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Table Tennis Tables UK Discount table tennis tables - including outdoor table tennis tables |
Discount table tennis tables
For table tennis tables of all descriptions this is the site. If you want a choice of quality, cheap table tennis tables then you've come to the right place! Just press the links above to see the range and great prices - whether you want an indoor table tennis table or an outdoor table tennis table this is the best place to buy table tennis tables. Table tennis supplies and equipment are also available - whatever you need to play table tennis you will find it here. There is a choice of table tennis balls, table tennis bats and table tennis nets. There is equipment suitable for professional players, club table tennis players, or for family table tennis. Newitts are an excellent source of table tennis supplies. Outdoor table tennis tables are great fun for all the family, whatever their ages. Playing on an outdoor table tennis table means you can enjoy sunny weather and even if you don't have room inside for a table tennis table, you can still have fun playing in your garden. Information and guide to table tennis tables:- English table tennis association - packed with information on table tennis and table tennis clubs and tournaments. Sport England - guide and information on all sports in England including table tennis. History of Table Tennis The origins of table tennis is not known. The earliest known form of the sport, called indoor tennis, was played in the early 1880s by British army officers in India and South Africa, using lids from cigar boxes as paddles and rounded corks from wine bottles as balls, with a row of books set up across the middle of a table to form the net (no table tennis tables in those days!). Other versions developed in England during the 1890s, known as "whiff whaff" and "gossima," and Parker Brothers began manufacturing an indoor tennis kit that included a portable net that could be set up on a table to form an improvised table tennis table, a small ball covered with netting, and miniature paddles. An English manufacturer of sporting goods, John Jacques, registered "Ping Pong" as a trade name in 1901 and sold American rights to Parker Brothers, who came out with a new kit under that name. Another Englishman, E. C. Goode, in 1902 covered his wooden ping pong paddle with pebbled rubber, which allowed him to put spin on the ball. However Parker Brothers' control of the name made table tennis equipment rather expensive. Nevertheless, the sport spread rather quietly in England and Europe, primarily with equipment and table tennis tables marketed by other manufacturers using the generic name of table tennis. A new Table Tennis Association was established in England in 1921. The first world table tennis championships was held in London in 1927 using new table tennis tables. From then until World War II, Hungary dominated the sport. Central European dominance continued for a time after World War II, but Asian players took over the sport beginning in 1953. One factor in the sudden emergence of Asian stars was the introduction of the foam rubber paddle by Japan's Horoi Satoh in 1952. The new coating made the game faster and also allowed players to put even more spin in the ball. Asian players also developed the "penholder" grip, in which the handle of the paddle is held between forefinger and thumb, which allows the player to strike the ball with the same face of the paddle on any stroke. That grip is now used by virtually all top international table tennis players. Table tennis became an Olympic sport in 1988, with singles and doubles competition for both men and women. |
table tennis tables outdoor table tennis table table tennis equipment |