The ping-pong players at Linden Ponds are in full swing, having finished up the summer months with an Olympic gold medal and a brand-new table.

Since the group formed last year, the Ping-Pong Fun Club has grown to nearly 30 players, including the gold medal winner in this year’s Olympics between Linden Ponds and Brooksby Village, Bob Harris.

Harris and his wife, Jacqulin, moved to Linden Ponds from Ann’s Choice, an Erickson community in Warminster, Penn., just a few months before the games. They wanted to be near their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild, who just moved to Boston. Mr. Harris took up table tennis at Ann’s Choice after about 50 years without playing, and he wasted no time jumping in at Linden Ponds.

“It’s a terrific community, and it’s a very nice ping-pong group here,” he says.

Olympic pride
Following a round of playoffs at Linden Ponds, Mr. Harris and fellow player Ray Wolfe advanced to the Olympic games against Brooksby’s top players. Mr. Harris took home the gold, while Brooksby’s Bart Rogers won the silver and Brooksby’s Barbara Crowley won the bronze.

“I just like to play; the tournament doesn’t matter . . . but it was a lot of fun,” Mr. Harris says. “We had a little cheerleading section,” he adds of the many spectators who came out for the event.

“It was absolutely fantastic,” says Ruth Diezemann, who helped start up the ping-pong group and now leads it. The Linden Ponds players wore orange bows to represent their team and carried a sign while marching for the opening ceremonies. “We really outdid ourselves,” Diezemann says.

Double the fun
Increased participation is the reason why players realized they needed a second ping-pong table. Now that Linden Ponds fulfilled the request for a second table—which arrived just in time for the Olympics—games can go on longer and leave fewer people waiting on the sidelines.

That’s good news for the group, which expects to hold additional tournaments this year, including a possible face-off between Linden Ponds residents and staff.