Table Tennis

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Table Tennis (aka Ping Pong) is a breathtaking spectacle that blends power, speed, skill and subtlety. It’s the biggest participation sport in the world. With speeds of more than 93 miles per hour, players outwit their opponents with strategic shots called: The Kill The Hit The Chop Loading

The basics

There are men's and women's single and team events at the Olympics. Singles matches are played over the best of seven games, with one-minute breaks between games. The first player to score 11 points with a two-point margin wins each game. Team matches are played over the best of five games, consisting of four singles matches and one doubles match. All events are single-elimination tournaments.

Table Tennis teminology:

Blade – the flat, rigid part of the racket used for striking the ball
Loop – an attacking shot, often played with plenty of topspin
Penhold – a type of grip where the racket is held as if it were a pen
Let – as well as service lets (similar to Tennis), a let may be called if play is interrupted – for example, by a ball from another table entering the playing area. If this happens the rally is replayed
Time-out – each player may claim a time-out up to one minute during an individual match
The Kill - a stroke played by a player with the intention of putting so much speed (and sometimes spin as well) that the ball is unreturnable by the opponent.
The Hit - e.g., how (speed, spin) and where (on the white line, into or over the net)
The Chop - a backspin stroke (with anything from virtually no-spin to heavy backspin) that is performed from about 3 feet or more from the end of the table, usually against a drive or loop from the opponent.

What the Umpires look for:
An umpire and assistant umpire sit or stand on either side of the table, in line with the net. They are responsible for ensuring the game is played within the rules and that the score is kept and announced accurately. A point can be awarded to the opposition for infringements, such as:

Touching the table or net
An illegal serve
A Doubles player striking the ball out of sequence

More... if you'd like to hold some mini events that mimic the big Olympic Games try these gymnastics in your own backyard or game room. We found some great infographics for the summer games (as shown) to give some you visual insights. For many of the winter games, you'll find in-depth explanations at this site with more fun visuals.

CHART BELOW: We added these winter "one-pagers" to our Sports Know-How category in time for the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) that were held in January 2012. We got inspired by the 2012 London Summer Games to add to our Summer Sports category. We'll be adding sports periodically so keep checking back. If the titles are shining brightly in white text, they're ready for you to click on! ^.^

Summer Sports
Archery	Water Sports ( + Triathlon - Pentathlon)	Barrel Racing	Trampoline - Artistic - Rhythmic	Martial Arts
Athletics	Beach Volleyball - Table Tennis	Equestrian	Soccer	Cycling

Winter Sports

Curling Long Track Speed Skating Luge Ski Jumping Cross-Country Skiing

Figure Skating Short Track Speed Skating Bobsleigh Alpine Skiing Nordic Combined Skiing

Ice Hockey Snowboarding Skeleton Freestyle Skiing Biathlon

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