Speaking of controversy... for a long time I didn't see any activity on ittf.com under the TTX link, now there's quite a bit. There is, for instance, information about equipment.
https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/85d958_7 ... 2d50a7.pdf
This, by the way, was linked off this web page:
https://www.ttx.world/
Tables would be similar to table tennis tables but are more open to variation. They actually use the word "approximately" when specifying dimensions! The net's the same height (152.5mm, which I suppose is nominally 6 inches). But nothing is said about extensions to the side...
The ball is bigger - 46.00 to 46.75mm. Weight is 4.94 to 5.15g. The idea is so that you can play this outdoors in the wind.
Rackets - they're supposed to be slick. MAXIMUM static CoF is 0.50, maximum dynamic CoF is 0.29. This is slicker than the slickest of the "frictionless" long pips (T4 B8 specifies a MINIMUM "kinetic" - same as dymanic I suppose - CoF as 0.50). They recommend solid polymer bats, though they say "any material" would be OK. Shore A > 95 (this means it's pretty hard). So in essence you're playing with something akin a polypropylene food cutting board.
What to make of this? Do I see it taking off? It might, but not without some effort and sponsorship. You get the idea that the whole thing is meant to be marketed - the bats, the balls, the tables are supposed to be colorful and have logos and graphics on them. We, of course, wouldn't be interested in this - if we want alternative forms of table tennis with less spin, there is already 1) hardbat, 2) sandpaper and 3) Japanese-rules 44mm big-ball. It's not for is, it's for the "extreme sports", skateboarding X-games crowd, for frat kids on Spring Break, to be played in bars next to the pool tables. But whether we're interested in it or not, I can see this taking off if they organize big events and tournaments, with major prize money, and if there's going to be major prize money you might actually get high level table tennis players converting over, since they'd be the most likely to win the prizes. To be honest.. if organized Beer Pong can grow to have bigger tournaments and more prize money than regular table tennis, then so can this...
I suppose some here might think of it as a threat, others might say it's irrelevant, others yet a distraction. For me, I'll continue watching to see what happens with some degree of morbid fascination. Iskandar