The History of Table Tennis
Have you ever wondered about just how the history of table tennis started? You will be surprised at the answer. Table tennis was a game that came from the medieval times and is as popular as lawn tennis and badminton.
Some historians say that the game started back around the 12 Century AD when a game called "Royal Tennis" was played during medieval times. Others say it started in 1880 by the British who were stationed in different places and played it around the world. However, others acknowledge that the game actually started in England during the late 1900s when some of the when some upper-class Victorian ladies and gents decided to turn the dining room table into a miniature tennis court.
They did this at first for amusement by piling books in the center of the table to make a barrier to strike over (served as the net), they used the lids of cigar boxes for paddles and for the ball they used champagne corks, a ball or string or a small rubber ball.
It was called by a variety of names including Gossamer, Whiff-Whaff or "Flim Flam" which was the various sounds the ball made going back and forth over the net. . The name Ping-Pong was introduced by J. Jaques & Sons who was manufacturing the game and had the name Ping-Pong under copyright; he later sold the trademark to Parker Brothers in the United States. In 1920, the name and the game resurfaced in England as "table tennis".
In the history of table tennis we find that it became popular all over the world. In China, Korea and Japan, people were learning the sport from British Army officers who were stationed in their areas. An unofficial world championship was held in 1901 and the first official World Championship was held in England in 1927 by the International Table Tennis Federation, which was started in Berlin and the countries of Switzerland, England, Sweden, Hungary, India, Denmark, Austria, Wales and Czechoslovakia came together to form the Federation.
Over the next sixty years or so, the popularity of table tennis became a worldwide sensation and a sport that was playing by millions of people in competition or just in friendly games. It was a slower paced game years ago and people weren't as fiercely competitive as they tend to be today.
The ITTF today makes sure that the idea of the sport is kept alive and that it is a contest of human skills and agility. Over the years, the net has become smaller and changes to the rules have been enforced.
An interesting trivia piece about table tennis in the history of table tennis is that in 1971 the US table tennis team left to play in China. They were invited and all their expenses were paid. They went from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland and were the first group of Americans to be allowed to move around in the country after the communist take-over in 1949.