When one door closes, another one opens. The truth of this consolatory chestnut, while seldom appreciated by those to whom it is offered at the time, is borne out in the recent mixed fortunes out west down under. One week ago, we reported a cautionary tale from Perth. The leading table tennis club in the Australia's west coast metropolis, Table Tennis Western Australia (TTWA), has been shuttered not just due to COVID-19 but the internecine struggles of the club's members. With TTWA in limbo pending legal wranglings, Perth's paddlers are left out in the cold of the Australian winter. Into this bleak situation strides a heroine for our troubled times. Kerise Delcoure, an artist from the northern Perth suburb of Kallaroo, has taken her talents to the all-weather ping-pong tables installed in public parks. Delcoure, a high school art teacher, has a passion for Australia's avifauna, many of which are endangered. When the nearby city of Joondalup offered a commission to paint its outdoor ping-pong tables, she leapt at the chance to marry her passions. "I really love the native Australian birds," says Delcoure, who involved local fifth graders in the design process as a part of a school outreach program. "The kids did such amazing work, so I decided to let their work inspire all three of the ping pong tables." The city of Jondaloop launched its Public Outdoor Ping Pong (POPP) program in 2013. Thanks to its commitment to art and al fresco athletics, players can now try a third-ball attack on a rain bird and chop-block a loop on a cockatoo. While Delcoure was most grateful for the work, a scarcity during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were challenges working outdoors in the winter. In addition to inclement weather, she swears she was even taunted by kookaburras as she struggled to protect her work from the rain. (Perhaps they were jealous that they were not honored with a 9'X5' portrait.) In the end, though, it was all worth it for Delcoure to see people enjoying her work. "I’m just amazed by how many people are avid bird lovers," she said. To all the TTWA members wandering the desert, dreaming of once again having a place to play, take note. The door is now open. Just don't let the kookaburras get to you.

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