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Thanks a lot for your replies.
That makes sense in a way, still i think we will have to wait and see how it all works out.
A change is not necessarily always a change for the better.
I mean just look at the ball change,
At first many amateures complained of inconsistent quality, which seems to have become better. But now many top pros started complaining, because of so many varying ball types.
What a mess. I don't think that was how it was intended to be.
Yes, I agree changing to the plastic ball was a move that virtually no one wanted. It was due to the customs and transportation issues with the celluloid balls, as they are highly flammable. My father is the Joola & Yasaka distributor in my home country, I remember his frustration when the shipments were frequently held up at customs because of the balls. I set one on fire once, and it burned fast!
At the WTTC this year I witnessed only a single ball break in the main hall (though undoubtedly there would have been more), which is a vast improvement from the celluloid ball. It has taken a while to reach this stage of course, and some brands are still not there yet.
My point is this, sometimes change is unavoidable. The ITTF is made up of people looking to improve the sport for all parties. It's like TTX (which I'm not particularly fond of), it gets so much flak from Table Tennis players. But what they don't realise is TTX is not for them. It's for everyday people who might play once in a while with friends. The kind of people who would visit Bounce or Spin (Table Tennis bar/nightclubs in London & New York) for a business event and find the sport enjoyable but not in the way we did when we got involved. It's for people who aren't going to spend half a grand on equipment, who aren't interested in beating the pros on the next table, or attending weekly training sessions. The problem with TTX is that the only audience it's reaching currently is the one which hates it.
That was a bit of a tangent from the original topic but to bring it back to WR I'll say this:
When enough decisions are questioned and debated by the community it creates a stigma towards the organisation, in this case ITTF. If a new player started out today and asked about the ITTF he/she might be told they're a counterproductive lot who don't know what they're doing. The Youtube comments can attest to that! Not many of the people plastering negative slurs on ITTF highlights are aware of the process involved there. To have HD 1080p 60fps videos requires transferring an enormous file size to the editors who are not with the team on site, this alone would take too long and mean highlights take days longer to upload. It would cost more and viewers would complain that the event is over already. Besides this the ITTF has agreements with TV networks around the world which stream at high quality. So demanding free material at top quality is somewhat selfish. When the Olympics are on I always pay for coverage, and the same goes for any other sporting event of significance. Imagine if people had a tantrum because the McGregor vs Mayweather UFC bout wasn't free...
When we take the time to analyse and research the reasons behind certain decisions, and stop spreading hate towards the ITTF, the organisation stands a better chance at getting Table Tennis to the big screen more often. Their aim is to be in the top 5 Olympic sports. A little support wouldn't hurt. The goal of this new WR is to make things more exciting for everyone. Since it hasn't started yet let's wait and see what happens before deciding it'll be the death of Table Tennis as we know it.
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