The Racket - Rules and Ways to Exploit Them

As you might have seen in the Olympics lately, the players receive their rackets from the referees before a game starts. This because the rackets are checked for illegal material, substances, and so on.

The following are the regulations that every racket needs to follow (2011/2012)

1. The racket may be of any size, shape or weight but the blade shall be flat and rigid. 
2. At least 85% of the blade by thickness shall be of natural wood; an adhesive layer within the blade may be reinforced with fibrous material such as carbon fibre, glass fibre or compressed paper, but shall not be thicker than 7.5% of the total thickness or 0.35mm, whichever is the smaller. 
3. A side of the blade used for striking the ball shall be covered with either ordinary pimpled rubber, with pimples outwards having a total thickness including adhesive of not more than 2.0mm, or sandwich rubber, with pimples inwards or outwards, having a total thickness including adhesive of not more than 4.0mm. 
4. Ordinary pimpled rubber is a single layer of non-cellular rubber, natural or synthetic, with pimples evenly distributed over its surface at a density of not less than 10 per cm2 and not more than 30 per cm2. 
5. Sandwich rubber is a single layer of cellular rubber covered with a single outer layer of ordinary pimpled rubber, the thickness of the pimpled rubber not being more than 2.0mm. 
6. The covering material shall extend up to but not beyond the limits of the blade, except that the part nearest the handle and gripped by the fingers may be left uncovered or covered with any material.
7. The blade, any layer within the blade and any layer of covering material or adhesive on a side used for striking the ball shall be continuous and of even thickness. 
8. The surface of the covering material on a side of the blade, or of a side of the blade if it is left uncovered, shall be matt, bright red on one side and black on the other. 
9. The racket covering shall be used without any physical, chemical or other treatment. 
10. Slight deviations from continuity of surface or uniformity of colour due to accidental damage or wear may be allowed provided that they do not significantly change the characteristics of the surface. 
11. Before the start of a match and whenever he or she changes his or her racket during a match a player shall show his or her opponent and the umpire the racket he or she is about to use and shall allow them to examine it. 

(Source)

Since the rules in table tennis aren't always very strict, there are some things that should be pointed out in this list of regulations.

The material does not necessarily need to be wood

The regulations clearly says that the areas that the ball will never hit can be covered with any material. There is no rule that forbids the user to have whole handles made out of other materials than wood. Another thing that is not mentioned, is that blades made out of cork and bamboo - which is not wood - can be accepted as legal blades. I have also contacted the Swedish table tennis association (SBTF) about this, and they have confirmed that bamboo should be okay while cork is doubtful. Even though cork is tree bark, and bamboo is grass.

Because of these regulations, blade maker American Hinoki has made a blade completely out of cork and bamboo, and calls it the ITTF Rules Protest Blade.

The regulations can be exploited because of lack of precision

Some players who use penhold blades, don't use the backhand side of their blade to hit the ball. But they're still forced by the rules to wear a rubber on each side. Though, there is no rule specifying any minimal amount of rubber, - it just needs to cover the part of the blade where you don't keep your fingers. But a Japanese penholder keeps his fingers over half the blade, - therefore you often see them have one rubber that covers only about half the blade. This means that their blades get significantly lighter than if the rubber covered the whole surface. They can also cut off a little extra weight by making a nice looking curve - as long as all text on the rubber shows (so the referees can identify it as approved material).

Since there is no rule saying that the handles need to be made out of wood, it should be okay using other materials. Most Japanese penhold blades have cork as handle - and since no rule defines what a handle should be shaped like, they often only have the cork on one side of the blade. In the end, Japanese penhold blades can have a very low weight, which brings higher speed.

The rubbers can be a little too big

The rubbers are supposed to reach the edges of the blade, but aren't supposed to stick out further than necessary. Still, you see professionals play with rubbers sticking out several millimeters. (Maybe enough to save a ball every now and then?) Referees have never seemed to mind this, so it can be utilized. To make it less noticeable, edge tape can be used.

Conclusion

Experiment! Use the loopholes to find the best possible assembly for you. Until the ITTF gets more specific!

The 2012 Olympics - Umpires Strict...Or Not?

After watching some table tennis games from the 2012 Olympics in London, I've been surprised by how many times the umpire has given away points for incorrect services. Several times in just a few days, the umpire has had the opinion that players haven't thrown the ball as straightly towards the ceiling - or as high - as the rules say they shall. It distracts the players, but is it good or bad? I've also been wondering; Should Natalia Partyka, the female player with only one hand, be allowed to play in the Olympics for normally abled people?

The official table tennis rules say:

Service shall start with the ball resting freely on the open palm of the server's stationary free hand.

The server shall then project the ball near vertically upwards, without imparting spin, so that it rises at least 16cm after leaving the palm of the free hand and then falls without touching anything before being struck.

They also say:

From the start of service until it is struck, the ball shall be above the level of the playing surface and behind the server's end line, and it shall not be hidden from the receiver by the server or his or her doubles partner or by anything they wear or carry.

During this year's Olympics, several players have lost points due to these rules - for example Danish player Michael Maze, Chinese Ding Ning and Wang Hao, also from China. Which of the rules above that the umpire has referred to, hasn't been very clear, though.

Problem 1: Some rules aren't written very clearly. If you're supposed to throw the ball "near vertically upwards" - where do you draw the line? As a player you can't guarantee that the ball will rise/fall with an angle of 0, or 5, or 10 degrees. You just throw it in a way that fits your style.

Problem 2: The two umpires on the floor sits on each side of the table. They don't see the game the same way as the players do. They can't make an absolutely accurate appreciation of what the service receiver sees or not. Players often(!) throws the ball near their body so they hide it with their arm right before racquet impact - but do the umpires say anything? No. Almost never.

Problem 3: The umpires are people and not machines - they use their own opinions, which can differ and change - and even be absurd. All three players that have been mentioned above, have used the same technique in many services, but suddenly the umpires say that they're doing it wrong. Why don't they observe it the first time then? A point that is lost because of these rulings, throws the player's off, they lose their focus and changes their mood and therefore also their performance. If their methods aren't allowed by the rules, they should be told this as soon as possible. Not in an important semi-final where the mood plays a large roll.

On farm auctions, the auctioneer can sometimes start off the event by ignoring bidders and sell quickly - only to make people wake up. Break the rules to force people to follow them. I can partly understand if this is what's going on, but I can't see how something like that would work at all. And when a player does the same thing 20 times in a row and then gets a ruling against him - then something is seriously wrong.

Natalia Partyka from Poland, was born without most of her right forearm. Still, she's one of the best female players in the world. Therefore, she's competing in both the Paralympics for disabled people, and in the normal Olympics. Just that, makes me wonder. If she's so good that she can compete with the best normally abled players in the whole world - should she be allowed in the Paralympics...? I've seen 80 year old people with walking frames compete there. People in wheelchairs. People without arms. And this incredibly gifted girl is gonna go there and run them over like a bulldozer? Yeah, that seems fair.

And now we get back to rules and interpreting again. And have in mind that the condition that she has to accept to compete in the Olympics, is that she has to accept the normal rules.

"Service shall start with the ball resting freely on the open palm of the server's stationary free hand." She doesn't have any free hand. And she's not allowed to rest the ball on the racquet like in the Paralympics. Instead, she has been allowed to rest the ball on the little she has of her right forearm. It isn't even "resting freely", because it's supported by the bottom of her upper arm. And when watching slow-motion replays of her services, you can clearly see that the ball often isn't thrown up near 16 cm before falling. How many times have the umpires given her points away - or even warned her? Zero.

The question is: Where does she belong? Personally, I think she should be judged after her abilities - but it would be interesting to know how she got to bypass direct rules.

Natalia Partyka - Competes in
the Olympics despite handicap