International Table Tennis Federation facts for kids
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| Abbreviation | ITTF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 12 December 1926 |
| Founder | William Henry Lawes |
| Founded at | London, United Kingdom |
| Type | Sports federation |
| Headquarters | Lausanne, Switzerland |
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Membership
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227 member associations |
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President
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Petra Sörling |
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is like the main boss for table tennis around the world! It's the group that makes sure all national table tennis teams follow the same rules. The ITTF also works to make table tennis better and helps organize many big international games. This includes the exciting World Table Tennis Championships.
Contents
How the ITTF Started
The ITTF began on December 12, 1926, in London, England. A person named William Henry Lawes helped start it. Nine countries were the first members: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, British India, Sweden, and Wales.
Before the ITTF was even officially formed, the first international table tennis tournament happened in January 1926 in Berlin. Then, the very first World Table Tennis Championships took place in London in December 1926.
Around the year 2000, the ITTF made some changes to the rules. They wanted to make table tennis more fun to watch on TV. One big change was using slightly larger balls. They switched from 38mm balls to 40mm balls. These bigger balls move a bit slower, which makes the game easier to follow.
In 2003, the ITTF moved its main office from Hastings to Lausanne, Switzerland. They also opened the ITTF Museum there.
In 2007, the ITTF took over managing para table tennis. This is table tennis for athletes with disabilities. Before this, another group called the International Paralympic Committee was in charge.
In 2008, the ITTF made new rules about which country a player could play for. This was to encourage countries to train their own players.
In 2019, the ITTF created a new company called World Table Tennis (WTT). This company now handles all the big table tennis events and business deals. The ITTF's main office is still in Lausanne, Switzerland. They also have an office in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific region.
The current president of the ITTF is Petra Sörling from Sweden. She became the eighth person to hold this important job in 2021.
Leaders of the ITTF
Here's a list of the people who have led the ITTF:
| President | Country | Years as President |
|---|---|---|
| Ivor Montagu | England | 1926–1937 (as chairman) 1937–1967 (as president) |
| Roy Evans | Wales | 1967–1987 |
| Ichiro Ogimura | Japan | 1987–1994 |
| Lollo Hammarlund | Sweden | 1994–1995 |
| Xu Yinsheng | China | 1995–1999 |
| Adham Sharara | Canada | 1999–2014 |
| Thomas Weikert | Germany | 2014–2021 |
| Petra Sörling | Sweden | 2021– |
Who Belongs to the ITTF?
The ITTF has five main groups that cover different parts of the world. These are called continental federations. Right now, there are 227 different national table tennis groups that are members of the ITTF.
Continental Federations
| Continent | Members | Continental Federation |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | 54 | African Table Tennis Federation |
| America | 46 | Pan American Table Tennis Confederation |
| Asia | 45 | Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) |
| Europe | 58 | European Table Tennis Union (ETTU) |
| Oceania | 24 | Oceania Table Tennis Federation (OTTF) |
How the ITTF Works
All the member groups of the ITTF meet once a year. This meeting is called the Annual General Meeting (AGM). At this meeting, they talk about and vote on important things. This includes changes to the rules of table tennis and new groups wanting to join.
The president of the ITTF and other important leaders are also chosen at this meeting. They serve for four years. These leaders, along with representatives from different continents, form a group called the Board of Directors. This Board helps manage the ITTF's work between the big yearly meetings.
ITTF's Role in World Relations
The ITTF has sometimes played a special role in connecting different countries. For example, it recognized the table tennis group from Kosovo in 2003. This was even when many other sports groups didn't recognize Kosovo.
A famous example is "Ping Pong Diplomacy" in the early 1970s. The ITTF allowed players from the People's Republic of China to compete. This helped open up talks between China and the United States, leading to a visit by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
The ITTF also approved unified teams from North and South Korea to play together. This happened at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1991 and 2018.
In response to the conflict in Ukraine, the ITTF banned players and officials from Russia and Belarus from its competitions. However, in March 2023, the ITTF decided to allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete again. They can play under strict rules of neutrality. This means no national flags or anthems are allowed for these players.
Table Tennis Rules by ITTF
Player Eligibility Rules
For big ITTF world events, a player needs to be registered with the ITTF. If a player wants to play for a new country, they must register again. They can then play for the new country after a certain number of years. This time depends on their age. For example, if a player is under 15, they can play for a new country after three years. If they are 21 or older, it takes nine years.
Service and Point System Changes
In 2001, the way points were scored in table tennis changed. Games used to go up to 21 points. Now, a game is won by the first player to score 11 points. However, if both players get to 10 points, one player must then get a lead of 2 points to win. This change was made to make games faster and more exciting.
The ITTF also changed the rules for serving the ball. Players are not allowed to hide the ball during their serve anymore. This helps make the game fairer and leads to longer rallies (when the ball goes back and forth many times). The rules are often updated to make the game more exciting for people watching on TV.
Speed Glue Ban
In 2007, the ITTF decided to ban a special type of glue called "speed glue." This glue was used on rackets to make the ball go faster. The ban was first put in place for junior events in 2008. By January 1, 2009, all speed glue was completely banned for everyone.
ITTF Tournaments
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The ITTF and its company, WTT, organize many international tournaments. The ITTF also keeps official world rankings. These rankings show how well players are doing based on their results in tournaments throughout the year.
Here are some of the major international events:
- MT/WT: men's/women's team
- MS/WS: men's/women's singles
- MD/WD: men's/women's doubles
- XD: mixed doubles
Major International Events
| Competition Name | First Held | Held Every | Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT | WT | MS | WS | MD | WD | XD | |||
| World Championships | 1926 | Odd-numbered year | • | • | • | • | • | ||
| World Team Championships | 1926 | Even-numbered year | • | • | |||||
| Summer Olympic Games | 1988 | Four years | • | • | • | • | • | ||
Junior Events
These tournaments are for younger players:
| Competition Name | First Held | Held Every | Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT | WT | MS | WS | MD | WD | XD | |||
| World Youth Championships | 2003 | One year | • | • | • | • | • | • | • |
| Summer Youth Olympic Games | 2010 | Four years | • | • | • | ||||
Para Events
These tournaments are for athletes with disabilities:
| Competition Name | First Held | Held Every | Events | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MT | WT | MS | WS | MD | WD | XD | |||
| Summer Paralympic Games | 1960 | Four years | • | • | • | • | |||
| World Para Table Tennis Championships | 1990 | Four years | • | • | • | • | |||
ITTF Museum
The ITTF Museum used to be in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the ITTF's main office is. In 2014, the ITTF decided to move the museum to Shanghai, China. The new museum shares a building with the China Table Tennis Museum. It is managed by Shanghai University of Sport and officially opened in 2018.
See also
In Spanish: Federación Internacional de Tenis de Mesa para niños
- List of international sports federations
- ITTF Hall of Fame
- ITTF Star Awards
- World Table Tennis (ITTF)
