Bristol table tennis duo have achieved world record for charity fundraising

Two friends broke the world record for the longest table tennis match while raising funds for charity.

Dan Ives and Lloyd Gregory, from Bristol, hit the record at Bristol’s PingPod on Saturday as part of a fundraiser for stillbirth and stillbirth charity Sands. So far they have raised over £5,000 for the cause.

It comes after Dan lost his daughter Lily Rae Ives in 2020.

The pair maintained their rally for 13 hours, 36 minutes and 36 seconds – beating the previous record by 1 hour and 46 minutes.

Mr Ives and Mr Gregory, who described themselves as “table tennis freaks”, began their continuous rally at 07:00 BST on Saturday.

The entire challenge was streamed live on Mr Ives’ sports YouTube channel.

“Physically, it’s hard. It’s very repetitive,” said the 34-year-old.

“Your body will hurt quickly, whether it’s your shoulder or your arm.

“Mentally, it’s tough. How many times in your mind are you like, ‘should we stop?'” he added.

Mr Gregory, 33, said: “The concentration you have to maintain just to keep your eye on that cue ball and keep it going was on another level.”

Both said the “physical and mental battle” was “intense”, especially as they approached the 11-and-a-half hour mark – close to the former world record.

“It was so unnerving. I was shaking – I could barely hold my bat,” Mr Ives said.

“As soon as I hit the record, I felt the tension release and the pain ease,” Mr Gregory added.

“My bat felt a little lighter. It was a relief.”

Since losing his daughter four years ago, Mr Ives has tried to complete annual fundraising events in her memory as part of the ‘Lily’s Legacy’ initiative.

After she died, he and his wife were supported by Sands, which is why he wanted to do something to give back.

Mr Ives said the money would “help massively”, allowing the charity to continue its work reaching out to parents and organizing activities and events to help them through their grief.

“You feel like you’re not alone, and that’s what we thought was really good.

“It helped me and my wife a lot,” he added.