Did You Know? Interesting Facts About the History of Table Tennis

With humble roots beginning in the 12th century, table tennis has gone through tremendous changes, in both equipment and in official rule guidelines, evolving into one of the most popular competitive sporting games played in several different countries.

ping pong net

Around 1880, British soldiers stationed abroad would often play "Royal Tennis", using cigar lids as paddles, and corks or webbed wrapped devices as a table tennis ball. The exciting game became very popular with the soldiers since the game was a quick and highly mobile entertainment vehicle to pass idle time.

PING PONG

In the Victorian Era, upper class women and men enthusiastically played table tennis, better known as "Wiff-Waff" or "Gossima", as an indoor recreational game. Using a large surface as a table, the opponents would hit rounded objects, sometimes a golf ball or ball made from string, with another book, passing the "ball" over a net erected out of additional propped up books. "Wiff-Waff" became extremely popular and newly manufactured materials allowed for the reengineering of the first official paddle made out simple framing material with parchment paper stretched end to end. Soon after, a celluloid ball was introduced to the game and, and a creative J. Jaques & Sons officially deemed the game "Ping Pong". Around 1901, Jaques & Sons sold the copyrighted the "Ping Pong" game name to the ever so popular United States game manufacturer, Parker Brothers. Hoping to increase popularity in the United States, Parker Brothers began marketing Ping Pong sets complete with paddles, balls, and nets.

Searching for a way to add spin to the ping-pong ball, Englishman E.C. Goode redesigned the ping-pong paddle in 1902. His designed the paddle out of thin wood and he covered the wood with a pebbled rubber. Until 1952, his ingenious design dominated Ping Pong paddle sales around the world.

With the game becoming popular and increase demand for regulations and serious competition, two organizations, "The Ping Pong Association" in the United States and "The Table Tennis Association" in England, were formed in 1903. Popularity and desire to compete on an international level called for the creation of a new organization to regulate international Ping Pong rules and competition. In 1926, a meeting between several countries interested in participating took place in Berlin and The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) officially formed, holding the first official World Championship competition in London in 1927. Over the years, the ITTF has changed the table tennis surface many times, lowered the net, and introduced standardized paddle rules for competition.

Players from Hungary began fiercely competing in ITTF competitions and held the World Championship Women's Singles championship from 1926-1931 and help the Men's Singles Championship from 1930-1935.

Today, many countries compete in Championship Table Tennis games around the world. Although the equipment has changed over the years, the enthusiasm, popularity, and serious competition have never truly wavered. For a game to start so humbly as a simply way to pass time, to a highly competitive Olympic Sport game, Table Tennis has truly arose from little to become a passionate game played on the International level.

Did You Know? Interesting Facts About the History of Table Tennis

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