OOAK Table Tennis Forum

I know we've discussed this before to some degree, but I thought it might be interesting to try and hone in on some of the reasons table tennis is not as popular as Grand Slam tennis.

Presently, the nation is glued to the Australian Open and it's easy to see why. 1) Well-known players (many with marketable personalities); 2) Healthy sponsorship from large, well-known companies; 3) It's a simple game that doesn't get tampered with too much; and 4) The mainstream media just loves it!

There are probably other factors, but I'm wondering what a humble sport like table tennis can do to get even part of this exposure to seem (at least) more exciting and relevant.

Foam says:


I agree that part of the allure of any sport is the 'beautiful people' that take centre stage. This is not such a problem for table tennis (because there are some nice looking folk playing the game), except where promotion and good public relations are concerned. Okay, for an 'anglo' audience there are some hurdles if 'selling' a dominant Asian-look is seen as tricky or undesirable. Personally, I don't think this is too big an issue in our increasingly globally aware community, especially in countries like Australia where Asian culture is mainstream. Besides, for those unwilling to break racial stereotypes there are still great players within their narrow demographic.

The beauty of table tennis is the wide age demographic of its players. Now, I understand that as a society we have difficulty promoting anyone over 30. We are, as a whole, very youth-centric, especially when it comes to sport. Wouldn't it be nice if a sport was able to promote older citizens who were still - more or less - competitive and exciting to watch. I know it excites me.

Compared to tennis, table tennis has many unique qualities: speed and spin, in particular. Where it might suffer is that it's played indoors, and tennis, perhaps, excites us by being an outdoor sport. I'm not sure how important this is, but sometimes I suspect that outdoor sports reminds us - in a sad sort of way - how desperate we are to reconnect with the world outside our concrete bubbles. I can accept that I'm probably over-thinking this bit, but ...

Is it all about advertising and marketing?

_________________

Weapon 1: Andro Kinetic Supreme Hinoki/Zylon OFF-; Andro Hexer HDs (FH 2.1/BH 1.9)
Weapon 2: Ross Leidy 'Smokey'; Friendship 729-5s
Club1: Daylesford - since 2010
Club2: Ballarat - since 2011
Blog: A Naked Bear

I hope it can be more popular! But here are some (I know these are popular reasons) reasons why it might not be....

1: it isn't understood or appreciated much by new viewers. In tennis they can appreciate the placement, speed, and runnning, and while these are definitely present in TT, they are as pronounced to the unknowing viewer. Most people just don't get it. I hear people most of the time say stuff like "yeah they were playing like 15 feet off the table and just smashing it really hard".... *sigh*

2: The ball size. (NO, ITTF, DON'T TRY TO FIX THIS PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!) the ball being small makes it hard to pick up very well. (but 40mm isn't very different from 38mm) a tennis ball is much larger, so it;s easier to really follow.

And I have no idea if the Chinese dominance in the sport hurts the popularity or not. I just don't know...

All in all, tennis is easier for a new viewer to appreciate, and there's more total movement, and It's just plain easier to see......But I like our sport, and hope that something happens to improve the popularity!

_________________
Happy Holidays 'round the world!

One thing that hurts the popularity of any sport or activity is the learning curve. Some sports (like table tennis) have a very flat learning curve at the starting point but it gets steeper and steeper the more one advances. Golf has a VERY steep learning curve at the beginning but then it levels off a bit.

In other words, people play ping pong at parties or in the basement and it's easy to teach your kids, girlfriend, and probably your dog. Everyone thinks they can play ping pong and good recreational players are the best players in their circle of friends. They actually think they are pretty good--until they go to a real TT club and face serious players. Most give up quickly because the way clubs are organized they face humiliation for months or years unless they put in some serious effort. With TT there doesn't seem to be that in-between level of play between kid's stuff and full-out competition. Most people find competitive club TT too demanding of their time and effort. That's why even so many serious players quit at a young age and don't come back until their 30s, 40s, or even later.

Golf on the other hand is very popular because almost no one starts off any good at it or with misconceptions about how difficult it is to play. (At least if they've ever tried to play it for real on a course.) But those who decide to stick with it usually will reach a level of competence fairly quickly approximately equal to one's peers--and if not the handicap system evens things out.

I think TT could be a lot more popular if there was:

1. A genuine world-wide rating system. I think the USATT's adoption of the ELO system used in chess for a century is perhaps the only smart thing US table tennis has done in the last 50 years. People like to know where they rank compared to others.

2. A handicap system. In addition to open, non-handicap events I think it would help popularity a lot to have handicap-based divisions not only at tournaments but in regular club play. Our club does this once a year and it is very popular and even the top-level players who give away the most points seem to enjoy it. It actually makes a game between a 2000 player and a 1500 player meaningful. The system our club does for fun once or twice a year is a single game to 31 points with a 1-pt handicap for every 25 pts difference in the rating with a maximum of 25. So a 2000 vs 1500 match starts at 20-0 for the lower rated player. These games are surprisingly competitive and can go either way when one player needs 31 pts and the other only 11! If golf could figure out a way to do handicapping, I'm sure we could too.

_________________
Giant Dragon Kris Special : RITC 802 w/Dawei 2.2 35d fh : : Donic Blue Fire M3 2.0 black bh
Member of Charlotte Table Tennis Club, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Visit Charlotte Table Tennis Club on Facebook

How did it become popular in China? I think we already have the blue print. We need the copy and apply it all over the world. However, I believe that the government of China has something to do to increase its popularity and make it a national sport.

The more people understand our sport, the more will play. Information about table tennis should be continuously flowing.

_________________
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.

The government in China does support table tennis. I believe they felt it is a sport that anybody could play and it would not cost much for equipment. There are outdoor tables all over the place in parks.

I played in a provincial tourney. No entry fee, 2 FREE BTY tee shirts. The trophys would match or beat the ones at the U.S. Nats. My coach won. Teams came from all over and they had uniforms from the bigger clubs. Most of the best players are "professionals". They play ping pong for a living. I "think" they are paid by the government. My coach got lessons 5 days a week and then coached every night. I think he had to coach as part of the program.

I actually had two coaches. The second coach was 16. The first time I met him, I asked him if he was in school or if he worked for a living. I got a blank stare for a minute and then he said, "I play ping pong for a living, thats what I do". Thats when I realized just how much support table tennis must have in China.

As far as making the ball bigger so it would be more visible on TV, complete BS! I can see the ball much better on TV than I can a hockey puck. Even on HDTV, a hockey puck is invisible. With the proper video angle, table tennis balls are eaisely followed. The small ball is not the reason table tennis has not been picked up by TV. The reason as usual is MONEY! USATT needs a salesman. Someone that thinks outside the box. Someone to find sponsors. Someone that can make a video to present to possible sponsors. One of the problems I forsee, the ITTF will want a cut of any TV, even if it is a USATT tourney. They have made it clear they want complete rights to TV. While USATT is not the ITTF, they are under thier control as has been demonstrated before.

Table tennis could grow tremendously if the public was exposed to it by TV even once a week or even once a month would help.

The students at the college dont have a clue about USATT but many have talked about the Spin clubs lately.
Go Susan!

Getting people more playing table tennis and getting more people watching it are two separate issues

The ITTF is only interested in getting people to watch it and they've shown that they're willing to radically tear apart the game in an effort to achieve this (so far unsuccessfully).

The new sandpaper ping-pong circuit knows how to promote a sport. It might be interesting where that leads. They have special rules specifically for entertainment value, i.e. 2-point ball and a much better balance between offense and defense. The ITTF is going nowhere with expensive seats located miles away in empty arenas and cheap webcam webcasts from a bad angle.

The national associations have a catch-22. They have an interest in growing the sport in their countries, but they also want to be associated with the ITTF, so they accept the ITTF's self-destructive changes that make the game less popular and watch the sport slowly die on the vine.

Our sport's big advantage is it's an active game for a lifetime and players of any age, but especially 40+ it seems. It's very fun to play once players reach a level good enough to compete in clubs. Personally I think national associations should put more of a priority on putting resources into building a larger base of club players, rather than kowtowing to the ITTF for the benefit of a handful of elite players.

There's also the perception problem. A lot of people view table tennis as a parlor game and not a serious sport. It has no identity other than being the "table version" of tennis, just as foosball is the table version of football (or soccer). The sooner the word "tennis" is no longer associated with our sport, the better.

Viva ping-pong!

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

how did it get popular in China?

_________________
President and Head Coach at Tony's Table Tennis
http://www.ttshop.co.za
http://www.facebook.com/tonystabletennis

Well, the bad camera angle problem is a fact indeed, but "interested in getting people to watch it" is merely a claim. The fact contradicts the claim.

I do not see any benefit of a handful of elite players either.

You can take the ITTF at their word that the two ball size increases are to make the ball easier for spectators to see, or you can take the view the ITTF is in collusion with the manufacturers to make major changes in the sport every five years or so to force everyone into buying lots of expensive new equipment.

Knowing the ITTF's history of inconsistencies, misdirections and outright lies, I wouldn't be shocked if the second scenario was true.

_________________



The MNNB Blog has had some pretty amazing stuff lately. Just click this text to check it out. | My OOAK Interview
Table Tennis Video Links: itTV | laola1.tv | ttbl | fftt | Challenger Series | mnnb-tv

My whole set-up costs less than a sheet of Butterfly Dignics

Great topic Oscar!

I think having some top players in your own country could certainly give the sport a huge boost! We've had a few #1 tennis players in Australia in the past, which greatly promoted the sport, and this also gives the message to the young generation that becoming #1 in our country is possible.

When there is little hope of ever getting even near the top 10, I think the challange is much harder.

_________________
OOAK Table Tennis Shop | Re-Impact Blades | Butterfly Table Tennis bats
Setup1: Re-Impact Smart, Viper OX, Victas VS 401 Setup2: Re-Impact Barath, Dtecs OX, TSP Triple Spin Chop 1.0mm Setup3: Re-Impact Dark Knight, Hellfire OX, 999 Turbo
Recent Articles: Butterfly Tenergy Alternatives | Tenergy Rubbers Compared | Re-Impact User Guide

It would seem that infrastructure is the vital key, but defining all the parts of that structure is both difficult and very demanding. It is made easier because of the various successful models available, but consideration must always be made for the unique aspects of our sport.

I do think it is essential that for a sport to become popular (much like a virus) it needs a very polished stage inhabited by very 'interesting' players or characters. Interesting, in this context, can (and must) include those players we love to love and those we love to hate. I think tennis, in particular, is a good blueprint for this. Of course, it is difficult - if not stupid - to try and manufacture these sorts of characters. To some degree the media has this ability, but I suspect that when the media is being clever it is able to cast and expose those players that have a character worth selling to promote the sport (and their own agenda). And, anyway, I do suspect that once we start treating our players like Hollywood stars all sorts of characters will emerge, quite naturally. The best way for this to happen is for there to be a large enough pool of elite players.

Something that is easier to control is the stage. If you look at any 'rich' and successful sport then every detail has to be at its very best. But this can only happen if those in charge are able to produce the very best they can (large companies are very good at this). There can be no short cuts or laziness when it comes to virtually every detail from the signage to the stadium to the very outfits the players are wearing.

This might all seem superficial and exorbitant - and, maybe, table tennis just wants to be left alone - but I do think that any sport that is allowed to grow as large as it can will benefit on many, many levels.

_________________

Weapon 1: Andro Kinetic Supreme Hinoki/Zylon OFF-; Andro Hexer HDs (FH 2.1/BH 1.9)
Weapon 2: Ross Leidy 'Smokey'; Friendship 729-5s
Club1: Daylesford - since 2010
Club2: Ballarat - since 2011
Blog: A Naked Bear

Of course one the main charm of table tennis is the complexity of the game, that effects its viewability, tennis is a much easier game to both play and watch. Having played tennis as a kid I found it very easy to advance up grades/divisions but quickly got bored of the slowness of the game. It takes a lot longer to get the required skill in table tennis. I mean imagining actively practising tennis like you have to with table tennis, you would be state level in no time.

Two years ago I met a guy who was living in Australia, he was a ex Danish under 18 team member (table tennis). He was now in his 30s and hadn't played table tennis in 10 years. He had started playing tennis for the first time when he arrived in Australia and was already the top tennis player in a sizable city two years later and also the city coach.... Very impressive.

No only that, he had 3 practice sessions at the local TT club before a tournament and went on to make the final and take games from Miao and a month later was rated in the top 10 in the state. Given another few hits and he would have beaten Miao for sure. I'm not sure now what my story has to do with anything other than massive skills needed for tt being transferable from TT to tennis lol.

_________________
Donic defplay senso
Haifu whale soft (grips-euro)
Nittaku pimplemini 1.0mm

I don't think "viewability" of the sport is the biggest issue. AFL here gets around 30,000 crowd to an average match and near capacity around 100,000 to a Grand Final and millions of TV viewers to boot. Live at the ground you often cannot really see what is going on and have to watch a lot of the game on the screens anyway. A football is no easier to see from 200-300m than a TT ball is from 30 or 40m. Yet AFL still draws in people. I imagine Baseball and Gridiron have similar things happening in the USA. Viewability in TT can be resolved for those not close to the action with screens and replays as other sports use.

It boils down to what Hookshot said. TT needs a smart marketer who can make superstars in the minds of kids and adults alike and get sponsors to move their products with the use of these superstars. The Olympic champions have become TV personalities when they never used to be so much. Why? It affords them more support than governments tend to give in many countries. Some bright marketer decided there was an untapped resource of Olympians that people recognised from 2 weeks of competition every 4 years and brought them to life selling everything from tin fruit to cars. Table tennis simply needs to be recognised as a new untapped source of superheros that can excite with "newness" the way new things tend to excite people's minds. At this point though, TT superstars remain known only in the TT world. Is the ITTF responsible for that? Quite possibly. They seem to get their fingers into everything that is remotely TT-based and grimy it with their "old-world" type views. What table tennis needs is a "Kerry Packer style" challenge to the established body as happened with cricket. If you haven't seen the "Howzat" 3 part mini-series, is well worth the watch to see the history of what happened (albeit in a dramatised manner - but well done). A billionaire (in Packers days millionaire was enough ) backer and risk-taker would be needed. Someone who tells the ITTF where to get off, and does a proper job of it all. It could happen, but it needs the right drive from someone who stands to gain a lot from it...both financially and instrinsically.

As for tennis coming out of the name, MNNB could be right. We did have a thread I created looking for new names some time back. I think Paddle-ball might be a winner. Ping Pong has too much synicism and non-serious connotations attached to it I think. Although, I tend to think if the ITTF is going to be beaten at its own game, it probably needs to be beaten at Table Tennis still.

_________________
I'm always in the dark, but the Dark sheds lights upon everything!! Beauty is only pimple deep! Beauty is in the eye of the pipholder!
S/U 1: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Andro Rasant 2.1 . BH Red Tibhar Grass Dtecs
S/U 2: Blade: Bty Gergely . FH Black Hexer+ 2.1 . BH Red GD Talon
S/U 3: Blade: Bty Gergely . No rubbers...thinking of adding Red Dtecs and Black Rasant
Aussie Table Tennis Shop / Aussie Table Tennis Facebook Page / Equipment Review Index / Read my Reb Report Blog: click here.

I think the key to getting more popular in the US is a star. Man or woman somebody who is so good they can beat the Chinese top players and get global attention. Then it would inspire kids and adults, amateur and professional players here with a role model. Didn't the US Olympic team get destroyed last year? Even if we made the finals and lost it would have been a big boost.

In China ping pong is a way of life. They have plenty of role models and can watch matches on TV all the time. When I was in Shanghai I couldn't sleep so I watched matches at 2 in the morning.

I also think the sport is becoming more popular. Slowly but surely. The SPIN clubs really do help to promote it but I think the average player there is the basement plink plonk type. They actually had a short segment of a Spin NYC club on CSI NY a few weeks ago.

While I don't disagree with the above quote but I think it's a lot deeper than this. A lot of people I know that play TT socially or as a fitness exercise don't go to an try out at organised clubs in fact if you ask a lot these people to list the sports they play they don't consider TT to be one because it is indoors, not promoted well most younger people in Australia get into the sunshine & participate there rather than play inside.
The people I’m referring to (professional fire fighters) play a lot sports at fairly high levels they range from road, mountain & tri- athlete bike riders, soccer, football, tennis, swimmers players, track & field, surfers, kite-surfers, water skiers and so on.
It seems as people in general get older more of us start or return to TT.
Also I don’t think these strange rule changes banning certain rubbers, glues now balls do us any favours.

_________________
Setup 1: Blade: TSP Trinity Carbon | Joola Golden Tango black 1.8mm FH & Tibhar Grass D. TecS OX red BH
Setup 2: Blade: TSP Trinity Carbon | Joola Golden Tango PS black 2.0mm FH & Troublemaker OX red BH
Setup 3: Blade: TSP Trinity Carbon | Joola Golden Tango black 1.8mm FH & & Spinlord Dornenglanz OX red BH
See the ball, be the ball...