OOAK Table Tennis Forum

My understanding is that a bat cannot be changed during a match unless accidently damaged however this appears as though its only listed under the international rules.

3.4.2.4 A racket shall not be replaced during an individual match unless it is
accidentally damaged so badly that it cannot be used; if this happens the
damaged racket shall be replaced immediately by another which the player
has brought with him or her to the playing area or one which is handed to him
or her in the playing area.

In the standard rules there is no reference to this, only

2.4.7 The racket covering shall be used without any physical, chemical or other
treatment.
2.4.7.1 Slight deviations from continuity of surface or uniformity of colour due to
accidental damage or wear may be allowed provided that they do not
significantly change the characteristics of the surface.
2.4.8 Before the start of a match and whenever he or she changes his or her racket
during a match a player shall show his or her opponent and the umpire the
racket he or she is about to use and shall allow them to examine it.

Does this mean that there is not rule saying you can't change a bat during a match. That you can even change from inverted to LP if things aren't going your way or in our local club comps do way play as part of the international rules by being an ITTF affiliated club?

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Donic Waldner Senso V1,FH Baracuda Big Slam 2.0mm ,BH Victas Triple Regular 2.0mm

It depends if the body organising the competition inherits the ITTF rules via your country, state etc, and then if it (or anything in the chain) has a by-law overriding the ITTF rule(s).

Two by-laws from my local comp:

Except for the top division there are no time-outs.
No expedite to be used.

In the absence of anything noted I would expect there to be no bat change allowed except if the one being played with gets accidentally damaged.

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Retriever (sometimes golden, but often leaden)
Moderator, Inverted Retriever Technique sub-forum - http://ooakforum.com/viewforum.php?f=74

This seems counter to what little I've seen of situations like this. I can't remember when exactly - it was the finals at the WTTC last year, I think, and I think it was Ma Long. He hit the side of the table with his bat, which caused a little tear at the side of the bat. I'm pretty sure it wasn't "damaged so badly that it cannot be used" - it was just a tiny tear at the edge. Yet the umpire told him to get another bat, so he did. I also notice people here mentioning bringing markers to the table to disguise places where the topsheet had gotten broken off - apparently it's "illegal" with play with a bat where you can see bits of sponge at the edges, or even a little amount of bare wood. I'd think this would be covered by 2.4.7.1 below. Maybe people carry things a bit too far.

Someone (can't remember the name - it's the Turkish umpire guy) pointed out that most tournaments WILL apply International Rules when it comes to things like rackets. There are other things that appear in International Rules only, such as having to have the rubber ID strip visible. I was apparently not required back in the 1960s and maybe even 1970s - some people (or at least some of the local schoolkids around here) would apply the rubber upside down, and cut off the ID strip - this way your opponent wouldn't know what you were using. Very useful if you had a one-color bat with anti.



The last time I was playing (around 1998-2001 or so) the rules were different. You were allowed to change your bat whenever you wanted to, as long as you told your opponent, and allowed him/her to examine it. Someone even posted about someone he knew who regularly used two different bats - he'd bring the second one out when the game went into expedite - he'd use one bat for serving and one bat for when he had to receive. Well, we still have someone playing with bare wood (actually vinyl decal) at Social Doubles - if you think long pips causes spin reversal, you've never seen what bare wood does...

Iskandar

TTA adopts ITTF rules, so any TTA, and association (eg, TTV), and affiliated club should follow the ittf rules.

In terms of club rules, what rules you guys choose follow for club fixtures is on you, but i would be extremely surprised if any affiliated club deviates from the ITTF rules intentionally for regular/standard match play. There are exceptions of course, mostly ones that can't be enforced without officiating match umpires - eg, like what retriever mentioned - expedite, time wasters and timeouts.

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Chasse Patate