About Table Tennis / Ping-Pong

Follow the Bouncing Ball...

2009-11-12T05:36:31Z

Don't just phone it in... Image copyright Apple

In the What will they think of next? category is this nifty product from Terranova Scientific, who have produced an iPhone application to measure the Coefficient of Restitution (COR) of table tennis balls, by "listening" to the consecutive bounces of the ball, and then calculating the COR by analyzing the time interval between the bounces.

Seeing as the current test for the COR of table tennis balls is done by dropping the ball from 305mm, and then measuring the height of the bounce (which is not as easy at it sounds - try it sometime), this could be a useful product for table tennis officials around the world. Initial pricing looks to be around $25 US.

The actual table tennis ball COR measurer iPhone application is not released quite yet, but you can check out the equivalent product for golf balls from the company here.

Now if they could only come up with a similar iPhone application to measure the fastest rubber...

Follow the Bouncing Ball... originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 05:36:31.

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Table Tennis Rubber Review - Killerspin Fortissimo

2009-11-09T07:36:37Z

Fortissimo - if it's too loud, you're too old! Image courtesy www.megaspin.com

Once again, the people at Megaspin were generous enough to send me some rubbers to review - this time it was 2 sheets of FORTISSIMO - one of Killerspin's latest rubber innovations. I've been using this rubber for a number of months on my main bat, so now I'm comfortable enough to offer my thoughts on Killerspin Fortissimo.

Table Tennis Rubber Review - Killerspin Fortissimo originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 07:36:37.

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First Major TV Agreement for the Oceania Region

2009-11-04T23:04:07Z

Taking Table Tennis To The TV Image courtesy ITTF, www.ittf.com

Table tennis fans in Australia have received an early Christmas present with the news that Fox Sports in Australia are going to TV broadcast a number of the top ITTF events from 2010-2012, including the World Title Table Tennis events, the World of Table Tennis, and the Oceania Cup.

After many years of limited coverage of table tennis on television in Australia, this agreement is something to celebrate. Well done to all concerned in getting ping-pong onto TV screens in Australia at last.

More details about the agreement can be found on the ITTF website.

First Major TV Agreement for the Oceania Region originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 23:04:07.

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Should Table Tennis Beginners Use Junk Rubbers?

2009-02-23T03:03:27Z

Most coaches and experienced table tennis players would recommend that new ping-pong people should stick to using inverted rubber on both sides of their racket, until the basic strokes have been mastered. But is this truism good advice? Or can table tennis beginners use junk rubbers?

Should Table Tennis Beginners Use Junk Rubbers? originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 03:03:27.

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Common Grip Errors in Table Tennis

2009-02-20T00:01:04Z

They say that there is a thousand ways to skin a cat, and sometimes it seems that there are almost as many ways to hold your table tennis bat! And while variety is the spice of life, most table tennis players are better off sticking to conventional grip types. Today I'm examining some common ping-pong grip mistakes made by new players - is your grip on the list?

Common Grip Errors in Table Tennis originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 00:01:04.

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Table Tennis in the News - 18th February 2009

2009-02-18T01:25:53Z

Table tennis has been making headlines in a number of different areas of the media of late, including the following articles:

ITTF President Adham Sharara admits that 90% of top table tennis players are cheating by boosting their rubbers.
Killerspin, a Chicago-based table tennis manufacturer and distributor, have signed an exclusive endorsement contract with Shareth Kamal Achanta of India.
Ping-Pong Playa is out on Blu-ray DVDe
The Longview Table Tennis Community has made the news, talking about their traveling to tournaments all over the USA.
Watch out, the Ponginator is coming! (Warning: noisy video link). This is a gigantic robot that shoots ping-pong balls at 170mph (any faster and they apparently disintegrate!). You can see the inventor of the Ponginator talking about the machine in this video.

Table Tennis in the News - 18th February 2009 originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 01:25:53.

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How to Play the Basic Strokes of Table Tennis - The Forehand Counterhit

2009-02-16T04:38:11Z

If you are a recent convert to the sport of table tennis, then you need to master the basic strokes as soon as possible. While there still exists some debate about which strokes to learn first, there is little doubt that one of them is the stroke I'm highlighting today - the forehand counterhit.

How to Play the Basic Strokes of Table Tennis - The Forehand Counterhit originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 04:38:11.

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Table Tennis Fitness Training - Train Smarter - And Harder!

2009-02-13T00:01:27Z

Those readers who have followed my personal table tennis blog would know about my use of walking aerobics that has allowed me to increase my training time and burn more calories without pounding my body into the ground. Which is all well and good if you have lots of time to train, but what if you are pressed for time?

Here's another training tool that I use that just might do the trick for those of you with busy schedules. It's a tip I picked up from Clarence Bass, a well respected figure in body building and whole body fitness circles. You can read the whole rationale behind this training tip by following the link, but I'll also put it into a nutshell below.

The training routine is to do 6-8 sessions of all out aerobic effort that last 20 seconds each, spaced out by 10 second periods of rest. Subjects tested using this routine had an increase in their VO2max of 14% in 6 weeks, along with an increase in anaerobic capacity of 28%. In other words, people improved their aerobic fitness and muscular endurance at the same time! Not bad!

I've been using this routine once a week at the end of my aerobic sessions, doing 6 sets of all out looping shadow play (with side-to-side footwork) for 20 seconds each, and a 10 second rest break between each set. Believe me, 6 sets is more than enough for me! It really is pretty gruelling, but I believe it's worth it.

So if you are pressed for time, but are willing to endure about 3-4 minutes of intense discomfort every 2-3 days (don't try this every day, as the report explains), this just might be the thing for you!

Table Tennis Fitness Training - Train Smarter - And Harder! originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 00:01:27.

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Table Tennis News

2009-02-12T00:01:29Z

Table Tennis News and Views USATT logo courtesy www.usatt.org

Dan Seemiller has resigned as the USA Men's National Team Coach, after 10 years in the role. A brief statement about Dan's resignation and the USATT's plans to find a new coach can be found on the USATT website.

In other news, older readers will find the following article of interest - an interview with Ye Yonglie, the journalist who reported on the Chinese match-fixing scandals of the 1960s-1980s. In the interview he describes in fascinating detail the events behind the 1987 WTTC controversy where He Zhili refused to dump her match to Guan Jianhua in the semifinals of the Women's Singles, and went on to win the gold medal. (Thanks to Denis' Table Tennis World forum member zzzuppp for digging this up!)

Table Tennis News originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 00:01:29.

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Timo Boll, Li Qian Triumph at Europe Top 12

2009-02-11T01:15:36Z

Timo Boll - Home Town Triumph! Photo By: R�my Gros, by courtesy of the ITTF

Home town hero Timo Boll triumphed in the final of the Europe Top 12 held in D�sseldorf, Germany this weekend. Boll won a close 4-3 victory over Vladimir Samsonov, 11-9 in the seventh game, coming back from a 1-3 deficit to win the next 3 games and the match.

In the women's final, Poland's Li Qian had a 4-1 victory over Li Jie, in a match that was played under the expedite system from 8-6 in the first game. The 5 game match took over an hour to complete!

More details are available at the ITTF website.

Timo Boll, Li Qian Triumph at Europe Top 12 originally appeared on About.com Table Tennis / Ping-Pong on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 01:15:36.

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