Betcha Didn’t Know This: Ping Pong and the Victorians

When I was in secondary school, my classmates and I sometimes arranged to stay back after lessons to play table tennis. We didn’t use the specially provided tables in the school’s sports hall, or the ones at the nearby HDB void deck. Instead, we met in class and played multiple 11-point games until we got tired or chased out by a passing teacher (since we weren’t allowed to remain in the classrooms after lesson hours).

You might be wondering: “table tennis in the classroom?”

Yes. table tennis in the classroom! We shifted eight classroom desks (the usual square ones in your average classroom) and put them together to form a two-by-four rectangle.

Then, we slotted our school diaries in the middle of the rectangle to create a table tennis net. The result was a makeshift table tennis table, decorated with the occasional graffiti scribbles of bored students and a sprinkle of eraser dust. We brought our own rackets and table tennis balls.

I didn’t know it then, but in many respects, my friends and I were replicating the creation of table tennis itself. The sport first emerged as a form of entertainment in Victorian England (approx. 1837-1901) amongst the upper classes. After dinner, people would gather in the parlour, which was like an upper-class living room, and played the game on a dining table.

The first games were played using a row of books to form a net, while the corks of glass bottles were made into makeshift balls. Over time, the game became increasingly popular amongst the upper-class Victorians.

Eventually, companies like J. Jaques and Son Ltd. (now called Jaques of London) and Parker Brothers sold specially manufactured equipment for the game. The first rackets included stringed versions - like the ones we use to play badminton today - and drum-like versions. The balls were made of either rubber or cork.

In 1901, these balls came to be replaced by James Gibb’s invention of a celluloid plastic ball. Around the same time, E. C. Goode created a new version of the racket by attaching a sheet of rubber to a wooden base. These inventions have remained with us even till now.

Today, table tennis has grown in popularity to become one of the most widely played sport across the globe. Some estimates pin the number of players at as high as 300 million, though that number includes both professional and recreational players. In Singapore, many schools offer the sport as a formal co-curricular activity. There are also many local tournaments and training opportunities offered by organisations such as Singapore Table Tennis Association and the National Sports Association for table tennis.

If you’re interested in trying out the game for yourself, recreational table tennis equipment can easily be found in some bookstores and supermarkets (usually their “Sport” or “Toys and Games” sections) for no more than $10 a set. The sport’s relative inexpensiveness as compared to other games like golf or softball may be one reason for its popularity, though professional equipment may easily cost more than $200.

Otherwise, there’s always the alternative of clearing the clutter in the dining room of your home and grabbing some books of similar sizes to form a net. As for rackets and balls, one may take the cue from the Victorians and use books (maybe cardboard?) and glass bottle corks respectively. Most importantly, simply let your creativity guide you in setting up and enjoying this original version of table tennis.

The article is based on the research of our YouthCreators.

Content by: Matthew Seah

References:

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Digital, F. (2020). About Us | Singapore Table Tennis Association. Retrieved 17 July 2020, from https://www.stta.org.sg/about-us/

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