Rule Approved! New colour rubbers as of 2020!

Now don't get carried away. The modified rule states that opposite a black rubber "a bright colour clearly distinguishable from black and from the colours of the ball as defined in Law 2.3.3" is allowed.

A colour, single. That leaves no room for rainbows, unicorn prints, paisley patterns, or (perhaps this is bad news for some) the Clan tartan. What constitutes "bright" probably needs (has?) a definition elsewhere.

yeah, like I have no knowledge/experience with production and inventory management for table tennis rubbers
yawn

So tell me positive thinking - what is the benefits of such change?
we will now have 10 times more players because the colour is more fun?

killiegradge said:

I actually watched the AGM today and the lack of debate was astonishing. Yes delegates had the opportunity to vote but it wasn't entirely clear the motivations behind each of the proposals. One delegate repeatedly asked if they had spoken to the players and other delegate said that the administrators had the power and right to do as they see fit for the benefit of the sport. The whole AGM seemed very very unprofessional to me.

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This is the biggest problem
a lot of the politicians are not former players or coaches
And a roomful of them decide the future of the sport

Arkady said:

What I like most from our "positive thinking" (sic) friend is this:

While he may not give not even one argument of what the multicolored rubbers will offer to the sport or even explain why he supports the change, nonetheless he has the audacity to call everyone else as "negative thinker" !!!!

The phrase that wins the prize is this: "And most of y'all have no experience how it is to play against different colours, all your negativity is based on assumptions and zero experience."

Lol!!!! Like it would make any difference at all, if the opponent uses red or pink or blue rubber.... Give us a break now dude...

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Well, someone who's just here every once in a blue moon probably might not know this, but "he's" already given nuff explanation on a previous thread about this topic.
If someone has the ability to read between the lines, then he/she'd probably be able to understand that not everyone's still wet behind their ears and that I already have been playing when different colours were allowed, but for this it might take some intelligence, and exactly there seems to lie the whole problem.

Tony's Table Tennis said:

yeah, like I have no knowledge/experience with production and inventory management for table tennis rubbers
yawn

So tell me positive thinking - what is the benefits of such change?
we will now have 10 times more players because the colour is more fun?

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Well, maybe your experience is just somehow.....
(how do I say this without hurting feelings?)
....limited.

Different colours haven't been much of a problem in the past and I doubt that they will be a problem in the future but maybe you have a crystal ball and can tell the future.
But then why waste time here? Let's hit the Lotto.

yoass said:

Now don't get carried away. The modified rule states that opposite a black rubber "a bright colour clearly distinguishable from black and from the colours of the ball as defined in Law 2.3.3" is allowed.

A colour, single. That leaves no room for rainbows, unicorn prints, paisley patterns, or (perhaps this is bad news for some) the Clan tartan. What constitutes "bright" probably needs (has?) a definition elsewhere.

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Suga D said:

Well, someone who's just here every once in a blue moon probably might not know this, but "he's" already given nuff explanation on a previous thread about this topic.
If someone has the ability to read between the lines, then he/she'd probably be able to understand that not everyone's still wet behind their ears and that I already have been playing when different colours were allowed, but for this it might take some intelligence, and exactly there seems to lie the whole problem.

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You replied in THIS thread.
So unless you've just discovered how fora work, you realize that you have to give your explanations in THIS THREAD, don't you?

Now that we've settled this, I would like very much to hear what are the great benefits of the "different colours" ...

Suga D said:

Well, maybe your experience is just somehow.....
(how do I say this without hurting feelings?)
....limited.

Different colours haven't been much of a problem in the past and I doubt that they will be a problem in the future but maybe you have a crystal ball and can tell the future.
But then why waste time here? Let's hit the Lotto.

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so because you are older you have more experience?
or because in the past there was not internet/media/forum so you thought there was "haven't been much of a problem" so such problem did not exist because you are not aware of it?

or did you think that business like Butterfly would reduce pricing so my "experience" of overpricing issue is lacking crediblity

Sorry (how do I say this without hurting feelings), your years in table tennis is wasted if you don't see this as a problem

I am sure by now, you know I have contacts in most of the table tennis brands. Some of them come to me for family holidays (I would like to say one day the same for me to them). I have access to many brands that I don't sell too - I guess this is something your "past" doesn't have compared to my "present"

So lets put our past and present aside, can you answer the question based on this thread (not some lotto number - created another thread for that please) - whats the benefit? I also want to know

Tony's Table Tennis said:

so because you are older you have more experience?

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To make it short: regarding this topic? yap!

Tony's Table Tennis said:

or because in the past there was not internet/media/forum so you thought there was "haven't been much of a problem" so such problem did not exist because you are not aware of it?

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You are such a cool guy. There used to be a saying: do good and don't talk about it.
Since when has it changed to: do good and print it in the newspaper?

The thing is we didn't make a problem out of everything.
We rather left this up to the negative thinkers.

Tony's Table Tennis said:

So lets put our past and present aside, can you answer the question based on this thread (not some lotto number - created another thread for that please) - whats the benefit? I also want to know

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Ever heard of colourblindness?
Besides: the world is neither black&white nor black&red. So why should rubbers be?

Suga D said:

To make it short: regarding this topic? yap!



You are such a cool guy. There used to be a saying: do good and don't talk about it.
Since when has it changed to: do good and print it in the newspaper?

The thing is we didn't make a problem out of everything.
We rather left this up to the negative thinkers.



Ever heard of colourblindness?
Besides: the world is neither black&white nor black&red. So why should rubbers be?

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You challenge me when I talked about inventory management, so because you are older than me, you are more experience in rubber inventory management - please explain how you are more experience than me...

You really think the politicians in sports of 2019 is the same as the era of when you are around?
I hope you don't just sit back and complain in your dreams, nowadays era, you must voice your opinion and vote.

Do you know the people there voting - do they even know how to glue a bat yet alone spin the ball and they are now deciding on equipment?

Maybe you grew up in a era where everything is yes sir yes sir yes sir. This era is not yes sir era.

Do someone here actually care about the color of your rubbers?

Lula said:

Do someone here actually care about the color of your rubbers?

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I personally don't
I don't see how colour would wow factor table tennis.

I would rather have a division within ITTF to focus on basement players and for them you can have all the non ITTF approve stuff - like different bat sizes, different material of bats, different colours rubbers/balls (which already exist today)

I think fun and professional is 2 different segment. ITTF only police professional, and I can't seem to really understand HK reason to table it that they bring in fun into the picture - will this make TT better? I don't think so

The manufactures are against it because as is, there are already having an issue with inventory management.
ITTF keep changing rules, so they need to have more and more equipment

Having colourful bats won't solve the development issues we have. It won't solve the crowd/spectator issues we have, it sure won't solve the lousy video stream we have and it sure won't solve the video rights (need to use VPN) to view livestreams.

I would rather they form more T2 leagues and make it more fun for spectators.
and they should look at the costs of being a table tennis fan.
Not all people are earning that kind of money to afford to go through hundreds of dollars (if not thousands) a year.

India and Africa is 2 of the biggest untap market. Stag is number 1 in India because of the low cost factor.
Increased pricing should of been tabled and they should of looked at how to reduce costs for TT to do better
ITTF should know this....

This is just whataboutary Tony. These are all good points and should be looked at, but the ITTF can do more than one thing at any one time and having colourful topsheets is hardly going to bring other improvements to a grinding halt. It's hardly the biggest priority I would have wanted either, but I treat it as a bit of fun which could encourage some excitement at a youth level.

I appreciate your concerns about inventory management, but it's down to the manufacturers to be sensible and implement it in a reasonable way.

I play at youth (junior) level and I am completely against this idea of the rubbers. If anything, less people will play the sport and it will be laughed at more

Ok, so here it goes. Sometime after I stopped playing a decision was made. A restriction was put in place: one side black, one side bright red.

That restriction actually took away one of my favourite rubbers, which was available in neither black nor red, entirely.

That restriction also came with the — in my eyes — stupid side-effect of me having to buy different colours for FH and BH, even though I typically play the same on both. And it should be noted that by this corrollary players who would like to use the same rubber are prohibited to do so, if that rubber happens to be available in one of the sanctioned colors only. This is not entirely theoretical; quite a lot of DHS rubbers have a particular sponge available for a particular surface color only. So I'm not allowed to use blue sponge Hurricane 3 on both wings, by these rules. That's broken and silly.

This change of rules does not force anybody to enter veaudeville territory. It simply removes a restriction recently put in place.

What's it to anybody if I would want (say) to play a rubber that happens to be eggplant-colored? And who came up with the brilliant idea that I'm not even allowed to play with two slabs of black Rozena? I'd like to know the harm in playing with the same two rubbers in the same color. Please.

These restrictions, to me, are arbitrary and unnecessary. They were a reaction to players tilting the balance in their favour (for a very short while...) when new "special" rubbers hit the streets; anti, long pips, frictionless long pips, and so on. Well, surprise, it took a season or two for the rest to adapt to that anyway. I would hold that it's not this rule that relegated John Hilton (and his ilk) back to the subtop, but the fact that the shock of the new wore off after a little while. We grew up and learned to deal with twiddlers.

And as Yogi put it, it really doesn't matter what color rubber anybody plays with. So why create arbitrary restrictions, other than understandable ones having to do with keeping the ball visible?

Tony's Table Tennis said:

You challenge me when I talked about inventory management, so because you are older than me, you are more experience in rubber inventory management - please explain how you are more experience than me...

You really think the politicians in sports of 2019 is the same as the era of when you are around?
I hope you don't just sit back and complain in your dreams, nowadays era, you must voice your opinion and vote.

Do you know the people there voting - do they even know how to glue a bat yet alone spin the ball and they are now deciding on equipment?

Maybe you grew up in a era where everything is yes sir yes sir yes sir. This era is not yes sir era.

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Wow, you're such a TT-masterbrain and yet I shall explain myself?
Do you actually understand english?

Just for you:

Yes, i have played with other rubber colours, so hence i have more experience using those than you who has NEVEREVER used them.

FYI you can shove your rubber inventory management where the sun never shines and where it belongs. Read my post again, dude! And read properly!

Tony, I really respect your expertise but you obviously never learned to debate properly and many times your major ego issues really get into your way.

I've spoken to a shopowner and he's looking forward to the new colours.

Don't project your personal flaws onto others.
You really take yourself seriously and obviously enough serious for the whole forum.

Do you really have the nerve to call me a yes-man?
You know what? I learned to speak and think for myself and wasn't raised in a totalitarian system like GDR.
But did you actually learn to use your brain and think on your own?

yoass said:

What's it to anybody if I would want (say) to play a rubber that happens to be eggplant-colored? And who came up with the brilliant idea that I'm not even allowed to play with two slabs of black Rozena? I'd like to know the harm in playing with the same two rubbers in the same color. Please.

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Even two rubbers from the same brand and model can be different. 1.5mm will play differently than max, a one year old rubber will produce much less spin than a fresh one. Some players use rubbers so old that they are almost anti.

I'm not against using different colors but i just see this as another marketing move to increase prices and entice the consumers to spending more money.

Suga D said:

Wow, you're such a TT-masterbrain and yet I shall explain myself?
Do you actually understand english?

Just for you:

Yes, i have played with other rubber colours, so hence i have more experience using those than you who has NEVEREVER used them.

FYI you can shove your rubber inventory management where the sun never shines and where it belongs. Read my post again, dude! And read properly!

Tony, I really respect your expertise but you obviously never learned to debate properly and many times your major ego issues really get into your way.

I've spoken to a shopowner and he's looking forward to the new colours.

Don't project your personal flaws onto others.
You really take yourself seriously and obviously enough serious for the whole forum.
But you know what? I learned to speak and think for myself.
It's not my homecountry with a one party pseudo democracy.
Did you actually learn to use your brain and think on your own?

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Don't know the rules of this forum but this is a reply that isn't holding back insults

Is is that we're that resistant to change in a sport that probably has changed too much of late which is why so many are upset?

As long as the two colors are easy to tell the differences between the two, what do you care ('You" being general. Not point at any one person) how someone likes to express themselves? If someone still wants to play with black & red, nobody is stopping you. But if your opponent is playing black & green because they simply like that color more, does it really matter?

I think this rule change is cool and I like letting people express themselves however they want.

Tony's Table Tennis said:

It will be a financial nightmare for consumers....
The more colours allowed, the more models/production/inventory all equates to higher overheads from manufacturers and stores
At the end of the day, the fans will need to carry this

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Hello Tony,

I am in agreement and can understand your concerns.
For now, I cannot think of the benefits or rationale behind the introduction of multi coloured rubbers either.

I guess we can only really know after Tokyo 2020 on how it'll play out.

However, I try to think in this manner. Right now every rubber model comes in 2 colours (R&B). In future, black has to be compulsory on one side.

For example, if manufacturers substituted the RED for another colour, specifically for each model. Then perhaps we can see some fun variation while maintaining almost the same stock flow.
I.e. MX-P comes in Black/Red, EL-S Black/Blue, MX-S Black/Yellow etc.
Users will still be limited to 2 colours per model.

But if each model comes with multi-coloured variations. Then... It will truly be a logistics nightmare.

Let's wait and see!

Benefit: I can have a green rubber. I would like this i think it might be fun

Negatives: none proven but likely stock management is harder and unpopular colours will be very old stock also potential shortages or much larger inventory than neeeded. also there is a potential for price changes but we cannot asusme that.

suga needs to actually check it. even if he misread you several times calling him names and calling out his country is just rude.

the crux of the issue is no one knows the negatives until somthing actually happens and the positives are very limited... But i'm in favour of fun colours if needs possible