What is ITTF? | International Table Tennis Federation

ITTF stands for "International Table Tennis Federation". They are actually the organization that are making changes and implementing new rules of table tennis sport. Their purpose is to promote proper rules and regulations especially to all international competitions. Other than the rules and regulations, they also seek technological improvements that could make players attain more fun and enjoyment from this type of sport.

Short History about ITTF

It was on 1926 when ITTF was founded which consists of only nine members which are the following:

1. Austria
2. Czechoslovakia
3. Denmark
4. England
5. Germany
6. Hungary
7. India
8. Sweden
9. Wales

The first record in the history of a conducted international tournament was on January 1926 held in Berlin. And in the same year (on the month of December), the first World Table Tennis Championships was held in London.

ITTF

Throughout the years, several changes had been made by the ITTF. One changes was the replacement of the 38 mm balls into 40 mm sized balls.

Process of Implementing Changes to the Rules

Changing or implementing new rules into the game is not decided by just one individual alone. The ITTF organization composes of several organizational structures where the process of implementing a certain rule will have to undergo voting procedures. There are actually many of them that counts for their decisions which include the ITTF President, 8 executive vice-presidents, 32 or less continental representatives and other more...

The New Rules

You have to check the ITTF official website for the new updated rules. But from the time of this post, here are the following criteria that a player must closely observe:

1. Association

- If you are going to participate from an ITTF World Title events, you are only eligible to play for your association by registering with the ITTF. If it happens that you want to play with a new association then you have to register with the ITTF with that new association. Though, there are some restrictions involve.

2. 11 Point Scoring System

- Back in 2001, ITTF has now reduced the original 21 score point system down to 11 points only.

3. Speed Glue is Now Prohibited

- ITTF had issued in January 1, 2009 about the banning of the use of speed glue.

4. Table Dimensions

- Check this post for the Official Ping Pong Table Dimensions that is recognized by the ITTF.

The ITTF World Ranking for the Top Table Tennis Players

If you are going to visit the official website of ITTF, they are constantly updating the World rankings of their best and top players on their list. Currently, China had dominated most of the top rankings in both men and women divisions.

For more information about ITTF, you can visit their official website on the link provided below:

http://www.ittf.com/

10 comments:

  1. Why does ITTF prefer to call the game as "table tennis" and not ping pong table?

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  2. ITTF do prefer to use the name table tennis when regulating the rules of this table sport. However, ping pong and table tennis is interchangeable. There is really nothing wrong to it and it causes no misunderstanding because both names are referring to the same type of sport.

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  3. I know that the ITTF or International Table Tennis Federation is the organization that manages all international tournaments. But, there's is also one large organization in the US that governs table tennis sport. I forgot the name of the organization.

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  4. You are probably referring to the USATT which stands for "USA Table Tennis". And just ITTF, they are the once that organizes all tournaments held in the US and in charge of the US players' ratings.

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  5. Is it against the official rules of the ITTF to hit the ball by accident with the knuckle of your hands holding the racket?

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  6. It is actually a common incident that most players often hit the ball with the part of their hands. When this happens, there is a very huge chance that the ball goes in the wrong side causing you to lose the point.

    The good news is, accidental hit with a part of your hand is considered as a legal hit.

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  7. My PE teacher had told us in our class that the official colors used for ping pong paddles are a combination of red and black. I have been searching all over the internet to prove this claim but I couldn't find any proof.

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  8. The main purpose of the two different colors of the paddle is to let the opponent determine what kind of spin has been applied on the ball. You have to know that on each opposite side of the blade is also a different rubber.

    In most cases, the color of the paddle doesn't really matter as long as the opposing player can recognize the sides of the paddle that hit the ball. But, since red and black are the perfect combination of color, its what commonly used by most.

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  9. Is it possible for someone who got paralyzed legs but with complete arms to play or participate in a non-special Olympic competitions?

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  10. Yes, in fact ITTF do organizes the ITTF Paralympic Table Tennis events. Actually, there has been several popular disabled players of this table sport that some of them even doesn't arms to hold their paddles. They do use their mouth in holding their own paddle.

    Well, if it's your full interest of playing table tennis then nothing can stop you.

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