Charity Ping-Pong Tourney Run By NBA's Farnsworth Taking Place

Topspin, the second iteration of a sports, entertainment and marketing industry ping-pong tournament to raise money for charity, takes place tonight at 82 Mercer Street in downtown Manhattan. Organizer Peter Farnsworth, whose day job is NBA Senior VP/Business Development, noted the tourney grew out of a rivalry among NBA sponsorship execs over whose table tennis game was superior. Farnsworth said the event will attract around 800 people, with 150 of them playing ping-pong on 30 separate tables. Sponsors include Motorola, Coca-Cola, Delta, Bacardi, Turner Broadcasting and Yahoo. Last year, Topspin raised $85,000. Farnsworth said this year’s event should raise around $250,000 for three charities:

* A Better Chance Fayetteville-Manlius -- creators of educational opportunities for at-risk young women from the N.Y. area.

* Liberty Leads -- a college prep program for underserved youth with limited resources and unlimited dreams.

* Pencils Of Promise -- builders of schools in underdeveloped communities around the world.

Topspin charges $225 for tournament participants and $100 for other attendees. Expected to attend from the NBA are NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver, Senior VP/Marketing Communications Mike Bass, Senior VP/Global Marketing Partnerships Emilio Collins, Senior VP/Marketing Partnerships Rachel Jacobson and VP/Business Development Gary Jacobus. More details are on Topspin’s Facebook page or topspin2010.eventbrite.com.