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What is the difference between pingpong and table tennis?
Jackie Rigley, Ilkeston Derbyshire
- In pingpong the ball must bounce on your side of the table before going over the net after you hit it. It is this extra bounce that gives the game the onomatopoeic name of pingpong. Apart from this the game is identical to table tennis.
Geoff Badgerton, Howtown England
- Ping Pong was the name given to the game when it was played by gentlemen and ladies.Now it is a competitive sportit has to have a more catchy name but the rules are still the same.
Jack Hill, St Albans England
- In table tennis only the serve has to hit the table on each side of the net, whereas in ping pong every shot has to hit the table on both sides of the net.
james, london uk
- "Ping-Pong" was the trade name for the table tennis sets originally sold to promote the game.
Ray Mitcham, Southport UK
- The relative seriousness of the participants.
Glenn Oliver, Ashbourne UK
- James Thurber pointed out that ping-pong backwards, gnop-gnip, sounds much more like a game of table tennis.
Angus, Perth Western Australia
- Table tennis and ping pong are exactly the same game (none of this nonsense of balls bouncing on different or both sides of table)"Ping pong" was the sound that the ball made when the game first came about, because of the type of bat/racquet used.The "ping pong association" then tried to make EVERYONE use only THEIR equipment, and after a period of time a different association was created, called the "table tennis association". Rules are the same For more:-http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/ask/0,,-25477,00.html
Ciaran, Derry NI
- The official ball size for ping pong is 25mm in diameter. The official ball size of table tennis is 27mm in diameter.
Geoffrey Wellington, Sydney Australia
- Official ping pong balls are slightly larger than table tennis balls. Ping pong = 3.7mm in diameter, while table tennis = 3.4mm diameter.
Louise Smitherson, Brighton, England
- According to the Columbus Table Tennis Club President, Greg Brendon, the most notable difference between the two games is as follows: ping pong paddles (also called bats) do not contain a sponge-like material between the wood and the outermost layer and are referred to as "pips out" because of their knobby texture on the outermost surface. This sponge like material, along with the inversion of the rubber on the outside of the bat is what makes table tennis a game where the spin placed on the ball is a more relevant factor. Table tennis is the most current of the two games. However, some players still play with hard paddles (aka hard bats) which can make for a challenging variation for newer players who are not used to playing against it as the spin factor is altered by the pips.
Jeremy Cadwell, Dublin, Ohio United States
- Let's set the record straight. There is absolutely no difference! The correct title for the sport in the UK and most of the rest of the world is "table tennis". This is because "ping pong" is a trade mark, number 233177, registered by the London toy importers and manufacturers Hamley Brothers on 20 September 1900 for their version of table tennis manufactured by John Jaques & Son. It is for this reason that the name "ping pong" cannot legally be used in UK to describe the sport of table tennis. Originally, there were both a "Ping Pong Association" and a "Table Tennis Association", established within a few days of one another in December 1901, but they merged in 1903 when the obligations towards the owners of the "ping pong" trade mark became too onerous. There were further problems of a similar nature when the sport, which had been dormant in most parts of the UK from 1904, became active again around 1922. "Ping pong" is still the official title of the sport in a few jurisdictions around the world and principally in China.The references (above) to a single bounce or double bounce service applied only to the period between 1900 and 1902. The references above to a double bounce in each rally and different sizes of ball are completely erroneous.Other trade marks were also registered including "Whiff-Waff" by Slazenger & Sons on 31 December 1900 and erroneously referred to by Boris Johnson in his infamous speech at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games.The earliest registered trade mark was "Gossima" by John Jaques & Son on 16 July 1891 and the earliest known equipment (apart from Foster's compendium of games in 1890 that included a version of tennis on a table) was produced under this name.
Graham Trimming, Slough, UK
- There is no difference between ping pong and table tennis, it's all bullsh*t!
Bestia Higgenbottom, York, England
- I always thought it was the one bounce versus two bounces (as described by others). However, some others have made some very detailed explanations, which sound credible. One thing I would add then, if they are exactly the same game, what do you call the version with one bounce versus the game with two bounces. They cannot be called the same thing.
Guy Eitzen, Melbourne, Australia
- What basic society calls "ping-pong" is a "game" where you don't really try hard but instead have fun. The ones who are serious about the sport, because it is a sport being a part of the Olympics, will call this Table-Tennis and have true skill to demonstrate to others. So basically if you go to BTHS and challenge us to "ping-pong", you will have the ball drived towards your body at 100mi/hr and will never win.
KennyG Ariza, Bricktown, NJ United States of America
- In table tennis you have to throw the ball up at least 6 inches on a serve, in ping pong you can serve from the hand. Also in ping pong you can have any material for the padding or on the padding. In table tennis there are rules for what you can use, for example, in ping pong you can use sand paper for the padding, in table tennis sand paper doesn't meet the criteria for the padding
Jared wolff, Tampa, FL USA
- www.pingpong.com explains that, simply put, table tennis is the sport played while Ping-pong is a particular brand of table tennis equipment that has been accepted into common vocabulary much like Hoover did for vacuum cleaners
Joe Slade, Oxford, England
- Dear Editor,I am writing this statement to you as a result of my thoughts on the difference between the two sports, ping pong and table tennis. Back in my day, we didn't have 'table tennis' or 'ping pong'. It was all just pong. When I was a young boy, after school everyday I'd go home and play pong on my iPhone. Sometimes I would even play during the day! Oh the memories. To conclude, the difference between ping pong and table tennis, is that neither of them exist. The real question is, what is ping pong or table tennis to pong?
Samuel, Ohio America
- The difference lies in the bat or paddle used by each player. In ping-pong both players use the same bat and the bat is usually sponge less, sometimes called a 'hardbat' or 'sandpaper' bat. In ping-pong each player has the opportunity to use the others bat during the game, this eliminates any bias due to the type of bat being used; by virtue of this, ping pong, by some, is considered to be a purer game than table tennis, in which the opponents have individually designed bats using a variety of sponges and rubbers.
Dr Mark Fisher, London Uk
- ping pong is stupid whilst table tennis is very stupid
james Young, Bexleyheath United Kingdom
- it's all a load of ping pong to me
barry wraith, messingham, sc*nthorpe england
- I used to be a keen table tennis player when I was in my teens. I was watching the Ping Pong World Championships on television today. The only difference I noticed was that in each game, each player was allowed to go for a double point serve. On his own serve the player signals to the umpire that he wants to try for a double point. The player then goes to the umpire and swaps the game ball for a different coloured ball. He serves once, if he wins he gets 2 points. If he loses his opponent gets the 2 points. He then goes back to the umpire to swap back to the original game ball and carry on with his service. I do not know if there is a difference in size or weight of the double point ball. I do know that nothing like this happens in Table Tennis.
Anthony Marrin, Seaham United Kingdom
- Guys, some of you just donÂt know what youÂre talking about, & should try keeping quiet, or at least getting your facts straight before jumping on your keyboards!!! But some of you do!!!The ping Pong World Championships is current being shown on Sky Sports 6th January 2013They are clearly two different sports, similar yes, but as stated above the key factor is the paddlesÂ
Shame on many of youÂ
Clyde, Wembley UK
- Ping pong is what kids call the fine game of table tennis.
Sean Hoplin, Dublin Ireland
- Both are same games. Please go through the given link http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_tennis
Thomas, Kochi India
- Ping pong bounces on both sides of the table, serve and rally.That's clear and simple, it is not table tennis and just because a patent company jumped on this old style of game doesn't mean its table tennis with their cheap equipment. Ping pong is a better game than table tennis. Yes....BETTER and more fun. Shame the patent distorted and killed this old game. Ping pong on...
Jason, Rothbury England
- I was watching on TV but before I could spot the difference between ping pong and table tennis I fell asleep.
Chris Leet, Leicester, England
- As some have said the Ping Pong World Championships are on Sky. In fact the knock out stages start at 6 pm CET. They are two different games, and as some have already said.Similar but different. The bats are spongeless and are exactly the same for each player. The covering on the bat has pimples on both sides of the bat and is usually light blue, as opposed to black on one side and red on the other with Table Tennis. The double point ball can be chosen by each player only once in the match, and only if they are serving. A white ball is used to signify this double point, then after the point is played they revert back to an orange one.If the server on the double point wins the rally then he gets two points, however if he loses, his opponent only gets ONE point not the double point. Also they take it in turns to serve twice, then their opponent serves twice and so on. The game is played to 15 and is sudden death if they reach 14 all, they do not play to two clear points. Table Tennis is normally played to 21 and in batches of fives searches each. I know this because I play both Table Tennis and Ping Pong. Hope that helps without being as rude as some have been!
Pat, London UK
- Ping Pong There has been much debate about the difference between ping pong and table tennis, with the common assumption being that they are the same thing. Here, we explain the differences: The surface of the bats - While the sides of a table tennis bat consist of rubber and sponge, the sides of a ping pong bat are made up of sandpaper. Essentially, this means that the ping pong rallies are longer and involve more craft and skill as the bats arenÂt able to generate as much power or spin. At the end of each leg (first to 11 or 15 points depending on tournament format) players change ends and exchange bats, meaning no advantage can be had from the equipment, unlike in table tennis where players can pick and choose different types of rubber surface to suit their game. Like table tennis, a best of five legs scoring system is also in place with service changing every two points. However, in Ping Pong each player gets one Âdouble point ball in each match. They can elect to use this whenever they like provided theyÂre on serve - making things even more interesting and exciting!
Darren McGurk, Galashiels Scotland
