OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I played local league badminton for about 18yrs before turning to table tennis. When I played badminton we often got together as a team after a match and went somewhere to chill out and chat. Often that chat wasn't just badminton related. I knew what jobs people did, a bit about their family life and what made them tick. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that league matches in badminton were always doubles (mens, ladies and mixed) and therefore it was essential to develop a "team" atmosphere.

However, at table tennis even though I've got "table tennis friends", I seldom if ever socialise with them outside of a table tennis environment. Nor do we really talk about anything other than table tennis. I know a couple of teams in our league go for a drink after a match but they are the exception rather than the rule. I'm not sure if it's because our centre doesn't have social facilities or if it's because table tennis players in general are only interested in playing table tennis and not the social aspect.

How do you find table tennis players at your club? Do you socialise with any of them outside of table tennis or even after matches. Do you talk about anything other than table tennis? Do you have players who simply turn up, play and go home not wanting or being prepared to even mix in and put up and take down table tennis equipment? Are table tennis players really insular and is that caused by the nature of the games. Lots of singles very little doubles?

What do you do to create a social atmosphere in your team, assuming it matters to you in the first place.

If I'm right and table tennis players tend to be insular, self obsessed and borderline antisocial, this could be one of the shortest threads on the forum!

I think it's not about the type of sports, rather go back to individuals. Some like that kind of stuff more than others, then you have some in the middle too.

I'm more like the some in the middle. I'm fine either way. I'm member of several clubs.

At one we have routine events, going out to rent a place in some restaurant and have big dinner once or twice a year. Every three months we have internal tournament + dinner together at the club celebrating those who are having birthday in those three months. Some would often go and have some dinner and lunch or karaoke.

At another, is in between. Sometime one of us bring food/snacks, some of us go out and have dinner/lunch together.

At the other club, it's just show up and play. Chit chat a bit, then go home.

I'll say though, that being in a club who has/plays a lot of doubles helps a lot in giving livelier atmosphere. A whole lot more interaction and jokes going around which nurture friendlier relationships.

Also a member of an auto club. We have dinner/lunch together some time, go out shoot some pool, go swimming, go and drive together to other cities and see mountain, beaches, go camping at national park reserve, etc.

We talk about anything, not merely table tennis or auto stuff. Actually talk more about any other stuff.

So I say, table tennis players are just like any other sports players or any other events/people. You have some of these and some of those.

What do I do to help making social atmosphere? I'll play/spar with anyone. I rotate when playing doubles (some would only play double with certain partner), I can partner with anyone. There's a running joke that I always mention to people going home early, that they can't go home unless they play at least once with me.

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Sorry Debater, just wrote a rather long response and had it crash.

Long and the short of it was I have quite a good social life with my fellow TT players.

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Yeap me too, it all depends on individual at the end of the day, and if you find some likeable ppl why not hang out after for lunch talk bout stuffs and all, but ill admit that ive been to venue where the people tend to shy away from socialising, especially when they rather tend to stick with their own peeps (a big club)

I'm not that sociable overall, but I always greet players I recognise at the club, and talk to my teammates and some others plenty.

*But* I generally don't talk about non-TT matters or anything other than the most general things about family/work with them.

I'm aware of at least one club member I get along with quite well, who has diametrically opposite political views to me (I found this out after being Facebook-friended); and another, a terrific guy, who is closely aligned with the opponents of a campaign I'm involved in – and I don't want to make things awkward, since we're all there to enjoy the table tennis.

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Haha I myself personally try to avoid any intense religious or political talks, man especially if you have opposite views on it. Like there's so many things to talk about mucis, movies and stuffs, skip the intense stuffs unless necessary.

While I have a lot of friends from table tennis, I don't socialise much with them outside tabletennis. When I was younger and before I had a family and kids, I used to socialise with my table tennis friends all the time. I see similar behaviour from the younger players from my club, so I think it's more related to my age and famility commitments, rather than the sport.

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Maybe I am not answering your exact question, but I think that TT has more "lone wolfs" and quirky personalities than most other sports.

In TT you do your own thing, with own equipment (often to a degree, that you can't even play decent game with other players equipment) and style, while many other sports are more uniform and co-operative. Mayde this diffence will draw unique personalities to TT.

I think it depends on regions though, like I'd assume for Asians both table tennis and badminton is a form of national sport in a way that there's less quirky characters.

While because of Tt popularity is pales in comparison to lets say football in european nation , it tends to attract the quirky characters possibly.

So what's the profile of a typical table tennis player?

I think profiling to the point that you generalise tt player as a whole is gonna be impossible. Again it will all depend on the individuals and environment, even the level of players that came from the particular club.

Hi "Debater", I play in a over 50s TT club which has lunches about every 2nd month which are well attended. The members are mainly very social, the people are probably 50% of the reason my wife & I are members of this club & not another.
I also play completion TT which is in the mainly competitive & much less social overall with only a league presentation dinner at the end of the season. But there is a crossover with several of the players playing in both groups.
Then there are several players who I get on well with & have personal friendships with.
Personally as in all things in life its what you make of it, if you put in you usually reap the rewards!

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What haggisv said. I also find that in competition league, on the whole, the players in the lower leagues are more social and don't mind a bit of time to chat, while those in the higher leagues are more intent on the game.

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because so many different ages/ styles / shapes / abilities can play table tennis, it opens itself up to far more varied range of people who can play the sport. This means a wider profile - compared to virtually any other sport, e.g. cycling, basketball, rugby players...

I often think there are many unique, slightly unusual people involved in table tennis, with the irony of course being that I assume that I am viewed as "normal"....

At the risk of generalizing too much - TT might be slightly skewed towards folks with at least some OCD tendencies. After all, most of the time is spent following a small object, never losing it out of sight. Lots of repetitive motions. Plenty of arcane equipment properties to obsess over (like throw angle - *ducks and hides in the corner*).

Just a thought, not backed up by any studies - there must be some self-selection going on.

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