since play is during the morning.

“Some are very serious (about the game),” McNabb said. “We do some running and diving and falling on the floor (but) it’s not a young crowd.”

He added that while the play level is high here, there is still room for improvement.

“It’s fun to watch people get better,” he said.

Stop by the Old Dungeness Schoolhouse, 2741 Towne Road, to join in the play.