Too many days of the year are rainy or windy, or it is just too cold, or there is too much snow. So, people want to play their favorite game on their table tennis table, but inside, away from the bad weather.
Table tennis is one of the most well known inside games, which needs a ball and paddles and is played on a table tennis table. It is believed that it was invented around 1880, by English officers who were serving in South Africa and India. Later it was developed under the name of "whiff whaff" or "gossima”. It wasn't until 1890, that the first table tennis kit was made by the Parker Brothers. The kit consisted of a portable net (to be set up on a table), a small ball covered with netting and miniature paddles. In 1927, London, the first championship was held and in 1988 it became an Olympic game (both for men and women). It is the only racket sport that allows different colors for the paddles faces (one is black and one is white) and opponents can check each others paddles.
About table tennis tables
Table tennis tables should be 2.74 m (9 ft) long, 1.525 m (5 feet) wide, and 76 cm (30 inches) high. The playing surface is divided by a 15.2 cm (6 inch) net into two halves. The tops of table tennis tables are made of warp resistant wood, coated with a low-friction, smooth coating - which is usually blue or green - and a fast cellulose surface that helps the game to be played with great speed. There are eight legs (made of wood or metal) to sustain the top and usually the ones in the middle are provided with small wheels (two of them are lockable). Most of the table tennis tables designed to be used at home are folding tables, being very easily packed. Usually they have a mechanism, easily manouvered by one person, which allows the table to be folded for playback or compact storage.
There are also outdoor table tennis tables. They are mounted on rollers for easy transportation. The table has a top made of melamine rexine, aluminum or resin laminate, with a protective vinyl trim. It also has a metal frame, tubular metal legs and is specially treated to be water and sun resistant.
Butterfly table tennis tables are the most lightweight and economical model for home use and are affordable to most budgets. They can be located in the basement or garage. They have a steel frame, two safety levers on each side to provide a child safety characteristic and an aluminum top. It can be folded up in the storage position with or without removing the net. It is a good option for schools recreation centers and sport clubs.
For practical reasons (to save space and money), some pool tables are enhanced with a table tennis conversion top for pool tables. The tops are warp proof and can be green, blue or black. It works on pool tables whose width are 4.5’ or less and there are rubber pads to protect the table.
Ping pong tables
A ping pong table will just have the same features as a table tennis table, because in fact we are talking about the same thing. Ping-pong is the recreational game played for fun and table tennis is the official sport played in international competition. It is much faster then ping pong and requires a very good physical condition. There are some small differences in the way they are played, for example: in ping-pong the return ball has to first hit the players own field while in table tennis the ball is played directly over the net.
The name “ping-pong” was given by an English man, J. Gibb, after the sound made by the ball when it hit the paddles. In 1901 J. Jaques registered it as a trade name and sold the rights to an American Company, Parker Brothers, who made a table tennis kit under this name. They have managed to sell it very well, but being accessible to everybody, it started to be separated from table tennis and considered more of a game than a sport. Basically we do talk about the same table, the same game and the same list of accessories.
