ITTF Bans Speed Glue, Boosters and Tuners - and Much More!

During all the 2008 Beijing Olympics hype, the ITTF have very quietly inserted a new clause to their Laws of Table Tennis concerning the racket. It's a small addition, but it's one that's going to have a huge impact on the sport.

Law 2.04.07 - The covering material should be used as it has been authorised by the ITTF without any physical, chemical or other treatment, changing or modifying playing properties, friction, outlook, colour, structure, surface, etc.

Well, so what, you might say? That little sentence above is the rule that will remove speed glue, boosters and goodness knows what else from our sport in one fell swoop. Here's why:

• Speed Glue - speed glue will no longer be legal due to the changes it makes to the sponge of the covering material, as well as the stretching and tensioning affect it has on the topsheet. So say goodbye to speed glue.

• Boosters/Tuners - similar to speed glue but without the VOCs, boosters and tuners will be outlawed for similar reasons - their effect on the sponge and topsheet. There's no official word from the ITTF on this issue yet - stayed tuned(!).

• Rubber Cleaners - I'm not sure where we are going to stand with regard to rubber cleaners such as Spinmax or the more standard sprays and foams. Do they simply clean the surface, or do they chemically modify it? They certainly change the friction in doing so, but it could be argued that they are simply undoing the effect of built up dirt and grease on the rubber surface. No mention about this at all from the ITTF - so your guess is as good as mine as to whether they will stay legal or not.

• Old/Dirty Rubbers - Those of you who like to get that extra bit of use from your rubbers might be in for a bit of a shock. As the rubber gets older, dirtier, and more worn out, in will no longer be in the condition it was in when approved by the ITTF - for example the friction in a dirty, old rubber will be markedly less than a new version of the rubber. So technically these old rubbers will be illegal too! I have no clue how this will be enforced though - or even if it will be enforced.

In fact, the ITTF is very light on the details on how they are planning to implement and enforce this particular rule. The enez racket testing machine can be used to detect certain illegal substances in the racket, but I doubt it will detect them all. And in circumstances where the rubbers are old or dirty, how does the umpire determine the rubber has changed significantly?

Don't get me wrong - I am all for the banning of substances that are a health hazard. And as a defender, I'm not a big fan of speed glue and boosters anyway. So I'm not against the rule at all. But the ITTF need to sit down, get to work and set out exactly how they expect this rule to be enforced around the world, both in the major tournaments such as the Olympics and World Championships with all their resources, and in little local competitions in a country town who don't have a huge officiating budget. A rule that is unenforceable is perhaps worse than no rule at all.