History of Table Tennis

Table Tennis is believed to have begun in England during the 12th century as a spin-off of "Royal Tennis" and was popular as a parlor game in Victorian homes. Equipment was made from various homemade articles, such as cardboard for rackets, books as nets and the ball was usually a ball of string.

It is believed that in the late 1880's, an American sporting goods manufacturer by the name of Parker Brothers, tried their hands at making "official" equipment. At that time, Parker Brothers was already exporting "Indoor Tennis" equipment to England. Equipment was still very primitive and balls were then solid rubber or cork and usually covered with material to prevent damage to furniture.

Plastic balls were introduced to the game after an Englishman named James Gibb, visited America and discovered children playing with small plastic toy balls. He brought some back to England and used the plastic balls for table tennis. To his surprise, it gave an unexpected, overwhelming boost to this already popular game. After years of being called Gossima, Film-Flam and Whiff-Whaff, the name "Ping Pong" was finally adopted as a trade name by Parker Brothers because of the new sound these plastic balls made when they hit the table and the racket.

Introduction of the International Table Tennis Federation

This popular table game began to spread wildly and was introduced to Japan, China, Korea, India and South Africa, presumably by British Army Officers who were stationed there. By 1910, "Ping Pong" had also become very popular in Central Europe.

National Associations were beginning to form during the 1920's and due to the sport's rapid growth, an International governing body was needed. On January 15th, 1926, the International Table Tennis Federation was initiated by Dr. Gerog Lehman of Berlin, Germany. By December, a constitution and laws were agreed upon and the first World Championships were held. The ITTF presently represents 127 Affiliated Associations.

ITTF Headquarters
53 London Road
St. Leonards-on-the-Sea
East Sussex TN34 6AY, England, UK.

USA TABLE TENNIS
(USATT)

The USATT, formally called the USTTA (United States Table Tennis Association), was founded and ITTF-affiliated in 1933.This organization is the United State's governing body for the sport and the backbone to more than 300 affiliated American clubs. Individual USATT membership with a subscription to TABLE TENNIS TODAY can be purchased at any USATT sanctioned tournament or affiliated club. For more information, please contact:

USATT Headquarters
One Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80909 USA
(719) 866-4583
www.usatt.org