From Greg Letts,
Your Guide to Table Tennis / Ping-Pong.
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Playing in your first competition can be a nerve-wracking experience for most table tennis players. Not only do you have the stress of actually competing against fellow players, but you also get to worry about whether you'll do the wrong thing and embarrass yourself in front of everybody.

Once you get used to it, nothing beats a good competition. After you've played in a few you will know the ropes and be able to concentrate on winning and enjoying yourself. To help you get to that point faster, we'll discuss what to expect and what to do and what not to do during your first few tournaments.

Remember though - the main thing is get out there and compete - win or lose you'll be glad you did!

Two to Three Days Before the Tournament

• Don't do too much hard exercise or training in the two or three days before a big tournament. You want to be fresh and ready to go, so keep your training light so that you aren't tired before you even start.

• Make sure you eat well and get plenty of sleep too. Don't make any radical changes in your diet or party too hard at this point - you want everything to be as normal as possible, so that you are as relaxed as possible before the big day.

• In your first few tournaments, enter just about anything you can, cost, time and fitness permitting. You probably aren't going to win too many matches to start with, so the more events you enter, the more you'll get to play. There's nothing worse than only entering one or two events, having a great time and then wanting more but realizing you haven't entered anything else!

• Make sure you know the location of the tournament, and double check the starting times of your events. The last thing you need is to be frantically running around a huge sports complex trying to find where the table tennis people are hiding.

• Pack your table tennis bag the night before, and then do a quick double check on the day. This saves those last minute panics when you can't find that essential item that has mysteriously disappeared.

Tournament Day - Before Your Match

• Give yourself plenty of time to get to the competition, and include enough time for a good warm up as well. Time has a way of getting away from you - you'd be surprised how often I've ended up going on the table for my first match stone cold because I couldn't get my act together!

• If you are going to be there all day, make sure you have some good food to eat - you can't guarantee you'll get anything suitable at the venue. Some Gatorade or something similar for energy during play, and some complex and simple carbohydrates for when you have a bit more time to eat.

• Once you arrive, report to the Tournament Committee at the control desk. You are usually supposed to report in 10-15 minutes before the start of the event, so don't forget to allow time for this. Check with the Tournament Committee about whether there are any tables set aside for warming up, or if not, whether you are allowed to warm up on the match tables.

• Get in a warm up before you start your event - but don't tire yourself out before you start. Once you have got a light sweat going that should be enough. Try to finish your warm up 5-10 minutes or so before your match starts - much more than that and you might start to cool down again. Make sure you keep yourself warm after the warm up by putting on your track suit if necessary.

• Don't be afraid to ask other players for a warm up - just be polite and don't take it personally if they say no - they may have already warmed up or they may not be playing for quite a while and are saving their energy. If you are a bit nervous about asking strangers to warm up then don't worry, just do some jogging on the spot and then some stretches to get your muscles ready to go. Keep track of the other beginners during the tournament, and you can ask them to warm up with you next time!

• When warming up, try to get a table that is not next to any other matches if possible. Stick to warming up, and don't goof around or make too much noise. Take note of any matches nearby that are getting towards the end of a game or match, and stop for a little while if necessary to avoid hitting your ball onto their court. It can be very frustrating for players in a tense situation to have their match needlessly interrupted by other players who are just messing around on the next court.

• If you are playing someone you don't know, introduce yourself before the match starts and wish them luck. You'll probably be seeing them at tournaments in the future, so it's a good idea to be friendly to everybody. If you are lucky enough to have an umpire, introduce yourself to them as well, and say your name clearly and distinctly, so the umpire will know who you are and will also have a reasonable chance of pronouncing your name correctly!