Maureen Chowen, High Sheriff of East Sussex, demonstrated her prowess at ping pong this week.
She went along to Brighton Table Tennis Club to meet players and coaches and she heard how 1,200 people of all ages play in sessions organised by the club every week.
The high sheriff said: “I am overwhelmed by the work the table tennis club does with so many communities in Brighton and Hove and by the way it brings people from these communities and beyond together.
“I find it truly remarkable, for example, that the club has young asylum seeker players who have qualified as coaches and are now working with many young local people from across the city.”
In 2017 BTTC was awarded Club of Sanctuary status by the international City of Sanctuary network.
The award recognised the club’s work with 60 of the 100 young asylum-seeker players living in Brighton and Hove.
It is the first club in the world to receive this award.
