says
The sticky bit is stuck.
says
The sticky bit is stuck.
Well-Known Member
I disagree. The flooring beneath the table does have an impact on the bounce of the ball. If the table is sitting on soft rubber flooring that makes the ball bounce lower and rebound slower than when the table sits on a hard concrete (or similar) surface. I would argue that it is not a myth. Do you have any scientific studies on this? I would be interested to see the data.
Being the one that made the claim, that burden of proof is onto me, not onto someone doubting it. (Well, somebody positively denying it can be considered as putting forth a claim of her own, so perhaps that's not entirely true in this case.)
My own "proof", of course, is merely anecdotal, in the sense that it comes from my personal experience. I've played tournaments and competition matches at clubs using the same table (Tibhar Smash 28R), often even from the same batch -- because a few clubs got them "second hand" after seeing use at the 2011 WTTC (Rotterdam, ZJK FTW!).
So, same tables, different venues, with different floors and very different bounces. Was it the ball, then? No, in most cases the clubs all used the XSF***. Was it siginificant? Yes. At some clubs, I needed to play a full foot closer to the table to even be able to reach a (long!) push or a defender's chops. Lower bounce, significantly lesser penetration. Same tables, same ball.