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Tales from the table
Table Tennis actually began as an afterdinner parlour game for upper class Victorians in the late 19th Century. At that time, a cigar box lid was used to hit a rounded Champagne cork over books on the dining room table. These days however, it’s a fast paced sport with the ball travelling at speeds of up to 70mph. I spoke to Ransome Sporting Goods’ very own Alan Ransome to find out more.
Ransome Sporting Goods are the distributors for the UK and Ireland for Butterfly and Schildkrot. Butterfly is the leading brand for tables in all categories and for specialist equipment. Schildkrot specialises in the hobby market with a range of bats, balls, net and post sets and sets which are widely available from retailers throughout the country.
I asked Alan how Table Tennis had evolved in the last 20 years in the UK.He offered this assessment of a changing market: “The Table Tennis market has expanded partially due to the Internet, an increased number of people playing at home and the government putting more resources into school and community sport.”
According to Alan there are three main areas within the Table Tennis market – specialist, tables, and hobby.Within the hobby market (bats and balls), the standard of the products and quality of packaging had improved over the years, he said, but the general market had not changed too much.“A lot of tables are now supplied with bats and balls. This was a natural expansion.”
“Table tennis is a professional sport, but the numbers involved at this level are relatively small,” he explained.“The specialist market covers mainly club and tournament players in the UK. In China,Table Tennis is the number one sport,with 200 million players.The Chinese government decided back in the 1930's that it wanted the nation to play Table Tennis, and so it became their national sport!”
I asked Alan how he saw the game expanding:“It will expand steadily in the UK. It’s a great sport for health and fitness and is being promoted better now in schools.”
At the specialist end of the market a lot of technology goes into the construction of the bats: “The drive is to make the rubbers faster and more dynamic,” commented Alan, adding that the International Federation had legislated that only water-based glues be used from September 1st 2008.
In terms of table developments, new European standards introduced a few years ago insisted that safety levers be placed in different parts of the table – increasing confidence in the safety of the game.
For more on Ransome Sporting Goods visit www.rgsport.com
