| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | APRIL 2024 | 61
Table Tennis/Ping Pong
Part 2, Ping Pong Balls, continued from March Issue:
The Stiga-3 star ball is advertised as USATT tournament quality,
and has 4.7/5 customer reviews from 944 global ratings. An AI
summary of the reviews states customers mention the ball is hard
and sturdy, not like flimsy balls, and that it stays springy for a long
time, with good speed. However, some customers disagree on the
weight (because small differences in grams can't be perceived).
Other interesting findings are that the non-premium Nittaku Top
Ball is a non-tournament training ball, made out of a celluloid
plastic material, which is outdated and flammable! The Premium
Nittaku 3-star tournament ball costs $3, verses $1.33 for the Stiga-3
star tournament ball, 44 percent cheaper.
In summary, there are myriad factors affecting the playability of
a ping pong ball beyond the scope of this little article. For example,
the engineering that goes into the racket, spin and flight of the ball,
even gravity and barometric pressure. Weight is a factor, but can't be
perceived at fractions of a gram. Celluloid plastic balls bounce lower
and fly slower than modern plastic balls.*
Addendum: There was an omission from last month's article.
Although "ping-ponger" Valerie Villareal didn't win her games at
the USATT Regional Championships, she did bring home a rating of
1280, an excellent result for a first-timer.
* From KiwiCo Table Tennis Robot makers guide, 2019-2023.
We usually play Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 4 to 6 pm, and
Saturdays, 10 am to 12 pm, but it is best to check the SLCC website
for updated schedule changes, because sometimes we get bumped,
due to other community activities going on. Hard copies of the
schedule are available on game days in the Ballroom. If there are any
questions, suggestions, or concerns, please contact Gary Lile at (805)
722-7427, or G4lile@yahoo.com, or John Williams at (951) 489-973,
jgwms.williams@gmail.com.
