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Current Unsafe Setup & Proposed Safe Setup for Table Tennis in Rec. Room at TMRC

Please read the disclaimer page first if you can.

Every time they setup tables at TMRC (Tom Muehlenbeck Recreation Center) gym, they are setup incorrectly and or differently. I am not at all blaming the TMRC staff who actually do the thankless job of setting up the tables week after week because it is more of a training issue and perception issue. So please don't take this constructive criticism the wrong way.

The length and width of each court keeps changing every week and when players tried to move the tables it fell down and TMRC put a $1000 damage warning yellow sticker on each table, which is kind of silly to me because noone even looks on the sides of table before moving the table (violating rec center policy) LOL. Another possibly unavoidable issue is that it is some new person doing the setup every next day. I am not blaming anyone and employee turnover and work schedule rotations may be unavoidable.

I have to admit I may be trying to be annoyingly precise but if there is some document or checklist that defines setup procedures accurately and if there is such a document it probably needs to be updated to address the issue of tables being setup in random fashion.

I know it would be awkward and silly to put some sort of dot marker on the basketball court to mark EXACTLY where the leg of each table should sit but it is still possible to use some sort of existing markings on the floor or other landmarks to setup the tables reasonably precisely rather than randomly throwing tables out there at random court widths and lengths that is actually a safety hazard if they sit too close.

Before looking at the diagram below please take a look at following two items:

1. Please take a look at the general Click link >> Table Tennis Court design concepts
2. Click link >> Basketball court offsets at TMRC

The key points in above set are as follows:

1. The court width and length of individual tables are not equal for all tables.
2. Not every player on each of 12 tables neither needs nor uses same length and width. Some higher level players do need longer wider courts and lower level players do not. But the problem is the false assumption that ALL higher level players should suffer because lower level players do not need it.
3. The area starting at 3 feet away from the table along the length is sacred holy ground for some advanced playing styles (choppers, lobbers and counter-loopers). Injury and collision risk increases exponentially if non-players wander around in this area when tables is not barriered.

The problem with the current setups both inside the gym and in rec areas is the fundamentally flawed premise that Plano Rec. has with table tennis in general. Plano Rec has repeatedly emphasized that table tennis is strictly supposed to be at a recreational level only. Let me remind again > This misunderstanding is not unique to Plano Rec. The problem is the same anywhere in North America where table tennis in considered a silly basement joke. This is fine if it is indeed true but the problem is that even if it is the injury risks are the same though it is less inside the gym compared to say the very bad and dangerous setups at rec rooms of Carpenter Rec. or Oak Point or TMRC itself. Because almost 90% regular player members at Plano Rec. approach this as a formal competitive sport of table tennis with their $500 rackets etc. whereas Plano Rec. insists that this is strictly basement hacking but even giving out plastic rackets to the 10% true basement hackers who use the facility. In fact some of these competitive players especially frown upon recreational hackers coming to a table with plastic rackets but this is an entirely different can of worms I won't open here, though an entirely different positive solution is easily possible. More on plastic rackets at this webpage.

So when Plano Rec. staff set up the tables inside any gym (not just TMRC) the fundamentally flawed assumption is that the setup is for basement ping pong hackers. So all the court widths and lengths for ALL 12 tables are set equally. The problem with this is that when someone like Austin Clemons can move effortlessly 12 to 15 feet behind the table. Ok that is a rare exception but there are at least 25% members who can use lot more room both to the back as well as sides of the tables (the holy sacred land). As an example, for those who may have played at Oak Point, there is plenty of room behind and to the sides of the tables. This also reduces the risk of injury from collisions between players on nearby tables and also people wandering behind the tables for all sorts of reasons.

This is why I am suggesting the above setup. It is not ideal like Donna Chen setup at DFW TT with individually barriered courts but this setup would be better than what they have now with many factors taken into account.

Yes it would be confusing and annoying for TMRC staff for a weeks but once a proper process is set up it becomes much easier. But since PTTC (Plano Table Tennis Club) is all but inactive, there is noone from PTTC to work with Plano Rec staff to work on this. Most new Plano Rec new staff have no understanding of table tennis as a formal sport (this is not meant to say anything bad or negative about them but it is just the sad status of table tennis in North America) it only seems to me that every new staff person approaches table setup based on their life experience with table tennis. So l have seen discussions escalating into arguments between (new) staff and (experienced) players which I make sure I stay out of.

Best setup cannot be arrived in just one week. It would take few weeks trial and error with minor tweaks and adjustments.

Since PTTC (Plano Table Tennis Club) no longer exists for all practical purposes, Plano Rec. should allow someone other than Plano TTC to work with.

I absolutely do NOT want to get involved with PTTC or Plano Rec. on an ongoing basis but I would be more than happy to work with the staff who set up the table for maybe a few sessions like only 2 or 3 sessions may be needed explaining the above diagram. But only if that can be documented by Plano Rec. and passed on as training material to future staff. Otherwise it makes no sense to set it up properly for a few weeks and new staff coming and go back to setting up the tables with random widths and lengths. It is nothing complicated and quite simple and very little changes because I know exactly how the setup should look like based on above diagram.

It is simply a matter of adjusting:

1. barrier positioning for correct court lengths for 2 rows of 6 tables

and

2. the 12 tables for proper but unequal court widths