Twenty plastic cups, a folding table, a ping pong ball and a dream: that’s all it took for Samuel Pines to turn one of college students’ favorite pastimes into a full-on sport.

Pines is the founder of the World Pong Tour, a company that has facilitated over 500 pongball events around the country for corporations, college students, and everyone in between. Their most recent event was held in New Rochelle’s popular Beechmont Tavern on Nov. 13, and the majority of participants were Iona students.

What makes World Pong Tour’s take on pongball unique is that it prohibits the use of the tournament as a drinking game; the tournament rules explicitly state that water is the only substance allowed in the cups and that drinking anything from the designated cups is forbidden.

Pines stresses that his mission is to turn this popular college game into a clean, fun sport that anyone of any age can play.

“It’s all about fun and skill,” Pines said. “Hand-eye coordination, aim, all of that. We want everyone to play; it’s about bringing everyone together.”

Pines said he started playing pongball in college the way many students do – as a drinking game. However, he saw an opportunity to take this game to the next level.

“I saw a game in college that everyone loved and I knew it could be a sport,” Pines said. “It started in my dorm room at Marist, and now we’re all over.”

Pines and his team have worked with numerous local and corporate sponsors over the years in order to bring their sport to hundreds of families, companies, and students. They developed tournament regulations and standards in order to keep games on a professional, sportsman-like level, and offer a range of prizes for tournament winners.

Pines was brought to New Rochelle by his assistant, a recent Iona graduate who thought that students at the college would be interested in what the World Pong Tour has to offer.

The many Iona students at the recent local tournament were excited to participate, and were equally as enthusiastic about the game-turned-sport.

“I’m so for pong being an actual sport, not just a game,” said senior Ronan Callagy. “I play this game all the time, not drinking. It’s our generation’s pastime, and turning it into a sport is a great idea.”

Junior Casey Palmer agreed with the notion of the game as an opportunity for a social event.

“I think tournaments like this are a great idea because you don’t have to drink for it,” she said. “A lot of people get very into this game and have a great time.”

It’s Pine’s hope that eventually, people will stop associating pongball with alcohol and will start seeing it simply as an exciting game that requires skill and that brings people together.

With the significant turnout and positive reactions from the students that participated this week, it’s fairly safe to say that Pines is well on his way to turning this vision into a reality.