OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I just bought a 3/4 length roller table that is of very high quality. I live with my girlfriend in an apartment and have room for it if I move things around. I could have got a full size but it would have left less room for playing.
I love table tennis and play at every opportunity and because the state of the game in Ireland is a joke-at best-with useless over priced clubs I decided that my only choice was this.
All the clubs near me cost about 250 euro a year and you can play two days a week from 7 till 9pm.Thats 4 hours of broken up play for the cost of a gym with a pool!! This to me is embarrassing -I mean I work from home and start at 6am and finish at 2pm. Waiting for an evening slot where you along with ten or twenty others stand around a table taking turns never practicing and in general never getting any better. It is not just table tennis that suffers in this way-boxing , any diving or aquatic sports and athletics are all looked over.
I think there is only one 10metre board in Ireland, and even that cant be used without meeting certain criteria!
Anyway I digress. My question to someone with experience is- Is there a return board or robot suitable for a 3/4 size table or is it a waste of time.
My girlfriend likes playing but not as much as me.
We have the table in our living room/sitting room and have a metre and a half back on each side to play.
Thanks guys.

Hi Davey, sorry to hear about the lack of playing facilities in Ireland, that really sucks. I agree that in your case, a table at home is the best answer. But I am not sure if I get this right. Are you saying that what you have set up is not full size? If that is the case then playing on it will actually hurt your technique and style. You will be altering your stroke and your power to get the ball on the table and it will damage your game.
Second, a robot is good for practice and getting your basics right, but only once someone, like a coach or a senor player has guided you in the right direction. I am assuming of course that you are not an advanced player - please correct me if I am wrong.

And you will need to play against a variety of opposition to improve your game, seems that is unlikely though as you have already stated. But if you can, get a full size table in, it will also cramp your style but at least you will be able to work on some basics like the short game, serves, service return etc.

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Agree with Ranger Man. A 7 feet table will hurt your game. Better if you utilize full size table.

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Enjoy the game. It is a never ending learning experience once you play and keep the ball on that 45 sq ft of space or should I say half of that space.

I mostly agree with the others responding above. When your technique is in place, a smaller table can be OK for practising the short game (pushing and drop shots), but while learning it may also hurt your technique in those fields (slightly different stroke/footwork when you can stand closer to the net). Being aware of the implications helps a little, but if you practice a lot on a smaller table, your reflexes will not be optimal for playing on a full size table.

Glennholder's full length solution is better if you want to train properly, but that may not be a viable option for your situation. (Still needs the long stretch of space, and possibly the appearance of a sawn off table is not so pleasant to everyone in the household...)

Now to your question: Robots and return boards are adjustable, so you should be able to make some use of them. I have little experience with robots, but AFAIK they all have preset patterns. I guess you can adjust the setup to suit non standard table sizes. With a smaller table I imagine that you could lift the robot up and tilt it so it aims slightly downwards. (Probably not possible to do with all robots, as it may disturb the ball feeding.)
If there's a local shop you can buy it from (not likely from your desctiption of the situation for TT in your country), ask the people who sell it. They may have one on display, so you can easily try the adjustment before you buy.
With return boards, the effect of playing on a smaller table may be amplified, so I'm not sure how useful it is for stroke practice (learning). For workout purposes it may be OK.

I agree with keme. And it reminded me of the time I visited some ppl at their basement cliub. We had met at the local sports shop, got to talking about the game and he invited me over. An it was a horrible experience. They had a proper table but the space on either side was so limited, I was very cramped. I think they had about two feet on either side of the table and less than four feet behind the table. I am used to playing with much more space then this. I play Cpen and have this huge forehand swing, no way I was doing that there. I tend to move back from the table a bit and I like to move to my backhand to turn balls into forehands, again, no real space to do that.

Suffice to say, I never went back. Those guys were used to playing staying glued to the table. So keme is right, even if you do manage to get a full table in there, the lack of space around will in fact also create bad habits.

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The speed of a Rhino and the power of a Gazelle!!!!
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I have played for years in school and college and one can play to a very high level at both-add to that the league has 6 or 7 levels in Ireland so I am not a beginner by any manner or means. The problem is that because TableTennis is not a huge sport here, playing in a club at the moment was not an option and a full size table would leave too small a playing space.
I know a 7 foot as opposed to 9 will not be the exact prerequisites for the game but technique and footwork are not a problem- hand eye co-ordination is just as important- and the table could be two foot for that and it would not matter.Also for practicing serving and for stroke and service return technique - one would only have to tweak there game to a full table-for me this would be the case.
I am not a beginner and have played table tennis for years.
No, and dont get me wrong I am thankful of your mis-guided suggestion- the question was whether it would work or not -a robot or return board. I know a robot would but am far more interested in a return board.
Thanks guys.

Tibhar H19 and Sinus Sound and Tackfire- I rarely write my setup-I dont see the point - a good player could play with a wooden spoon.

Thank you for your suggestions- thank you Keme your answer was the one I was hoping to get. I will take it on board and hope to get a return board that will work. I have played for many years, about 17years I started at a young age -my father and brother both played at club level and we had a Stiga Roller in our kitchen. My dads bat was black on both sides as he played before the red/black rule. I always tried to get my little hands on it -and failed-the cut off rugged rubber edges always had my attention-it looked so thick compared to my toy hardbat.
My brother had a Butterfly blade- Istvan Jonyer-and he gave me my first proper bat-a Stiga Allround with red rubbers on both sides with an anatomic handle. There was not much room and it always seemed that they were standing at the corners.
That is probably why I dont usually write what blade and rubber I use-as i know it is more important in table tennis to have good equipment more than other sports-think of football-will good boots make you a better player!
I also know how a good player can make use of most any bat -technique is key. Take the,"Ghost Serve", the one where you serve it low to return to the net-added sidespin is optional! How come I can serve this serve with Butterfly Challenger Rubber Sheets-WHICH ARE SHORT PIPS!!!!!!!!!! As I said technique is key. Thanks for your suggestions guys.
Best wishes from Ireland.

where do you live? cheapest clubs ive seen in dublin are balgriffin and leinster( i am currently with leinster), balgriffin being the cheaper option

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