INTRODUCTION Table tennis is the secnd mst ppular sprt played in the wrld. In China, which prduces the wrld's best players, the sprt is fficially called "Ping png ball". It can be played by yung and ld, male and female and by athletes with a disability. The table The table surface is nrmally made frm wd and is dark-clured with a matt finish. White lines, 2cm wide, are used t mark the edges and centre f the table. The table is 2.74m lng and 1.52m wide. Its height frm the flr is 76cm. The playing area required fr elite cmpetitin is abut 5.5m at each end and abut 2.7m n each side. The net The net is 1.83m lng and its tp is abut 15cm frm the tp f the table. A serve that hits the net and bunces int play is called a let and the serve must be repeated. Table tennis table and net Clse-up f net and its munting t the table Equipment The ball is 40mm in diameter and weighs 2.7g. It is made f a plastic material and is white r range, depending n the table clur. The bdy f the racquet and the handle are made f wd. The bdy cnsists f thin layers f wd cmbined with carbn fibre. HISTORY OF TABLE TENNIS Table Tennis prbably started in the 1880s when British army fficers in India and Suth Africa played a game called indr tennis. They used lids frm cigar bxes as paddles and runded crks frm wine bttles as balls. A rw f bks acrss a table frmed the net. Table Tennis equipment frm the 1950s In 1901, James Gibbs returned t England frm the United States with sme recently invented hllw cellulid balls. Gibbs came up with the name ping png as it represented the sunds made as the hllw ball hit the wden paddle and then the table. STARTING BLOCKS State f Victria, 2004 1
Hwever, an English manufacturer f sprting gds, Jhn Jacques, registered Ping Png as a trade name in 1901 and sld the American rights t the Parker Brthers, wh came ut with a new kit under that name. Anther Englishman, E. C. Gde, in 1902 cvered his wden ping png paddle with pebbled rubber, which allwed him t put spin n the ball. A Ping Png Assciatin was funded in England, but lasted less than three years, mainly because the Parker Brthers' cntrl f the name made equipment t expensive. Nevertheless, the sprt spread in England and Eurpe, primarily with equipment marketed by ther manufacturers using the generic name f Table Tennis. A new Table Tennis Assciatin was established in England in 1921. It was fllwed by the Fédératin Internatinale de Tennis de Table (Internatinal Table Tennis Federatin), funded at a 1926 meeting in Berlin. The first wrld champinship turnament was held in Lndn in 1927. Frm then until Wrld War II, Hungary dminated the sprt. The tp players f that early perid were tw Hungarians: Maria Mednyanszky, wh wn seven wmen's champinships, and Viktr Barna, a five-time men's champin. Czechslvakia and Rmania als prduced several champins. The American Ping Png Assciatin was rganised in 1930, but its membership was limited because nly Parker Brthers equipment culd be used. Tw rival rganisatins, the US Amateur Table Tennis Assciatin and the Natinal Table Tennis Assciatin, were funded in 1933. The three grups merged in 1935 int the US Table Tennis Assciatin, which was renamed USA Table Tennis in 1994. Central Eurpean dminance cntinued fr a time after Wrld War II, but Asian players tk ver the sprt beginning in 1953. One factr in the sudden emergence f Asian stars was the intrductin f the fam rubber paddle by Japan's Hri Sath in 1952. The new cating made the game faster and als allwed players t put even mre spin in the ball. Asian players als develped the penhlder grip, in which the handle f the paddle is held between frefinger and thumb, allwing the player t strike the ball with the same face f the paddle n any strke. That grip is nw used by virtually all tp internatinal players. Table Tennis became an Olympic sprt at Seul in 1988, with singles and dubles cmpetitin fr bth men and wmen. Table Tennis at the Cmmnwealth Games Table Tennis had its first appearance in the 2002 Cmmnwealth Games in Manchester. Nigeria wn gld in the men s singles, and New Zealand wn gld in the wmen s singles. STARTING BLOCKS State f Victria, 2004 2
ABOUT TABLE TENNIS Table Tennis is a fast paced, exciting indr game requiring speed and fast reactin time. The game can be played as singles, dubles and mixed and the aim is t make shts that yur ppnent cannt return. Rules Receiving a serve In singles, the server hits the ball ver the net and play cntinues until the pint is wn. Service is taken frm the right side f the curt. In dubles, the players n each team must take it in turns t hit the ball. After each 2 pints have been scred, the receiving player/pair becme the servers (unless the scre is 10 all, where nly 1 pint is served per player). A serve that hits the net is called a let. There are n pints lst fr a let. A serve that des nt land n the ppnent s curt is called a Fault. A pint is lst fr each fault served. Scring A game f Table Tennis is wn when the first player/team win 11 pints. If the scre is 10 all, the winner is the first player/team t get 2 pints ahead. Backhand sht The umpire will always call the server s scre first in Table Tennis. Fr example, a scre f 7 9 means that the persn serving has wn 7 pints and the receiver 9 pints. ABOUT EAD TABLE TENNIS Table tennis fr smene in a wheelchair has almst the same rules as the sprt fr the abled. The nly difference in rules relates t serving. Wheelchair Table tennis players must serve the ball s that it leaves ver the end f the table.that is they cannt serve crsscurt. Other than that difference, the sprt is just as fast and requires the same level f skill as it des fr smene standing up. Wheelchair Table Tennis At the Melburne 2006 Games, there will be a cmpetitin fr female wheelchair athletes. A match cnsists f five sets each being played until eleven pints have been reached. Table tennis is played by athletes with a physical r with an intellectual disability spread ver 11 classes. STARTING BLOCKS State f Victria, 2004 3
1-5: Athletes cmpeting frm a wheelchair with class ne being the mst severely disabled and class five the least disabled. 6-10: Ambulant athletes with class 6 the mst severely disabled and class 10 the least. 11: Athletes with an intellectual disability. TABLE TENNIS EQUIPMENT Table Tennis table The Table A Table Tennis table is 274cm lng, 152cm wide and 76cm tall. Tables are made f dark green r blue clured wd. Sme tables are made f synthetic material. The Net Assembly The net has a height f 15.25cm and runs acrss the centre f the table. The net is usually made f nyln and is dark green in clr. Clseup f net assembly The Ball The ball is 40mm in diameter and weighs 2.7gm. It is made f a plastic material and is white r range, depending n the table clr. Table Tennis ball The Racquet The bdy f the racquet and the handle are made f wd. The bdy cnsists f thin layers f wd cmbined with carbn fibre. The number f layers depends n the speed and cntrl required. The racket is cvered in rubber, usually with sandwiched rubber rubber that has raised pimples r pips n ne side and pimples that are inverted n the ther. STARTING BLOCKS State f Victria, 2004 4
TABLE TENNIS EVENT INFORMATION Table Tennis is a very ppular sprt thrughut the Cmmnwealth and as such, it is expected that the cmpetitin prpsed fr 2006 in Melburne will be htly cntested. The Table Tennis prgram will als incrprate a Wmen's wheelchair cmpetitin as a part f the M2006 EAD prgram. The Table Tennis cmpetitin will be cnducted at the Melburne Sprts and Aquatic Centre - including use f the shw curt fr bth preliminary runds and finals. Events Event Male Female Singles Singles (EAD) - Wheelchair Dubles Mixed Team This venue is the hme f Table Tennis in Victria and has the necessary rms available fr the management and administratin f the cmpetitin, as well as a well-ventilated glue rm. MSAC will have the ability t huse all warm-up, training and cmpetitin needs n ne site. It is prpsed that beside the ten cmpetitin tables, an area husing anther ten tables with identical specificatins wuld be made available t the athletes fr bth training and warm-up at MSAC. TABLE TENNIS - DID YOU KNOW? In the 1890s, the Parker Brthers, wh later intrduced the game Mnply, began selling an indr tennis kit that cntained a prtable net that culd be set up n a small table and miniature paddles. The ball can travel up t 160km per hur. There are 40 millin cmpetitive Table Tennis players arund the wrld, and millins f thers playing recreatinally. The use f sme glues n rackets are banned as they can make the ball travel much faster than thers. STARTING BLOCKS State f Victria, 2004 5
TABLE TENNIS - JOIN IN Table Tennis can be played by peple f an age and can be played cmpetitively r as a recreatinal activity. Table Tennis Victria lg A mdified Junir prgram called TOPS has been develped fr children aged 5 t 16 years. The TOPS prgram can be btained frm Table Tennis Victria r Table Tennis Australia. It is divided int easy t fllw sectins fr use by schl teachers and club caches, aimed at the beginner level, and fr use by teachers with minimal Table Tennis experience. Victrian Schl Singles Champinships Each year Table Tennis Victria searches fr the Victrian Schl singles champins. The cmpetitin is cnducted in three stages with the first stage being an in-schl turnament t find the best players frm a schl. They mve int a Zne Final. There are eight znes arund Victria. The tp tw in each sectin f the zne then playff in the All Victrian Final fr the right t be called the All Victrian Schls Singles Champin. T find ut mre abut Table Tennis and where t take part, please cntact: Table Tennis Victria, www.ttv.cm.au Phne: +61 3 9682 2011 Table Tennis Australia, www.tabletennis.rg.au Phne: +61 2 97635507 STARTING BLOCKS State f Victria, 2004 6