Equipment You Will Need in Order to Play Ping Pong

 Before beginning to play table tennis, you will need to make you have everything on a small list of essential ping pong equipment.  Other than having 2 players, the only things you need are a ball, a table, and 2 paddles. 

 The first item you will need is the table. You can use any kind of board made of masonite which is a specific kind of hardboard that was created by William H. Mason, or some other kind of similar timber board that is manufactured in the same way.  It should be layered with a smooth coating that creates very little friction, as you do not want the ball to get hung up on anything.  As for the dimensions, the table should 274 centimeters long (9 feet), 1525 centimeters wide (5 feet), and 76 centimeters high (30 inches).  The table will be divided equally in half, with a net in the middle that is 15.25 centimeters high (6 inches).  Typically, the table will be a blue or green color.  You should not have to worry about creating your own table, as they should be fairly easy to find in any store that sells sporting equipment, and many discount retail stores should also carry them.

 The next piece of equipment you will need is a ball.  Commonly referred to as a ping pong ball, this ball is both small and light, around 40 millimeters in diameter and weighing in at 2.7 grams.  If you go by the international rule set, it specifies that the ball needs to bounce up to 23 centimeters high when it is dropped, but unless you are playing in an official tournament or game, just the fact that it bounces is all that will matter.  The balls are usually created with gas filled celluloid, which is what causes the ball to bounce.  Obviously, you are not going to be making these balls yourself, but they will be easy to find, especially at the stores that carry the ping pong tables.

 The final piece of equipment you will need in order to play ping pong is a set of rackets.  The official term is racket, but in the US they are often called paddles and in Europe they are often called bats.  The racket is small, laminated, and made out of wood.  They can be found with either one or both sides of the handle covered with rubber.  Depending on the preference of the player and what feels better for them to grip, different people will prefer one over the other.

 

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