Sportsmanship, Community and Camaraderie Take Center Stage at St. Louis Open

Wilson, NC, May 10, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Danny Seemiller created the “Elite Event” at the first ever St. Louis Open to encourage and develop American table tennis players. Throughout the weekend, many players experienced wins & losses, successes & failures, and delight & disappointment, but the American sense of community and camaraderie at the tournament never faded. Many of those who had traveled to participate in this tournament have been touched by tournament director Danny Seemiller, who has instilled upon them a strong sense of teamwork and community.

Throughout the weekend, players fought hard, but maintained exceptional sportsmanship and grace through the ups and downs. In the high level events, players routinely coached, kept score and multi-tasked in order to support the tournament and their fellow competitors. Tournament director Danny Seemiller constantly moved between sending out matches at the control desk, keeping score on feature tables, coaching his players, competing as a player and commentating on live stream throughout the weekend. Similarly, many other players from all levels of play contributed to helping keep score and were instrumental in keeping the tournament running smoothly. The genuine support from everyone involved in the tournament was outstanding, as players and operations staff focused on doing the best job possible. Complaints were nowhere to be found, and smiles radiated from every participant.

As always the future remains uncertain, but Danny remains committed to developing American players and will continue to do so for many years to come. Although not every player was able to take home significant prize money this weekend, everyone felt a sense of pride in USA table tennis after the conclusion of the event.

Coverage of the St. Louis Open and stories about the athletes will be available at http://butterflyonline.com, or via Butterfly North America’s Twitter at https://twitter.com/butterflyonline and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/butterflytabletennis.

Butterfly is the world leader in table tennis / ping pong equipment and gear. Butterfly will be the official table sponsor for the 2014 & 2016 World Table Tennis Championships as well as the official ball sponsor for the 2015 World Championships. Butterfly is also the official equipment sponsor of 2014 St. Louis Open and the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association 2013-2014 regular season as well as the 2014 College Table Tennis National Championships. Visit http://butterflyonline.com for more information.