International Table Tennis Federation

The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) is the governing body for all national table tennis associations.

Founding history

The ITTF was founded in 1926, the nine founding members being Austria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England, Germany, Hungary, India, Sweden and Wales. The first international tournament was held in January 1926 in Berlin while the first World Table Tennis Championships was held in December 1926 in London.

The role of the ITTF includes overseeing rules and regulations and seeking technological improvement for the sport of table tennis. The ITTF is responsible for the organization of numerous international competitions, including the World Table Tennis Championships that has continued since 1926.

Toward the end of 2000, the ITTF instituted several rules changes aimed at making table tennis more viable as a televised spectator sport. The older 38 mm balls were officially replaced by 40 mm balls. This increased the ball’s air resistance and effectively slowed down the game.

On February 29, 2008, the ITTF announced several rules changes after an ITTF Executive Meeting in Guangzhou, China with regards to a player's eligibility to play for a new association. The new ruling is to encourage associations to develop their own players.

There are currently 215 member associations within the ITTF.<ref name="ITTF...
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