Compare/Contrast Ping Pong players

In this blog I will be comparing and contrasting two ping pong players. Both of these players are from Australia and their names are Jeffrey Plumb and Mark Smythe. Jeffrey Plumb is a fast, furious, and an aggressive player. Born in Canberra but now lives in Melbourne, Australia he has access to some of the best training facilities. Jeffrey is right handed and plays doubles unlike Mark who is the opposite playing left handed and plays single. Qualifying for the team is Jeffrey's biggest thrills inspired by Pat Rafter who always works hard to succeed. Both Rafter and Plumb are named for the Australian Olympic team giving Plumb a chance to swap notes with his idol. Plumb also works as a Database Administrator and completed a degree in computer science at the RMIT in Melbourne, Australia. Mark Smythe is a player that uses power to his advantage. Although Marks career is starting to go down he’s still one of Australia's top players today. In 1998, Mark won the national title for Australia giving him the Australian player of the year. His best ranking of 206 was achieved in October 1998 after he won the Oceania Championships.

^Mark Smythe^

^Jeffrey Plumb^

Post url
http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2000/profiles/JEFFREYPLUMB.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2000/profiles/MARKSMYTHE.htm
Pic url
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=mark+smythe+table+tennis&view=detail&id=4D8FCC88FD3C8BF1B97D534098B4388B52468902&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&adlt=strict
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=mark+smythe+table+tennis&view=detail&id=4D8FCC88FD3C8BF1B97D534098B4388B52468902&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&adlt=strict

Interview

Hello this is Jason Elkins from Mrs. Persen's sixth period class and today im interviewing Dennis Glassmeyer who ive known for about five or six years and been playin ping pong with hime for about a year. Today i will ask him some questions to see how he feels about the game of ping pong.

       1)      Q.  Whats your favorite size ping pong ball to play with?

                        A. My favorite size ball in diameter to play with would have to be 38 mm.

       2)      Q.  Would you rather play with a mesh paddle or a foam paddle?

                        A. I would rather play with a foam paddle because the ball is returned at a slower acceleration.

       3)      Q.  Do you ever want to try to become a professional table tennis player?

            A. No, because I would much rather play it as a hobbie and have fun than to turn it into a living.

       4)      Q.  Why do you enjoy playing ping pong?

                        A.    I enjoy playing ping pong because its fun and can get pretty intense.

       5)      Q.  What is your dominate hand and does it ever cause complication?

A.    My dominate hand is my right hand it doesn’t cause complication as long as u know how to do a back hand serve for when the serve it on your left side.

       6)      Q. Do you have any special rituals or anything you like to do before you start?

A.        Actually yes I have a lucky ping pong ball that I wont play without.

 7)      Q. Would you rather play ping pong inside or outside?

                        A.I would rather play ping pong inside because you cant have any elements corrupting your game such as wind or anything.

8)       Q. Do you have any brands that you prefer?

A.    Yes I prefer to play with a brand called Panda’s paddles.

9)       Q. Does it matter what kind of paddle you play with?

A.    Yes, it does matter what kind of paddle you use because different companies use different materials to function in different styles so a player can choose what they prefer.

10)      Q. Is there different styles of ping pong tables?

A.    Yes there are different styles of ping pong tables such as a butterfly table or a stiga roller.

Basically ping pong has a lot more to it than just hitting a ball over a net, ping pong takes a lot of time and effort to get good. It takes a lot of practice and learn how to do tricks to fool the opposite player.

http://www.tabletennisvideos.net/video/138/Timo-boll-Vs-Joo-se-hyuk

Games People Play: China

The book I read had a lot of information on games that people play inside the walls of China. What really interested me about this book is the section in it about table tennis. In this book it says that even though it is a popular belief that table tennis was made in China it wasn’t. Walter Hamley, a London toy shop owner started the game in 1910. The name he gave this new and fun game was “Gossamer” or “Table Tennis”. Although it was created in China Ping Pong is widespread throughout all of Asia today and the children all around Asia enjoy it as well. America in 1974 normalized relations with Beijing by sending a team or American table tennis players to play against China. Even though the United States lost every game, we started the foundations for a new political era. In 1996, the Chinese table tennis team playing at the Olympics in which was held at Atlanta, Georgia in the United States where China swept away the competition. (Dramer, 1997, page 58-59). Another game that they mentioned in this book is Majiang in which is all about intellect. The game of majiang has four players that play against each other to build or break a wall. Experts believe the game was based on the Great Wall of China in which is so large you could see it all the way from outer space. The majiang tiles look like dominoes and they have been made by superb craftsman out of bone, ivory, bamboo, and jade. (Dramer, 1997, page 19).

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=ping+pong+paddle&view=detail&id=8C4B030357958F2656F0012071C6515314CDD7A3&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&adlt=strict

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=majiang+tiles&view=detail&id=928142F89ED7D843DA2FBF69448C7D9091BD4635&first=1&FORM=IDFRIR&adlt=strict

Organizations of Ping-Pong

There are many organizations involved in the world of ping pong. One organization is the AYTTO or American Youth Table Tennis Organization. This group of enthusiasts formed this group to help guide disadvantaged youth to gain more confidence, to have a sense of responsibility, and leadership skills. They organize table tennis programs inside of urban schools to do so. The San Diego Table Tennis Association (SDTTA) is located at the Balboa Park Activity Center at 2145 Park Blvd. This center has over more than 20 butterfly tables. All of this was created in the intentions of promoting the sport of table tennis and so it will spread and gain popularity. Another big organization is the United States Table Tennis Association (USTTA) in which is the national organizing body for table tennis in the United States. It was created in 1933 and headquartered in Colorado Springs serving over 8000 members and has over 240 clubs affiliated with USATT. The LATTA or Los Angelos Table Tennis Association is a good organization in the world of table tennis because they are a non profit organization formed in 1998. Being one of the largest table tennis clubs in the United States it stretches from 10,000 square feet of space, 20 feet up ceilings, and has red international rubber floors. This organization accepts all age groups no matter what ethnicity, gender, or playing level. Also the LATTA provides programs such as Youth Training, USATT Junior/Cadet Training, Round Robin, Worldwide exchanges, and Tournaments.