Pandemic pastime turns into budding new business for local father son duo
Pandemic pastime turns into budding new business for local father son duo
2Pong paddles created by Ben and Darick Battaglia. (CTV News/Colton Wiens)
A new business created by a University of Waterloo student and his father is quickly growing, while putting a new spin on a classic game.
Ben Battaglia and his father Darick Battaglia, created 2Pong during the first lockdown of the pandemic. The game is similar to table tennis, using the same ball and table, but instead of holding a paddle, players strap paddles on each hand.
“You're engaging your left and your right – going back and forth. No backhands in this game, all forehand, so it's a totally different type of shot than a ping-pong paddle,” Ben Battaglia, vice-president of 2Pong said.
Most of the rules of 2Pong are the same as table tennis, but the ball is allowed to bounce twice if it hits the net.
“It gives that extra bounce, because without that handle like a ping pong paddle, some people don't have the full extension to get to the net, so that extra bounce lets the rallies go a little longer,” Ben said.
The game was created when the duo were playing table tennis with different items in their home in Barrie, and ended up strapping paddles to their hands.
“We had at least 20 prototypes sent to us from different people. Then we kind of fine-tuned things to see what we have today," Darick Battaglia, president of 2Pong said.
Ben is a third year recreation and sports business student at Waterloo. The idea for the business was to help Ben use his school knowledge in the real world. But since launching online sales in May, the company has grown quickly.
“A lot of my courses here at this school have helped me. I’m still continuing to learn, and I can apply those directly to 2Pong and the business," Ben said.
The company has shown their product at different events since it launched, and has started to build relationships with different charity groups in the area.
“A young girl came up in a wheelchair and she wanted to play and she played. At that moment we realized how accessible this game is to everyone. Since that time period we've actually partnered with Easter Seals," Darick said.
Currently the only way for customers to get their hands in a paddle is by purchasing it directly from the company, but they hope to expand in the future.
“Once graduating, taking this game on the road, traveling across Canada, doing different trade shows and events," Ben said.
The Battaglias have a patent pending internationally for 2Pong and hope to continue to grow the popularity of the paddle sport.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered a brief initial response to the final report from the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) into Canada's worst mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 people in Nova Scotia in 2020. Vowing changes will come, here's what Trudeau said in Truro, N.S.
The federal Liberals are trending downward on three key measures while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has surpassed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when it comes to the question of who Canadians would prefer now as their prime minister, according to Nanos Research.
A coroner has denied a request from a former Toronto police officer to explore a theory that a distraught teen he shot was committing "suicide by cop."
When the store manager at La Noisette Bakery arrived Thursday morning to open the small shop on Oxford Street, she discovered that one of the two large circular windows at the side of their building was shattered.
The Windsor Police Service’s Arson Unit is asking for the public’s help identifying two suspects after police say they intentionally set fire to the former Mission Thrift Store.
Dog kennels are bursting at the seams as pet owners forced to give up their furry friends struggle with risings costs of living. Despite a rise in cat and kitten adoptions, dog adoptions are down by over 50 per cent.
There are exciting plans for Knox Presbyterian Church in downtown Sudbury. Built in 1927, the former church was sold after its congregation dwindled and will be transformed into a concert hall.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A coroner has denied a request from a former Toronto police officer to explore a theory that a distraught teen he shot was committing "suicide by cop."
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
It's been two weeks since a major fire ripped through a heritage building in the heart of Old Montreal, killing seven people and forever altering the lives of families across the globe. For the families of those who died, the grieving process is only starting.
Two-and-a-half years after it was established, Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has recommended sweeping changes to everything from gun control to mental health services, although there’s no guarantee any will ever be implemented.
A judge has acquitted a now-retired priest of forcing himself on a residential school student more than 50 years ago, saying she believes an assault happened but could not determine beyond a reasonable doubt who did it.
Two Manitoba hunting outfitters have been fined thousands of dollars and lost their licenses after a four-year investigation revealed numerous violations of the wildlife act.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has yet to answer direct questions about a growing scandal of her alleged interference with the justice system, but her deputy premier has responded the media about the issue.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
A 2021 plane crash at the Westlock Airport was caused by an "unstable visual approach" to the landing runway, a Transportation Safety Board investigator has found.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
2Pong paddles created by Ben and Darick Battaglia. (CTV News/Colton Wiens)
