Help on Argumentative Research Paper on Table Tennis

[songdavid98]

I have an argumentative research paper assignment that I would like to do on Table Tennis.

I was thinking about writing about why table tennis in America isn't very popular in America and what can be done to fix that.

The only problem is that I don't really know what table tennis is like in other countries. How does the public feel about table tennis in your country?

I don't even know what it's like in China. (It's weird because I feel like those cheering fans are paid to be there)

Even if you are American, please give me your word, because the more data and information I have, the better for my paper.

**********************

These are my thoughts planned out so far. I am unable to write about table tennis in other countries I know so little about other countries.

• Complexity
  
  • Spectators do not understand what is going on in professional play
    
    • Hard to watch because rallies may be too fast and very short.
      
    • Almost like watching two people playing chess
  • Causes most to only be able to play casually
    
    • Hurts the image of table tennis
• Image of table tennis
  
  • For the elderly
    
  • Doesn’t look impressive due to bad camera angles (ITTF)
    
  • Forrest Gump and Beer Pong
    
  • Lack of people actually seeing real table tennis
    
    • Use source here
  • Not a ‘sport’
    
    • Despite being an Olympic Sport
      
    • Looks easy (less physical strength ≠ easy)
  • China
• Exclusivity
  
  • Not a team sport
    
    • Leads to less participation and exposure
  • Needs equipment
    
    • Equipment has become increasingly expensive
  • Indoor sport, leads to lack of exposure (bystanders can see people playing basketball in the streets)
• Lack of exposure
  
  • Indoors, leads to not many people seeing others play
    
  • No table tennis on news/TV (due to lack of successful players)
    
    • Children will look and often want to do what looks cool and be like their role model?
• Lack of successful players and role models in America
  
  • Lack of successful players because very few in America start at a young age, due to the lack of exposure to the sport.
    
  • Long standing dominance of China and Europe discourage players from competing and causes players to give up.
    
    • Use China sources here
• Lack of discussion/drama
  
  • Chinese dominance has lead to expected outcomes and little drama
    
  • No arguments over who’s better due to clear cut ratings and rankings
• Funding?
  
  • Non-existant funding going towards players; they are on their own, unsponsored.

 

[OldschoolPenholder]

I know Der_Echte, NextLevel and Carl had discussed this amongst themselves forever, and perhaps here too.

Until they chime in ...

In USA, there is no real star, no consistent player on world class level ... partly because our Olympians in any sport are largely working on their own, and for the love of their sport, somehow train and get to the world class level .... unlike other countries where their athletes/olympians are fully sponsored.

Also, there is no money to be had in TT compared to almost any other sport that is popular in US. It's like MMA (mixed martial arts) - relatively no money to be had, unless you are a superstar, and even then, MMA superstar's payday doesn't compare to boxing superstar's payday ... read a recent article, the top WWE wrestlers' salaries for 2016, Brock Lesnar tops the list at 6 or 7 figures ... have to look it up again, while he was fighting in UFC, he may have gotten 6 figures,

Apologies for not having the data now, will edit in later after research

Bottom line in USA - TT is not popular because there are no recognizable names for companies to sponsor/market ... the athletes may make better use of their lives by pursuing other sports.

Good luck in your research/paper.

 

[tropical]

Use soccer as a study example then develop the table tennis theme.

 

[ajtatosmano2]

In Hungary table tennis has it's own society and most people doesn't know anything. We have a few talented kid... but they will go to Germany or similar places for professional training.
Universal problem that the youth clubs get money based on their players results, therefore the clubs hate each other.

 

[songdavid98]

Use soccer as a study example then develop the table tennis theme.

Yeah, I am trying to compare this to team sports in my paper.

It seems that there is a general lack of exposure (and money) in the world of table tennis.

 

[Baal]

For your assignment you might find even more authoritative sources than a TT forum. Here you will get a lot opinions.

Anyway, here is mine.

Sports attract big money in a country when a lot of people like to play it and when that country produces lots of elite players and world champions (now and for a long time in the past0. In the US think about golf, which has both of those things (hint, how many people in the US play golf, how many of the world's top 30 golfers are from the US, and how much do they make per year?). Also basketball. So lots of sponsors, so an attractive sport for kids to take up. Table tennis in the US has one of those things, lots of people like to play it in their basements and such (you could find numbers estimating that), and in bars, but no champions since the 1950s (easy to find that on USATT and ITTF websites), hence not big sponsors, hence no incentive for talented kids to go into it. In fact, our most talented junior players almost all give it up when they turn 18 so they can go to the university and later on get real jobs, like being a doctor or something (example, Ariel Hsing). There is no economic incentive in the US to be a good table tennis player. If things don't change fairly soon, tennis in the US could find itself heading that way. We haven't produced any top 5 male tennis players in awhile.

In China there is. Lots of people play (I ams sure there estimates on the web of how many million people play) and they have been good for a long time. I can tell you for a fact there are clubs and leagues all over the place and in schools. Of course the number of world champions they have produced is easy to find. And you could probably find out roughly how much money Zhang Jike is paid, and I can tell you from having traveled there fairly recently, you can find his picture everywhere. He does a lot of advertising. So did Wang Liqin in his day. Cars, phones, computers, clothes, etc. etc. Wang Liqin's girlfriend was a top movie star.

There are sports in a lot worse shape in the US than TT. Nobody here plays cricket (but hugely popular in other English speaking countries). Not so many cross country skiers. Not so many opportunities for team handball (which is actually a sport Americans would like a lot if they knew it).

 

[Baal]

The other thing is that in the US we have lots of people who play TT but things are not always real well organized.

In Germany they have an amazingly well organized local league system that encourages participation by people at all levels. It's not just TT, it is other sports too, it is a historical movment in Germany to keep people healthy; it started off as something called the Turnverein movement, which emphasized gymnastics but which encompasses lots of sports now. https://www.britannica.com/sports/turnverein

here is one of those turnvereins in Nurnberg that has lots of sports and has been in operation since 1862! That city will have a bunch of these and they get some government funding. It is like that all over Germany. And that means there is lots of good coaching and encouragment to kids at a young age.

https://www.sportsaround.net/place/turnverein-gleishammer-1862-e-v-geschaeftsstelle_soccer-table-tennis-badminton-judo_cw7bzw

 

[songdavid98]

The other thing is that in the US we have lots of people who play TT but things are not always real well organized.

In Germany they have an amazingly well organized local league system that encourages participation by people at all levels. It's not just TT, it is other sports too, it is a historical movment in Germany to keep people healthy; it started off as something called the Turnverein movement, which emphasized gymnastics but which encompasses lots of sports now. https://www.britannica.com/sports/turnverein

here is one of those turnvereins in Nurnberg that has lots of sports and has been in operation since 1862! That city will have a bunch of these and they get some government funding. It is like that all over Germany. And that means there is lots of good coaching and encouragment to kids at a young age.

https://www.sportsaround.net/place/turnverein-gleishammer-1862-e-v-geschaeftsstelle_soccer-table-tennis-badminton-judo_cw7bzw

Thank you! I will definitely use this in my paper! This seems like a good idea in the US too, given the epidemic of obesity.

 

[SFF_lib]

In China, TT clubs exist in every town or city, small or big alike. Clubs open everyday until 10 or 11pm. Coaching is available almost everyday and certainly every weekend for children.
Table tennis schools are everywhere. They are sponsored by either the city council or the province council. City-level TT schools open their intense training to the public during summer holidays. I attended one holiday session your skill level skyrocket within a month. I heard that pronvincial TT schools are more strict with regard to public training because they're closely linked to the national team.

Teens in pronvincial TT schools focus a lot on training rather than formal academic study. They are exempted from some subjects to allow intense TT training. But if you cannot be selected to the national team by the age of 15 your TT career is pretty much over. Most teens will switch back to academic study or go overseas. Their level is still very good if they head overseas. My good childhood friend at pronvincial B level (top level is A) couldn't proceed to level A, thus no hope to get into national team. He got a job at the Singapore national team at the age of 15 because no teen in the Singapore national team could get 5 points out of 11.

A minor thing. TT equipments are so cheap in China. Even authentic Euro and Jap products are cheaper in China than in the producer country!! Homegrown products like DHS, 729, Yinhe can custom make a beginner blade for less than $30 USD. The setup is almost as decent as Stiga OC + 2x Mark V. But just people outside China cannot get access to the product range and the decent price.

Most importantly, the TT culture is engraved in most Chinese. Most Chinese can play TT. Many can play to a decent level. If i go and play in a Chinese club any 50-70s can beat me, let alone younger players.
In most corporate they have a TT room with air conditioning and prestigious branded table. If a boss likes TT, most likely the employees will try to play well to make impression to the boss. The TT culture goes top down.

 

[fais]

For your assignment you might find even more authoritative sources than a TT forum. Here you will get a lot opinions.

Anyway, here is mine.

Sports attract big money in a country when a lot of people like to play it and when that country produces lots of elite players and world champions (now and for a long time in the past0. In the US think about golf, which has both of those things (hint, how many people in the US play golf, how many of the world's top 30 golfers are from the US, and how much do they make per year?). Also basketball. So lots of sponsors, so an attractive sport for kids to take up. Table tennis in the US has one of those things, lots of people like to play it in their basements and such (you could find numbers estimating that), and in bars, but no champions since the 1950s (easy to find that on USATT and ITTF websites), hence not big sponsors, hence no incentive for talented kids to go into it. In fact, our most talented junior players almost all give it up when they turn 18 so they can go to the university and later on get real jobs, like being a doctor or something (example, Ariel Hsing). There is no economic incentive in the US to be a good table tennis player. If things don't change fairly soon, tennis in the US could find itself heading that way. We haven't produced any top 5 male tennis players in awhile.

In China there is. Lots of people play (I ams sure there estimates on the web of how many million people play) and they have been good for a long time. I can tell you for a fact there are clubs and leagues all over the place and in schools. Of course the number of world champions they have produced is easy to find. And you could probably find out roughly how much money Zhang Jike is paid, and I can tell you from having traveled there fairly recently, you can find his picture everywhere. He does a lot of advertising. So did Wang Liqin in his day. Cars, phones, computers, clothes, etc. etc. Wang Liqin's girlfriend was a top movie star.

There are sports in a lot worse shape in the US than TT. Nobody here plays cricket (but hugely popular in other English speaking countries). Not so many cross country skiers. Not so many opportunities for team handball (which is actually a sport Americans would like a lot if they knew it).

It's somewhat of a catch 22 isn't it? If one could make money playing table tennis, one would be motivated to excel at it (financial stability would mean one could dedicate more time and effort and into it), but one can't really make make money doing it unless one is extremely successful at it (which would open doors for investors to invest and market table tennis and providing good investment opportunities for sponsors).

 

[ttpshot]

It's only recently that the top players are making decent money playing table tennis in Japan. What we do have is a good development structure from 4 years old up to 18 years old. They train in junior clubs untill 12 then go to public schools' table tennis teams until 18 and quit playing after that. We have very skewed pyramid in Japan that only around 20% of registered players are adults.

 

[Der_Echte]

I was thinking about writing about why table tennis in America isn't very popular in America and what can be done to fix that.

Why is TT not so popular in USA?

A: Many reasons. Mostly relate to cultural, infrastructure, and competition from other sports. This is purely for amatures who do not pursue as money making. So many easy to access sports in USA it is silly, we can find a Basketball hoop every 1km or less, every school has them outside, many. Too easy to go there and for the price of a bag and rags, you can play all day for free if you have water. An open field, 5 on 5 American football modified. There is little infrastructure built for TT, 0.02 percent of schools (Grade school to high school) have a TT program and even that is pretty social basement style. A few churches here and there have TT, but it is real spotty. There is a culture in USA that TT is something that you do standing at a table not moving and pat the ball and giggle when you miss. This is seriously ingrained.

So, biggest challenges to get any double digit exposure to even social competitive TT is the infrastructure, (99% of local areas do not have a place to place within a 5-15 (or even 60) minute drive. then competition form other easy sports, then our culture.

Infrastructure is F***kd as it is real expensive to rent a place for 2000-7000 USD a month that wouldn't attract more than 10 players a day, even if you purchased bright flashing neon signs that read FREE BEER and had a full time visiting squad of 12 high school cheerleaders dancing from a different school each day.

The only infrastructure that exists is schools, and many do not have tables and need to be convinced by someone they trust and believe can execute a program for little cost, govt will not give away funds like Europe. Only a child already on the rise in TT is in a good position to be heard by school administrators and respected... and our country sorely under-utilizes this.

TTD member Agold was very successful in this at his high school. This model works, but we also need support from other adult TT players/leaders and the USATT support of even a certificate that the kid is fit to be a national TT developmental leader would be really great to move this along. Ultimately, school officials need to see and believe what the kid TT leaders can do to lead programs for little cost. The absolutely CAN do it. They need help and impetus.

The only thing propping up TT amature TT play in USA is the high numbers of newer foreigners who already like to play TT.

There are some social influences that are positively trending TT upwards in USA, but it has to be done 1000x moe in magnitude to get any real traction. Even if Ping Pong Summer or some commercial show TT in a good way and motivates viewers to play, if there is no infrastructure, they will struggle to find a place and lose interest real fast.

If we open a club and cannot get 100 members the first year, it will fail. If we open a "Club" 1-2 nights a week at a rented gym, it isn't a club, but only a lace to play with limited time and table resources, we already discussed how that goes to grow TT, it is like a shrinking factor such a place.

The other avenue open is for sports centers with HIGH foot traffic (a volleyball training center with 1 courts) if there are 5-10 tables 2 times a week or more with even social competitive organized league, that attracts the rec players and no skillz social players... but what they heck, we ALL started out at that level or such, so that has potential too. Such a place is already profitable and the addition of tables isn't such an additional expense if someone TT knowledgeable leads.

 

[songdavid98]

Why is TT not so popular in USA?

A: Many reasons. Mostly relate to cultural, infrastructure, and competition from other sports. This is purely for amatures who do not pursue as money making. So many easy to access sports in USA it is silly, we can find a Basketball hoop every 1km or less, every school has them outside, many. Too easy to go there and for the price of a bag and rags, you can play all day for free if you have water. An open field, 5 on 5 American football modified. There is little infrastructure built for TT, 0.02 percent of schools (Grade school to high school) have a TT program and even that is pretty social basement style. A few churches here and there have TT, but it is real spotty. There is a culture in USA that TT is something that you do standing at a table not moving and pat the ball and giggle when you miss. This is seriously ingrained.

So, biggest challenges to get any double digit exposure to even social competitive TT is the infrastructure, (99% of local areas do not have a place to place within a 5-15 (or even 60) minute drive. then competition form other easy sports, then our culture.

Infrastructure is F***kd as it is real expensive to rent a place for 2000-7000 USD a month that wouldn't attract more than 10 players a day, even if you purchased bright flashing neon signs that read FREE BEER and had a full time visiting squad of 12 high school cheerleaders dancing from a different school each day.

The only infrastructure that exists is schools, and many do not have tables and need to be convinced by someone they trust and believe can execute a program for little cost, govt will not give away funds like Europe. Only a child already on the rise in TT is in a good position to be heard by school administrators and respected... and our country sorely under-utilizes this.

TTD member Agold was very successful in this at his high school. This model works, but we also need support from other adult TT players/leaders and the USATT support of even a certificate that the kid is fit to be a national TT developmental leader would be really great to move this along. Ultimately, school officials need to see and believe what the kid TT leaders can do to lead programs for little cost. The absolutely CAN do it. They need help and impetus.

The only thing propping up TT amature TT play in USA is the high numbers of newer foreigners who already like to play TT.

There are some social influences that are positively trending TT upwards in USA, but it has to be done 1000x moe in magnitude to get any real traction. Even if Ping Pong Summer or some commercial show TT in a good way and motivates viewers to play, if there is no infrastructure, they will struggle to find a place and lose interest real fast.

If we open a club and cannot get 100 members the first year, it will fail. If we open a "Club" 1-2 nights a week at a rented gym, it isn't a club, but only a lace to play with limited time and table resources, we already discussed how that goes to grow TT, it is like a shrinking factor such a place.

The other avenue open is for sports centers with HIGH foot traffic (a volleyball training center with 1 courts) if there are 5-10 tables 2 times a week or more with even social competitive organized league, that attracts the rec players and no skillz social players... but what they heck, we ALL started out at that level or such, so that has potential too. Such a place is already profitable and the addition of tables isn't such an additional expense if someone TT knowledgeable leads.

You make good points about infrastructure. You make another good point that I never thought about. I never really thought about how the only thing that supports table tennis in the US is foreigners that already play table tennis. I'll think about this.

By the way, can you tell me about table tennis in your country? Even if it had already been said, maybe you can give more insight.

and thanks for mentioning Abe Gold. I didn't know he did that. I'll ask him too.

 

[yuri.saldon]

In Brazil ping pong is very popular, everyone already played it. When i say ping pong it's rackets without rubbers or with spinless rubbers and some "special rules" like serve have to be cross court or who scored keep serving

But TABLE TENNIS like we know is inexistent excluding in tt clubs and TT professional is like a joke for the most of brazilians. They don't see TT as a sport, it's more like a kids game.

There are some serious clubs with high level coaches, probably provided by the Japanese colony moved here for so long

Sent from my 2014819 using Tapatalk

 

[songdavid98]

In Brazil ping pong is very popular, everyone already played it. When i say ping pong it's rackets without rubbers or with spinless rubbers and some "special rules" like serve have to be cross court or who scored keep serving

But TABLE TENNIS like we know is inexistent excluding in tt clubs and TT professional is like a joke for the most of brazilians. They don't see TT as a sport, it's more like a kids game.

There are some serious clubs with high level coaches, probably provided by the Japanese colony moved here for so long

Sent from my 2014819 using Tapatalk

Thank you for sharing this with me!

Can I ask you about Hugo Calderano? Is he well known in your country? Is he viewed as someone successful in your country?

 

[songdavid98]

For your assignment you might find even more authoritative sources than a TT forum. Here you will get a lot opinions.

Anyway, here is mine.

Sports attract big money in a country when a lot of people like to play it and when that country produces lots of elite players and world champions (now and for a long time in the past0. In the US think about golf, which has both of those things (hint, how many people in the US play golf, how many of the world's top 30 golfers are from the US, and how much do they make per year?). Also basketball. So lots of sponsors, so an attractive sport for kids to take up. Table tennis in the US has one of those things, lots of people like to play it in their basements and such (you could find numbers estimating that), and in bars, but no champions since the 1950s (easy to find that on USATT and ITTF websites), hence not big sponsors, hence no incentive for talented kids to go into it. In fact, our most talented junior players almost all give it up when they turn 18 so they can go to the university and later on get real jobs, like being a doctor or something (example, Ariel Hsing). There is no economic incentive in the US to be a good table tennis player. If things don't change fairly soon, tennis in the US could find itself heading that way. We haven't produced any top 5 male tennis players in awhile.

In China there is. Lots of people play (I ams sure there estimates on the web of how many million people play) and they have been good for a long time. I can tell you for a fact there are clubs and leagues all over the place and in schools. Of course the number of world champions they have produced is easy to find. And you could probably find out roughly how much money Zhang Jike is paid, and I can tell you from having traveled there fairly recently, you can find his picture everywhere. He does a lot of advertising. So did Wang Liqin in his day. Cars, phones, computers, clothes, etc. etc. Wang Liqin's girlfriend was a top movie star.

There are sports in a lot worse shape in the US than TT. Nobody here plays cricket (but hugely popular in other English speaking countries). Not so many cross country skiers. Not so many opportunities for team handball (which is actually a sport Americans would like a lot if they knew it).

Can I ask you about how people like Timo Boll and Dima Ovtcharov are viewed in your country? Are they well known to the public?

Also, where do you think I can find authoratative sources? I have trouble finding some.

I was planning on maybe interviewing somebody. Maybe Will Shortz

 

[Baal]

I am actually American living in the US.

 

[Der_Echte]

I could say that the groups who play at a church are much like the USA clubs that rent out gym space for a few hours 1-2 times a week. They have some potential, but it isn't likely they are gunna enlarge their rec space at great cost just to add room for more tables if they can get a more organized social league.

Some foreign countries who have a larger participation in TT, like say Korea, when they make a large church in USA, they go LARGE. Washington DC and NYC have a very STRONG TT presence in church. ONE of the churches outside DC sets up 7 tables in their gym of their 20 million dollar church complex. A certain church in NYC holds two HUGE Korean-Community only tourneys in NYC for members of the Korean East Coast TT Assn.

These are examples of the potential of US people in US churches, and how foreigners are realizing it in USA.

Then again, in Korea, over 1/2 of preachers over 40 yrs old are TT players, some over USATT 2000 level, most around 1500 level. They like them some TT. A LOT of Korean church members in USA are O40 O50 and play often. At least 4 Korean churches in DC area have church play 1-2 times a week. DC has only 4 clubs if you count the two that are 25 miles east of DC. The Korean contingent alone has more TT participation in church than all the local clubs' membership combined.

This is just an example for Koreans, which I am very well connected to their communities. many other nations where TT is strong also have strong church participation. Plain 'ole USA has some too, but on a much smaller scale and less density.

Look at all the full time clubs that have opened in the last decade that I can name. Look who has been taking risks to open them and look at who the majority of the members are.

Westchester, one of the hugest. A Caribbean player and an American.
WDCTT - Chinese lady
NOVATT - Chinese guy
Smash TTC - England guy, ex top league
California TTC - Chinese lady (opened Jan 2017 (My local club) (80 foreign members - 1/2 Chinese)

Look at all the Bay Area and LA area clubs...

Alameda TTC ?
WCTTA - Stefan Feth and a top Chinese coach
ICC - Indian and Chinese led/coached
Swan PP - Nearly all Chinese players
WCTTA, TT America, AMDT, Google HQ, Fremont, Silicon Valley, Pong Planet... Guess who runs and mostly plays there...

LA and Orange County have 12 clubs run by Chinese or Koreans with mostly foreigners as players.

I am not beating down on foreigners, heck, Der_Echte has lived outside USA as a foreigner and the shoe has been on the other foot a long time. If we didn't have a strong foreign TT player base in USA, we wouldn't have foreigners taking risks to open clubs. What we would mostly have is 1-2 time a week 3 hr rent a gym places to play, no real clubs.

We have to increase the market and TT infrastructure, so that more people take risks and open more clubs. If the demand is there, it will work.

Think if TT was a program in only 10% of usa in 5th grade and beyond...that is a field of potentially millions, at least a million, and even if only a few percent get serious and try to find a coach and club, we would have 100x the clubs we have right now.

 

[Der_Echte]

Another odd fact.

Even in Korea, a pretty strong TT nation, the average person doesn't know much Table Tennis.

When I was in the U.S. Military there, we would be augmented by English speaking Korean soldiers who wore our uniforms and worked in our units. I would ask them if they knew who such and such was... below are the percent who knew. I am being a bit generous with the numbers. I have asked 100 young male Koreans aged 20ish during a 4 year time from 2009 to 2013.

Yoo Nam-Gyu (88 Olympic Gold) 10%
Kim Taek Soo (Ex-top pro and national coach) 15%
Ryu Seung Min (2004 Olympic Gold) 20%

 

[NDH]

An excellent paper to write about! Apologies for what will undoubtedly be a lengthy post…….


I’ll try and give some insight into the UK Table Tennis scene.


Firstly, it’s worth remembering that the majority of UK players, play in local leagues - The league structure can vary, but you typically have divisions of between 7 and 10 teams. The league can be made up of between 2 and 10 divisions (on average I’d say leagues are made up of 3/4 divisions). Each team has 3 players on the night - 3 singles each (9 matches), and 1 doubles. However, most teams have 4/5 players registered to play, and rotate the players each week.


Each team will play each other twice or 3 times per season (runs from September to April). So you typically have anywhere between 14 matches (7 team division playing twice), to 21 matches (if they played 3 times) per season. Some leagues might have slightly more, it just depends on the divisional structure.


So, onto the answers:


Every UK player you ask, will feel like the sport is in rapid decline (in the UK).


There are a number of reasons for this, but there is no “definitive” answer.

• The old working mens clubs and venues have been shut down - Leaving schools, village/town halls and dedicated centres (of which there aren’t many), the only places left to play.
• The league structure is not conducive to nurturing younger kids - The league matches are on week nights, starting at 7/7:30pm and finishing around 10:30pm (sometimes later).
• The leagues are run by the older generation - Tend to be resistant to change.
• Everyone is getting older, and there aren’t new players challenging the old guard - Most local league competitions are won by “Vetts" - Over 40’s. It just highlights the lack of new players reaching a high standard.

Of course, all of the previous points people have mentioned about money, superstars to look up to, TV coverage, all add up to a lack of interest in the sport in general. But we need to do more in the UK to preserve the local leagues and try and grow again.


So….. That’s the bad. However, I reckon people in the US (and possibly other countries), will still be envious of the position local league players are in, in the UK (mainly due to available places to play in a much much MUCH smaller geographic space).


Below, I’ve highlighted an area of the UK (a 20 mile radius). Within this circle, there are 7 - Yes. 7 leagues (it is slightly unusual to have SO many leagues in such a small space, but most towns in the UK will have at least 1 league.





The league structure is as follows.


Towcester - 3 Divisions. 23 Teams
Northampton - 3 Divisions. 26 Teams
Wellingborough - 3 Divisions. 30 Teams
Kettering - 4 Divisions. 33 Teams
Daventry - 2 Divisions. 15 Teams
Milton Keynes - 8 Divisions. 64 Teams
Bedford - 5 Divisions. 43 Teams


So, that’s 231 teams in the area, playing in all divisions. If each team has 3 players, that’s 693 players.


However, that is difficult to judge as quite a few players will play in more than 1 league (which would make the 693 number lower) - But at the same time, there are usually more than 3 players registered for a team.


If the US could replicate the “local league” format, and have less emphasis on individual tournaments, I think it would help - But you guys obviously have the distance issue, which is unavoidable.


The UK format combats the “team” issue, as there is a camaraderie throughout the season, which can be similar to soccer - Everyone not only plays for themselves, but for their team mates as well.


I hope this has shed a little bit of light on the state of the Table Tennis scene in the UK.


Whilst I’d love to end on the positives above, I think it’s worth reminding people that the sport is in decline in the UK, and the 231 current teams were probably double/triple that, less than 20 years ago.


Good luck with your paper, if there is anything else you'd like to know, please ask.