Funny bats !

[SteveJ]

Ive long been sick of all of these strange rackets or more to the point rubbers that are being introduced, we should go back to basics and get everyone on the same equipment, this would upset suppliers but would bring some straight play back into the sport.

Just my thoughts :shok:

[Annie]

Actually I think that's a great idea. Surely the skill is in the use of the apparatus and not the 'enhancement' of it?

If everybody had the same equipment then the true measure of a person's skill would be seen. Let us see the real athlete in you!

[Spinmaster]

Strange debate this, many who have been in the sport for many years including myself really hate the introduction of the "funny" rubbers but there are arguments for and against.

Number one..........many elderly players who maybe less fit than other young counterparts and consequently can't move around so well, meaning pimples or some other type of rubber will gain time for them. This surely is a good thing as we would probably lose some players if they didnt have the equipment nowadays.

The other issue is the cost of these new types of various rubbers, they all have one thing in common .......the price is a total rip off as far as i can see. Surely the prices can be more competitive than we are seeing at the moment.

[Kev]

Hmm, tricky one. I assume by funny bats you mean pimples, anti spin etc. Personally I think that this is one of the areas that sets table tennis apart from other sports, in a good way. Watching tennis, badminton etc. players have slightly different styles but they all play in a similar way. These 'funny rubbers' allow players to play tt in very different ways, meaning you can often go on the table against someone for the first time and come up against a style of play you have never encountered before. You have to think about how best to overcome what they're doing. This challenge is one of the mst interesting things for me.

The other argument for pimples and anti spin is of course that most reverse rubbers are so fast and so glued up that without funny rubbers defensive players would have no chance. They help to even up the playing field. I'm sure that anyone who has seen a good defender against a good attacker would hate to see defenders drop out of the game.

By the way I don't play with 'funny rubbers' myself!

[Mrs Nickerbater]

If you can get practice [and do the right practice] then most LPers are easily beaten. My only gripe is that win or lose, playing lpers isn't really an enjoyable experience for me.

[DaveR]

agreed, having said that maybe its a good thing to get the brain stimulated !

[Alfie]

I hate playing against frictionless LP but friction pips are fine,I guess it is part of the game everyone has to get used to and try to find effective methods to combat these rubbers.
It's TT and it's all good in my eyes,fun is the biggest factor and why we should be playing the game

[DaveR]

I agree, having said that if control is being taken over the use of glue and other accelerants then maybe some thought should be had towards the development of rubber which makes the game so unpredictable and less viewable in the process, after all the sport was slowed down by the powers that be for the viewinng reasons and to attract more media coverage........as was 11 up.

[Biggy]

I have no problem with over 18's using lp but I dont like to see juniors using as I feel this hides a weak point in there game that they should be working on and trying to improve so that they are technicailly good on both wings of there game.

[DaveR]

The introduction of the rubber was and still is to compensate for a weakness in a certain area of a players game, which i agree means that young and developing players should strive to develop the stroke whislt young rather than compensate for it being weak.

Which i agree with alan is the best way to improve on both flanks.

The strange or varied rubber i agree has its place also ..........lets say someone older has a need for long pimples on the backhand or even forehand for reasons which are age or ability related.

[Kev]

I disagree that pimples are only used to cover up a weakness in a player's game. They are used for that sometimes but I don't think that is true of choppers for whom they are genrally essential equipment to give them any real chance with the amount of spin a good attacker puts on the ball.

[DaveR]

cover up a weakness in a player's game

I think Cover maybe a little strong ...compensate in some cases is probably more apt, having said that I agree players who are pimples orientated may do so as it is there strength and not compensation.

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

sorry that must of been a beautifull dream :thtease:

[TableTennisBill]

Ive long been sick of all of these strange rackets or more to the point rubbers that are being introduced, we should go back to basics and get everyone on the same equipment, this would upset suppliers but would bring some straight play back into the sport.

Just my thoughts :shok:
Hi Steve J. - I'm a newcomer to the site, but what you say is the perfect solution to table tennis equipment. It would sort out the "wheat from the chaffe" so to speak. All the best - Bill C

[DaveR]

Nice to see youve sorted the posting out Bill nice one !

I think the hard bat tournaments are a great event showing the real skill in my opinion. Never played in one yet but would love to arrange one and see what bacame of it in relation to entries etc

[Robstar]

i don;t think age comes into it Liang plays with pimples but actually plays orthodox strokes has done 4 40 years The late Henry Buist was an exceptional stroke player with a hard bat and dennis neale used 2 win hard bat tournaments I believe players of this standard would win all the time if every body used standard equipment
The pimples help the lesser player sometimes as does glue but what we have got 2 ask is the pimples doctored or is the glue illegal, by introducing new rules how do we check
a final thought some pimpled rubber is actually hard 2 play with

[Moggy]

I think Cover maybe a little strong ...compensate in some cases is probably more apt, having said that I agree players who are pimples orientated may do so as it is there strength and not compensation.
Where I've seen juniors pick up using pimples at an early stage in their development, they take the reverse spin and block techniques to a higher level and are extremely difficult to play against.

[Belisar]

I have seen quite a few juniors evolve a very dynamic game using pimples. They can use them to roll deep balls and slap anything short, which is hardly hiding a weakness.

To me it prompts an interesting discussion about whether the game would be better if we all played the same or if it is better for some variation.

[Desmond]

http://tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/www.beachcomber.com/.../Graphics/tennis_1.jpg

Check this out!!! Playing table tennis in the pool!!! :woho:

[Martin F]

i dissagree totally this would make the game very predictable and boring

[Hovis Bread Eater]

Hang on,

Just look at Carl Prean, a guy who played with long pimples, but played shots with them rather than ball hitting bat and could play smooth on backhand if needed.

[Mr Wilko]

look at hovis he could make the ball hit the net after he used his pimples........... how clever is that!!!!!!! lol (only kidding hovis)

[DaveR]

i dissagree totally this would make the game very predictable and boring

Your probably right but i think we need or the ITTF need to monitor closely how and what is brought into the sport so the playing field is level so to say...................for example banning glue but allowing any old thing to be attatched to the surface of your blade providing its red and black etc is not really being consistant ?

[AndrewH]

So few rallies these days, so as a whole Table Tennis is not good tv viewing - even up to 11! I went to the Albert Hall and the best games involved a defender (long pimps of course - only way defenders can now survive given the speed of rubbers, larger ball etc). Shame that the game will lose even more defenders with the upcoming ban.

[Gary Y]

Has anybody watch some dvds of early table tennis ,what rallies ,superb to watch when you get a defender playing a attacker playing ,but then the bat were all very much the same it was down to the skill of the player not the bat .who's seen a player stand at the table using long fictionless pimples ? how boring to watch .if every player used the same bat you would still get the excitement it would just make it a level playing field and then you would see who really was the best players, as you can tell i am not a fan of long fictionless pimples .

[DaveR]

Gary there is a hard bat video spectacle ................

flSrTLSmUpE&hl=en

and i pretty much agree the sport is a little more entertaining watching the skill of "similar" bats and rubber surfaces although the new worlds and some of the old are amazing too.

Welcome to the site by the way Gary

Dave

[Michael Hahn]

Has anybody watch some dvds of early table tennis ,what rallies ,superb to watch when you get a defender playing a attacker playing ,but then the bat were all very much the same it was down to the skill of the player not the bat .who's seen a player stand at the table using long fictionless pimples ? how boring to watch .if every player used the same bat you would still get the excitement it would just make it a level playing field and then you would see who really was the best players, as you can tell i am not a fan of long fictionless pimples .

Me neither I think that the long pimples players who just stand at the table and block are skilless and are reli just using them to cover up weaknesses. Choppers and attackers are alright as they need skill to be able to do that.

[TTPlayerWB]

Why in the hell do you think LPs moved in the frictionless direction? Simply because inverted rubber got more spin and speed and then speed glue increased speed even more. Now new rubber is being developed to make up for the speed glue ban. So this stuff continues and they ban certain LPs?

Baseball put limits on the "metal" bats (so many ounces per inch), golf put limits on how the ball could be made and what elements could be used in the club. If the ITTF ran Track and Field they would they let Pole Vaulters use springier poles and all world records would be shattered?

But, the ITTF puts no limit on the speed and spin of rubber or the speed of the blade? Will this again cause the need to make the ball bigger? They are missing the point. Many older players will just quit playing and their revenue will be missed.

[Michael Hahn]

well table tennis is one of the (if not the) most skillful sport in the world and picking up a bat with long pimples and blocking is extremley easy. there is also nothing in the rules to stop long pimples being slower faster or with more spin reversal aswell as making reverse rubbers faster.

[DrumDrum16]

TTPlayerWB - Although your point is valid, people overlook this. The BIG BALL was more damageing for defenders than any recent advancments in rubber or blade technology - just ask Matthew Syed. Without any shadow of a doubt, the glue ban is a major step towards a more attractive spectacle for our sport. Frictionless long pimples were NOT developed to enable choppers or hitters to advance there style of play - there are two defenders in thr worlds top twenty men, and neither of them use frictionless. Michael Hahn is correct, there is limited skill in adapting the style of play that most frictionless exponents use. Lets hope the glue ban, and the 'ban' of frictionless pimples, will really help our sport in becoming more attractive on TV and in general to the non player; then we stand a chance of increasing participation like the long sought after and discussed 'glory days' of the 50s - early 80s.

[Highside]

The big ball made it near impossible or at least really difficult for defenders, which i suppose is what your getting at and i agree with that. The glue ban i hasten to add will make no difference to the "visual" aspect of the sport because in actual fact it has become a sport with a skill that very few unless you play understand. The upshot is that the sport is and alwys will be difficult to view.

[TTPlayerWB]

OK. I have heard all this before. I went the meeting at the Nations where the state of US Table Tennis was discussed. If the USATTA thinks they are developing World Class players they are crazy. Let's take basketball for instance. Let's develop players by having a lot of clubs around the United States. Have the kids come in and have "coaches" teach them how to play. Oh and most of these "coaches", although they may be good players, have no real preparation to be coaches. How far do you think basketball would advance? Basketball is where it is because kids play in jr high, high school and have the possibility of getting scholarship were they can get great competition and great coaching. And at the end of the rainbow is maybe making millions in the NBA or the chance to play professionally overseas. The system works. It works so well that kids in other countries are now gettin gskilled enough so they can play in the NBA also. Of course you can argue that they are not getting a good education and they are only going to play basketball. That is probably true.

Maybe some day such system will happen for Table Tennis in the United States, but I don't think so. So the USATTA will continue to try and get kids interested in the sport. They will contiune to use older guys and players who will never get to a much higher level for the purpose of funding their efforts. Take away everyone who is over 30 and this sport would be in a lot of financial trouble. Think of all the revenue these players produce with membership dues, equipment they buy, and tournaments they enter.

So a lot of older guys are using long pips. Let's ban them. Ok why? Well we don't really have a reason, but let's do it anyway.

[DaveR]

OK. I have heard all this before. I went the meeting at the Nations where the state of US Table Tennis was discussed. If the USATTA thinks they are developing World Class players they are crazy. Let's take basketball for instance. Let's develop players by having a lot of clubs around the United States. Have the kids come in and have "coaches" teach them how to play. Oh and most of these "coaches", although they may be good players, have no real preparation to be coaches. How far do you think basketball would advance? Basketball is where it is because kids play in jr high, high school and have the possibility of getting scholarship were they can get great competition and great coaching. And at the end of the rainbow is maybe making millions in the NBA or the chance to play professionally overseas. The system works. It works so well that kids in other countries are now gettin gskilled enough so they can play in the NBA also. Of course you can argue that they are not getting a good education and they are only going to play basketball. That is probably true.

Maybe some day such system will happen for Table Tennis in the United States, but I don't think so. So the USATTA will continue to try and get kids interested in the sport. They will contiune to use older guys and players who will never get to a much higher level for the purpose of funding their efforts. Take away everyone who is over 30 and this sport would be in a lot of financial trouble. Think of all the revenue these players produce with membership dues, equipment they buy, and tournaments they enter.

So a lot of older guys are using long pips. Let's ban them. Ok why? Well we don't really have a reason, but let's do it anyway.

Agreed and the same here if you removed the older players we would probably be in dire straits in relation to numbers given the decline in Table Tennis and obviously other sports. The key is to get anyone and everyone playing a particular sport then the ones remaining will do so because they are keen !

Numbers is the key ..........as regards banning long pips no problem keep em its variation !

[HarryBelafonte]

the last defender to get to world final,2003(big ball):covereyes: one before that 1969.

[Llooppyy]

drumsbooomin:static:yadobersaystel

[Robstar]

its turning in 2 a bit of a farce again how can a sport have different rules for different competitons Local league no rule enforcment over which which pimples are legal in line with tournaments but not surprising the service rule doesnot exist in local league

also i was informed somewhere down south there is still a league that plays up 2 21 but they arenot reconised by the ETTa we could end up spilt like darts and promote different competitions i. e Glue and 11up pimples any 21 up and other combinations different size balls
in my opinion the game went down the tubes dramatically when 21 up was abolished

[Mr Wilko]

it is all a shambles Robstar should be one rule throughout!!!!

1) NO GLUE
2) NO DODGY PIMPLES
3) LEGAL SERVES (6")

some people must think they are DIRK DIGGLER !!!!! he he he :covereyes::covereyes::covereyes: