Jackson Garrett
Contributing Writer
If you have walked by Montag this semester, you may have noticed that a ping pong table was melted in the sun, causing the corners to bend downwards. That is actually a futmesa table, free for all to use. Futmesa is a game similar to ping pong, in which one or two players on each side volley a soccer ball back and forth using their feet, chest or heads.
Over the phone, Quinn Nottage (assistant soccer coach and director of goalkeeping) explained how the table came about. A Teqball table company reached out to Nottage and proposed that a table be delivered to him in exchange for the creation of a Teqball club, and thus increased exposure for the game According to Nottage, after the table arrived, “the soccer guys opened up the box in Sparks and spent four hours building it outside of Montag.”
Montag was deemed the perfect place to play as it is already a multi-use area. According to Nottage, the light and neatly foldable table can be used to practice ping pong and volleyball as well. The new table also helps to replace the old, ratty ping pong table that was there before. Nottage hopes to have a futmesa club up and running in the fall, and eventually intramurals.
Fernando Bitelli (’25), a member of the soccer team, grew up playing futmesa with his friends in Brazil. He started playing with his soccer teammates here on campus on a ping pong table early in the year. With the addition of the new table, he hopes that more people will want to get involved with the game in the future.
Those looking to learn more about the game before jumping into a match can watch official futmesa (Teqball) matches online. Pro futmesa is mostly structured under “Teqball,” the same company which donated Willamette’s futmesa table. However, many professional soccer players also use the game as a training tool.