Sponsorship Supports City of Long Beach’s Initiative to be America’s First Ping Pong Friendly City
LONG BEACH, Calif.–Sunstone Management will be a key sponsor of the 2019 Ping Pong Fit International Festival, a two-day event running concurrently with the ninth annual LA Open Table Tennis Tournament at the Long Beach Convention Center on August 31 and September 1. The event, a collaboration between the Global Creative Cities Coalition (GC3) and the City of Long Beach, marks the first city-hosted festival with a table tennis theme in the United States.
The festival and tournament are expected to attract over 400 professional table tennis players from around the world and will also play host to a celebrity tournament featuring actors, sports stars and other notable individuals. Currently announced celebrity participants include Derek Hough, Omar Miller, John Salley, Skylar Astin, Jason Weaver, Tony Horton, Olden Polynice, Andre Reed, Colton Underwood, Arash Markazi and Debbie Dunning. In addition, the festival will offer a variety of art, music and dance activities for attendees and participants.
“Playing Ping Pong offers so many benefits, and we hope that the Ping Pong Fit program will promote the game’s ability to boost health, fitness and fun regardless of age, income or physical ability of players,” said Barry Sedlik, co-founder of GC3. “We are excited that the City of Long Beach will be designated as America’s first Ping Pong friendly city, and applaud city officials for working with us to place Ping Pong tables in parks and other public venues throughout the city that our sponsors donate. We are thrilled that Sunstone has stepped up to help us launch the program.”
Table tennis has a history of serving as uniting force among players, dating back to the “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” of the Cold War that unexpectedly improved the bilateral relationship between China and the United States. Fittingly, in the spirit of Ping Pong Diplomacy to foster understanding and friendship, China Art Masters and government officials will be coming from China to join in the festivities.
“The Ping Pong Fit International Festival highlights the entertainment value of table tennis, but also promotes future cultural economic development opportunities in the Long Beach area,” said John Shen, founding partner of Sunstone Management, chair of the event’s host committee and economic development commissioner of Long Beach. “Sunstone loves to support community development initiatives like Ping Pong Fit, and is proud to be a key sponsor of the program.”
About Sunstone Management
Sunstone Management, with its subsidiary Sunstone Venture Capital Fund, is a diversified private capital management and investment firm offering comprehensive wealth management solutions to high net worth clients worldwide, in particular U.S. new-immigrant families. Focusing on investments in U.S. based small businesses and lower middle markets, its offerings are carefully structured to meet targeted investor goals ranging from short term senior debt products to longer term, equity, growth capital, and venture capital investment strategies.