LITTLE COAST: REFLECTIONS FROM A YOUNGER RESIDENT
My name is Avah Keil Trinidad. I am 11 years old and this is how I became a table tennis champion.
When I was five years old, my dad introduced me to table tennis by showing me a bunch of videos. I spent countless hours practicing on our dining room table in our tiny apartment. We would practice twice a week and on the weekends to develop my skills. I soon fell in love with the sport.
One random Sunday my dad brought me to the table tennis club in Nanaimo to play with other people that were at or above my level. I was insanely shy at first, but as the weeks passed, I started to warm up to the players and finally joined in.
Weeks turned into months. I improved significantly so my dad signed me up for a tournament in the youth category. It was there that I won my first ever gold medal at the age of seven. I remember being so happy that I won first place. My parents took me to a nice restaurant to celebrate!
Then, as the years went by, I worked hard during practices, learned new tips and tricks to get even better, played in more tournaments, and collected more medals. Soon enough, instead of playing kids and teens my age, we changed my category to play in the women’s division. I would soon be competing against women much older than me with more experience in the sport.
“My current goal is to not rush and stay calm. This is just the beginning of my table tennis journey”
My first tournament playing in this division was really tough, but I pushed through and made it to the finals against one of the best players at the tournament. Sadly,
I lost in the end, but I was happy I made it into the finals and that I didn’t give up.
Another few years passed, and in 2025 my dad gave me some BIG news! I would be competing in the Canadian Table Tennis Championships held at the Olympic Oval in Richmond!
On competition day, I took the ferry then caught a taxi to the event. I warmed up with my dad and was ready to compete. An hour later and I had made it to third place!
My current goal is to not rush and stay calm. This is just the beginning of my table tennis journey.
When I’m not playing table tennis, I’m usually cooking, baking, or playing left-handed pickleball.
