Table Tennis: Equipment, Dimensions & History

Table Tennis Equipment

• Table tennis necessities includes a table, a racket, and a ball

Table Dimensions

• The table dimensions are 2.74 m (9ft) in length and 1.525 m (5ft) in width
• The table height is 76 cm (2.6 ft)
• The table surface is dark blue or green.

Net and Support Dimensions

• The net length is 1.83 m, while the height extends to 15.25 cm (6 in).

Ball Specifications

• The ball has a diameter of 40 mm and weighs 2.7 g
• The color of the ball is white or yellow
• The ball is made from celluloid or a similar plastic material

Racket Specs

• The racket's dimensions and shape are open for variation
• The pimpled rubber on the racket can be a maximum of 2mm inwards or 4mm outwards

History of Table Tennis

• The game first appeared in 1846 and was known as a quiet labor game
• The game was once called indoor tennis and Gossima
• The term ping pong was derived from the sound of the ball hitting the paddle and table
• Parker Brothers patented the name, leading to a dispute
• The term "table tennis" was officially applied in 1930.

How To Play

• The serve is determined by a coin toss with the winner deciding sides or serve

Serving Rules

• The ball has to be held on an open flat palm before serving
• It must be stationary, above the table, and behind the serving end line
• The ball must be tossed six inches, descending without spin
• The ball needs to hit the server's side of the table once before going over
• In doubles, the ball must hit the servers' right side first, then the receivers' right side

Rules For Returns

• A return is good if it clears the net and lands in the opponent's court
• The ball is only permitted to bounce once on each side of the court.

Table Tennis Terminology

• "Let" is called when a served ball touches the net and is volleyed by the receiver, as well as when a player is not ready and makes no attempt to strike the ball

Designated Breaks

• One minute is allotted for a break between games
• Only one minute is assigned for a timeout in a whole match

Point Scoring

• A player scores a point if the opponent fails a serve, a return, or lets the ball bounce twice

Losing Points

• A player loses a point for striking the ball twice in a return, moving the table during play, touching the playing surface, or playing out of sequence in doubles

Game

• A standard game is played to 11 points
• If the score is tied at 10, the first player or pair to lead by two points wins.

Match Play

• A match consists of the best of three or five games

Change

• There are two serves per player, switching to one after a deuce

Successful Returns

• A successful return passes over or around the net and lands in the opponent's court

Point Loss Scenarios

• A player will lose a point when they fail to make a good serve or return, touch the playing surface with their freehand, or volley the ball
• Loss of points will also occur when the racket or clothing touches the net, the player moves the playing surface or comes in contact with the ball before it bounces on their side
• Other scenarios include striking the ball out of turn, twice in succession, or experiencing a double touch

Recreational Activities Overview

• Recreational activities mark special occasions, revitalize various aspects of life, and aim to provide enjoyment for participants

Recreation Defined

• Recreation is defined as relaxing the mind and body, relieving day-to-day tension, and identified as a universal human need

Spectator Activities

• Spectators derive enjoyment from watching events

Participant Activities

• Participants find enjoyment by actively joining in activities

Active Recreation

• Active recreation involves effective physical engagement

Passive Recreation

• Passive recreation involves minimal active physical movement

Recreational Games

• Scrabble, known for scrambling letters, was invented by Alfred Mosher Butts, and was originally called "cris-crossword."

Chinese Checkers

• The game utilizes a six-pointed star-shaped board

Dominoes Game

• Dominoes is taken from the French term for the black and white hoods worn by Catholic priests in winter
• The game was played in 18th-century Europe, particularly in Venice and Naples

Snakes and Ladders

• The game originated in India; it teaches morality, with ladders symbolizing good and snakes representing forms of evil

Characteristics of Recreation

• Involves activity, features no single form, is determined by motivation, occurs in unobligated time, involves voluntary participation, is universally sought and practical, and gives direct satisfaction

Values in Leisure and Recreation

• Leisure and recreation promote physical health, psychological health, social well-being, emotional stability, and are a source of big business

Scope of Indoor Recreation

• Indoor activities include chess, dance, instrumental music, story telling, origami, cooking, and antique collections

Scope of Outdoor Recreation

• Outdoor activities include sports, street dancing, singing, camping, painting, bowling, and tennis

Theatre Defined

• Theatre is a collaborative art form where live performers present an experience before a live audience

Defining Drama

• Drama is a specific type of fiction represented in performance and comes from a Greek word meaning "action"

Greek Muses

• Thalia represents comedy, while Melpomene embodies tragedy

Elements of a Successful Play

• Successful playwrights follow Aristotelian theories, as highlighted in "The Poetics," and consider elements such as "Oedipus Rex," written by Sophocles

Thought and Action

• Plays also focus on underlying themes and plot-driven action that creates a clear, unified pattern that involves rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

Characters

• People participate to pursue activities and contribute to plot progression

Language In Theatre

• Word choice made by the playwright and clarity in actors' speech are vital

Music In Theatre

• Music includes rhythm of dialogue and compositions

Spectacle

• Scenery, costumes, and special effects create the visual dimension and set the mood

Tragedy

• Tragedy involves imitating a serious, complete action that evokes both pity and fear, leading to catharsis

Comedy

• Comedy embodies a comic spirit, rebirth, intellect, and absence of pain, often ending in weddings, and includes variations like romantic and pure farce

Melodrama

• Melodrama centers on disaster with an innocent protagonist manipulated by external forces

Tragicomedy

• Tragicomedy reflects the most realistic genre, focusing on relationships and society's flux, blending comic and tragic elements

Dramatic Structure

• Dramatic structure is an organizational framework combining dramatic material with action

Organizing Dramatic Scenes

• Organizing dramatic scenes involves exposition, preparation, unexpected reversals, mounting suspense, obligatory scenes, and a logical resolution

Point of Attack

• The moment when the primary action starts can happen at the exposition

Exposition Function

• The exposition is how material information reaches an audience from unseen scenes

Rising Action

• Rising action builds from attack to climax through intensifying tension and plot

Climax and Crisis

• The crisis shows the highest tension where the main issue is confronted, revealing truths

Resolution

• This marks where conflicts are solved from climax

Elements To Playwrighting

• Selection and arrangement in playwriting is an "art" formed through experience.

Elements for Artistic Process

• The artistic process will use skill from experience, a good plan, creative imagination, understand medium and expression through the dramatic structure

Romantic Opera

• Opera is a blend of drama and music expressing strong emotions

Key Component

• A major portion of that is an aria with characters will convey different feelings

Solo

• The solo is considered a recitative when the explanations and storytelling elements are half-spoken and half-sung

Libretto

• The written verse that helps form the basis of acts and scenes inside a little book

Opera Scores

• Known as such when the composer puts music in the libretto

Divisions of Opera

• Divisions of opera include the serious grand opera and the humorous opera comique

Operetta versus Aria

• A small operatic set where the characters communicate to music versus the whole drama being set to music

Defining Art Songs

• Art songs use both genre, poetry, and short musical compositions and are known for exceptional melodic dialect