OOAK Table Tennis Forum

For me this totally irrelevant & a waste of money, next it will be something like “Totem Table Tennis” they have suddenly invented what a joke!

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Irrelevant? To us, sure. Waste of money? Maybe. Time will tell. Just curious, though - how would you feel, exactly, if the TTX world champs gets bigger than the Table Tennis world champs? Envious? Perplexed? Annoyed? (Don't laugh, the Beer Pong World Champs has more money to be won than the Table Tennis World Champs. Table tennis prize money is a joke compared to, say, tennis. Or, I'll bet, even squash.) Maybe this is aimed at the eXtreme Sport crowd? You know, the skateboarders and air-surfers and stilt-jumpers and POV drone-racers - maybe we'll see people posting their GoPro footage of TTX matches on YouTube (or they might use those Lily drones to do it..). We might have to set up a TTX topic in this forum..

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=26302&p=279215

I, personally, would be annoyed...

Iskandar

Two options will come out of this:

1) It doesn't catch on. What a waste of valuable money!
2) It catches on. I can imagine some time in the future TTX fans will come to my club and want to play. I'll friendly remind them then that we are a TT club, not a TTX club, and our already too few tables are reserved for TT players. If you don't do that, you'll risk of being the subject of the movie "Hardbat 2: fifty years later" in which a huge crowd takes over the now dominant force, which will be a minority then. Only difference is that sponge play wasn't a dumbed down version of hardbat. This TTX is, both in comparison with sponged play as well in comparison with hardbat play.

Besides the short term problem of an even greater shortage of tables of morons taking places of valuable future members who want to play the real game, in the long term it might be the end of regular TT if it caches on. Why would the ITTF keep investing in a sport that isn't proficient enough in comparison with the then very big market of TTX? Only one good thing can come out of this: if our sport survives, we'll get rid of the ITTF. Big gamble though!

I hope this new "TTX" will be a success and ITTF will find fulfilment in inventing and promoting this "new sport".
-Then they can leave this old sport of "TT" alone. Give up governing TT. I am sure there are enough talents in the international TT community eager to take up the baton.
-Finally, change the name from ITTF to ITTXF.

This sounds like the ITTF's attempt to cash in on the equivalent success of T20 Cricket where the emphasis is on big hitting and quick games.

There is a difference though. Cricket is a spectator sport, table tennis isn't. It's a participation sport. If the ITTF have done this to improve viewing figures then I can't see it working.

If they've done it as a participation sport, I can't see it working.

I coach kids. They get bored easily. They want to hit the ball hard. They want to win the point as quickly as possible. This scoring system encourages that. Low reward if you force your opponent to make an error. High reward if you hit a clean winner. Hasn't the ITTF being complaining - and us, the viewers - about 3rd ball kill table tennis, how there are no rallies. This game format encourages the things everyone has been complaining about. Defenders, control players, they don't hit clean winners. The "win" points by tactical play, drawing others in to making mistakes, defenders attack attackers inpatience and poor shot selection. This format will kill the art of defending and working out opponents. It will encourage fast hitting.

So what, you might say, that's what kids want, it will bring them in to the game. Well maybe, for the person doing the hitting. Nothing bores a young kid more than playing someone who whacks the ball hard and usually off the table. The one on the receiving end never gets to play more than one shot and spends most of their time going to get the ball the other person whacked off the table. Something I'll do in coaching is if a kid keeps whacking the ball hard and missing, I make them go and pick the ball up.

As for the rules, come on. Get real. Have these people actually played outside in a park. What's the worst thing about playing 2 man cricket with a friend (one bats, one bowls). It's having to go and run after the ball when you're mates just whacked it. If you're playing someone who gets 2 points for every winner and only 1 for control play, you're going to play the odds and risk hitting the ball hard for a winner. And getting the ball back will take time. Play outside, it could take 30 seconds to get the ball back. Hit 2 winners and whack the other 2 balls as hard as you can in to the distance and game over. You get 4 points for 2 winners, you're opponent get 2 points for the misses. How exciting will that be. Kids learn fast. This sounds like it will be a flash in the pan.

And let's face it, when I first played, we put some MDF over the dinner table at home, used books stood up in the middle of the table for a net and just played. Who ever got the ball off the floor served. No rules on serving. 1 point only awarded, regardless of shot. Only time limit, play until you got tired or bored, or your parents wanted the table back. You could do all the other fancy stuff in the ITTF version without having a governing body tell you what you should be doing. You were smart enough to make up your own rules to suit your own needs.

This is a T20 substitute, plain and simple. I for one have a bad back and I'm not going to play anyone in this format. Why should I spend all the time walking to pick up the ball that someone else has whacked off. If you don't know what I mean, think back to all the topics and discussion we've had about trying to warm up before a game starts with players who just whack the ball back past you. Multiply that by a factor of 10 and you've got how much fun this game will be to play.

On a separate issue, did anyone get sick and tired of hearing Adham Shahara continually defend the ITTF's approach to changing equipment and rules by saying "the ITTF represents the Pro's in this sport, if you've got a complaint, take it up at the approapriate level - you're own National Governing Body". I think he has a point if we're talking about "ITTF" rules but come on, now all of a sudden the ITTF wants to start Governing the "social" side of the game? Does this mean we can all email the ITTF president and complain or compliment him about this new format? Either the ITTF represents only the elite aspect of the sport, or it doesn't. It can't do both - at least not do both and defend itself by saying "we're not interested in your level of sport".

So to sum up.

1. Congratulations to the ITTF for being proactive in trying to promote "racket sports".
2. Serious error in judgement as to what kids enjoy doing
3. Serious error in judgement if they think encouraging players to hit the ball for winners is the way forward in to introducing others in to our sport - and certainly not a way to encourage variety
4. Don't care about the equipment. If I want, I could apply the Table Tennis X rules right now on standard tables with standard equipment. In fact I might try it next week to see how much people actually like it.
5. Doesn't do anything that some imagination can't do with the current equipment in table tennis. In fact if anyone coaches kids, one of the things you can do is play "top table". Best players start on the bottom table, weakest at the top. Games first to 11. First table where there is a result shouts out "change". Person leading at that time moves up one table, the person losing moves down - even if their game hasn't finished. You get the speed element, you get learning to play with time pressure, you get the fun of competition, you get kids playing other kids of different standards and you get the kids mixing because they "can't play with just their mates" all night, ignoring everyone else.

The fact that the ITTF are promotting this also suggests they aren't exactly enamored with the efforts of National Associations to promote and grow our game. My response is simple. To quote Mr Shahara, if you don't like the way table tennis is developing, get your National Associations in order and stop messing with the basement level. As you've said many times, it's not your remit. What would be is if you sped up the play in between points at elite level. There's more time spent collecting the ball, wiping hands on table, bouncing the ball and toweling down than actual play time. That's the issue. Stop that and you'd get faster games.

And for goodness sake, get someone to film, edit and analyse the sport properly. The delivery and approach to table tennis video production and analysis for viewers to watch could be so much better.

Excellent point, I didn't think of that!

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TTX should work since anyone who is actually a walking shopper at Wal-Mart could play at some level.

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Yes, it might 'work', but will it benefit table tennis?

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I think in the USA it will bring about more marketing exposure which will inspire TT to be added as a Sport to high schools sports programs.

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Panda Drive / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Xiom Omega IV Elite Max / Play right-handed
XVT balsa carbon 10mm / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH Globe 979 Long Pips OX / Play Left-handed shakehand
Stiga Def Wood / 4H Xiom Sigma Pro 2 2.0 / BH GD CC LP OX .. Play Left-handed
Cpen SOS Wood / 4H 729 802-40 2.0 / BH GD Talon use righthanded shakehand grip
HARDBAT / Shakehand Hock 3 ply / Friendship Dr Evil OX .. Play Right-handed

I sincerely hope you're right!

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Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

I haven't seen anywhere where it says the size or materials of the ball. Is it to be a different material to a poly ball? If its made for outside I guess so.

I can't see it attracting people to the sport of TT. I can see people substituting TTX for ping-pong in garages and basements. When that happens, those who may have upgraded from ping-pong to TT will not be so tempted to make that change.

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Will it benefit table tennis? Depends on what you mean by "table tennis".. IF it catches on, yes, there may be some people who might switch over to table tennis - but you might also have some table tennis players switching to TTX! (I can't see many playing both, much like there are very few playing both hardbat and sponge). I guess the REAL question to ask is... IF it catches on, what will benefit? TTX will, of course...

As for the ball.. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it were some sort of hollow RUBBER ball. Something fairly lightweight that won't hurt existing tables, of course.

Iskandar

The bats are NO SPIN. If someone learns this first, try to coach him in table tennis. Good luck.

Before the Aug 4 announcement, l was expecting the ITTF might come up with something silly and ridiculous (and I wouldn't be surprised). But the outcome was beyond my wildest imagination. It is REALLY BAD!
Mr Sharara wanted a "spectator sport" that can be watched on TV. Mr Weikert now wants a sport that can be played by anyone anywhere. There seems to be a consistency here and that's REALLY SCARY!

You can only complain if you actually play it (TTX), though...

Iskandar