New Website & my exposure to ping pong

Nov. 7, 2011.  Well I should be doing my day job as a video producer but I am here at work building this new website adding information, photos, links and learning how to build a website.  

This is Karl Augestad.  I started playing Table Tennis since about the 4th Grade.  I was about 9 years old.  I remember visiting my neighbors home across the street who had a ping pong table in their basement.  We would play for hours and there were the "house rules".  Like no hitting to the far right on one side of the table as the edge of the Boiler room cabinet was sticking out and thus made that side of the table only 4' behind the back end of that table.  The other side had plenty of room do you become a blocker real quick.  I bought my first "real" paddle at JC Penneys in downtown Anchorage.  An Akitsu paddle with red rubber on both sides.  A pre assembled racket sold in their sporting goods department.  I really had my eye on the Yasaka rackets with Stiga Mark V 2.0mm red rubber... the classic All Around Kjell Johansson, Al Sier and Stellen Bengstonn.  They were out of my price range.  My friend Mike D. had one and everyone wanted to use it when he did not play.  Well I finally got mine the Kjell Johansson model with the "MARK V" rubber.  What a racket!  Light weight, spinny rubber and fast.  Almost too fast for me.  Just last week the "The Hammer" Kjell Johannson passed away Oct. 24, 2011 at 65 following a long illness according the the ITTF.  

My first reccollection of competition where I felt really nervious was when I competed in the 1976 Arctic Winter Games representing Alaska as a Junior athlete.  Boyd Bennett was my coach.  I was accumpied by David Evans and Doug Wollover.  Back then there were 3 junior boys, 3 junior girls, 3 adult women and 3 adult men on each team.  I was fortuant to have been placed on the team as during the tryouts I finished 4th.  Just out of contention to be placed on the team.  But 2 of the top players could not come up with the funds to cover their airfare so David and I got to be part of the team.  A life-altering experience.  I did not know it at the time though.  The Games were held in Shefferville, Quebec Canada.  My first charter flight to Canada with all the other athletes.  I competed in singles, mxed doubles and teams.  Ended up with 2 silvers and a bronze.  Mixed doubles with my then girl friend April Ward.  Boyd would always tease me about that I was "chasing the girls".  For some reason I don't remember it that way.  I guess at 17 years old it must have been so.