The History of Table Tennis
What were the major controversies in the history of table tennis?
And why did the 1930s leave a lasting legacy? Find out here ... Any sport which lasts for more than a century will inevitably experience change and controversy along the way ... and the history of table tennis is certainly no different. By the way, if you're interested in a brief history of the origin of table tennis, you'll find it here.
But what do you know about any of the major controversies which took place in years gone by? Controversies which have left a lasting legacy on the way we play the game today. Not a lot? Well, let's take a look at some of them ...  In the beginning ...
Although the history of table tennis can be traced back to the late 1880s, the game we know today started in the 1920s when Englishman Ivor Montagu, together with some other Europeans, formed the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in 1926. But it didn't take long before problems started to emerge. The rules of table tennis were already being amended and refined when the 1930s saw ...
The first major controversy In the mid 1930s, the first major controversy of the modern era occurred in the history of table tennis. Because the rackets of the day meant that players were unable to generate as much speed and spin as they can today, many players used a defensive style of play. Their main tactic was just to try and keep the ball in play. And they did this by only using one stroke ... the push. This became known as chiseling but because both players often used the same tactic, it caused many games to last a considerable length of time. Indeed at the 1936 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia, the first point in a match between Poland and Rumania lasted for over two hours! And the Swaythling Cup (Men's Team) finals took eleven hours to complete. But, not only did the length of some matches cause concern, the 1936 World Championship event also saw the introduction of finger spin serves. By imparting spin onto the ball with their fingers, or by rubbing the ball against the racket before it left their hand, players were able to generate spin serves which gave them a considerable advantage over their opponent. This caused such a controversy at the time that, from the start of the 1937/38 season, three major changes were made to the rules of table tennis ... A time limit was placed on games The height of the net was lowered, and Finger spin serves were banned
Time limit on games Because games were becoming longer and longer, a time limit of 20 minutes was placed on games in World Championship events ... and all countries affiliated to the ITTF were asked to pursue their own measures to discourage "pushing" within their own country. And that is how the history of table tennis gave us the rule known today as the expedite rule. Since the change to the 11up scoring system in 2001, the time limit is now 10 minutes per game.
At the same time, it was also decided to ...
Lower the height of the net To encourage players to adopt a more offensive, attacking style of play it was also decided that the height of the net would be lowered from 6.75 inches to 6 inches. This, in conjunction with a time limit of 20 minutes, would assist any player who was trying to play offensively and would generally promote a more attacking style of play. The height of the net has remained at 6 inches ever since that date. But it's interesting to note that, due to the speed of the modern game, there are many people who now believe that the height of the net should be increased in order to slow the game down and assist players who use a defensive style of play! Thirdly, they also agreed to ...
Ban finger spin serves Finger spin serves had become popular during the 1930s and the ITTF decided that in the best interests of the game they should change the service rule, thereby making them illegal. The service rule at the time stated ... The service shall be delivered by the server projecting or dropping the ball by hand only, without deliberate deformation of the surface, into the air.
And the new wording was ... The service shall be delivered by the server releasing the ball by hand only, without imparting of spin, into the air.
Additionally, umpires were instructed that any form of spin imparted by anything other than the racket, was prohibited ... AND that if they were in any doubt about the serve, that they must order any player to use an open and flat serving hand, with the fingers straight and together, and the thumb free. If the player failed to comply, he would lose the point. And that is how the current service rule which states ... Service shall start with the ball resting freely on the open palm of the server's stationary free hand.
... came into existence.
Go to the Origins of Table Tennis page from History of Table Tennis Go to All About Table Tennis home page from History of Table Tennis
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