Who doesn't love a spot of table tennis? Or ping pong. Or wiff waff. Or whatever colloquialism you prefer.

We certainly do at The Crafty Pint, so we're pretty excited about this new promotion we're kicking off as part of the relaunch of our beer club, The Crafty Cabal.

While much of the focus of the relaunch to date has been on what the Cabal offers for members, we wouldn't have breweries and venues all over Australia partnering with us if they weren't benefitting too. And this summer promo is for them.

We've joined forces with new independent Aussie operation Pongo to offer one of their epic table tennis tables as a prize to an Australian brewery or venue.

The Melbourne-based company creates all-weather tables manufactured from aluminium in Melbourne complete with bat and beer holders, a surface specially selected to replicate the bounce and performance of a standard table tennis table and capable of withstanding the elements, whether that's the wear and tear inside a venue or the changing weather of a beer garden.

To be in with a chance of winning the table above – kitted out in the eye-catching new Cabal artwork by Kiwi illustrator Andy Shaw and graphic designer Jessie Jungalwalla – breweries or venues simply need to be listed in The Crafty Pint directory and have a Crafty Cabal deal in place for members.

We've already got close to 180 deals up and running and are adding more all the time. Plus, we've got more breweries and venues taking listings with us each week too, and are eager to add more and help them reap the benefits we offer.

You'll find more information on the promotion and Pongo below, but if you want to register for the competition, you can do so via the form here. NB Given the weirdness of summer 2020/21 and ongoing mini-lockdowns – plus the fact we're getting our hands on the table in early March so can check it out and share some footage of it in action – we're extending the deadline for entries til the end of April!

NB If you've already got a listing and a Cabal deal in place, please still enter your details here so we know you're up for adding a table tennis table to your venue. And, if you have a deal in place but would like to change it, drop us a line. For more on what it involves, head here.

Who Are Pongo?

As we mentioned above, Pongo is a new indie Aussie operation based in Melbourne that sold its first table in 2020. The business came to be as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, when a husband and wife team set up an e-commerce shop for their all-weather ping pong tables.

“It’s something we had been prototyping for a while but the pandemic and lockdowns gave up the momentum we needed to launch,” co-founder Karinda Ryan says.

“We are social ping pong enthusiasts and table tennis as a sport is growing in popularity. People instantly gravitate to our tables at family gatherings, pub venues and workplaces, with a spot of ping pong proving the perfect ice-breaker and work time relief."

Prior to launching Pongo, the couple had been gifted a standard table tennis setting, but with no rumpus room or undercover area, the table had to live outside in the elements. Within a few months, it was ready to be turned into wood chips.

"We knew then we had to make a table for the extreme Aussie weather conditions while coping with the ‘summer water misters’ and ‘winter outdoor heaters’ we all now love," Karinda says.

And thus Pongo was born.

Backyard Editions of their tables start at $1,699 and come in a variety of high definition surface graphic options including Lawn, Clay and Aussie Open inspired images.

Anyone wanting to make a ping pong table as pinging as the Crafty Cabal table can go for the Pongo Pro. For $2,750, you get to work with the Pongo design team to create a custom design, with the aluminium skinned composite surfaces suitable for screenprinting with any design and UV protected too. Tables include an integrated, metal perforated net, plus drink and bat holders.

So, if you're an Aussie brewery or venue specialising in good beer with a desire to add a unique attraction for customers, enter our competition or get in touch with the Pongo team to find out more.

You can view our competition rules here. The winner will be drawn at random at the end of April 2021.