USA Table Tennis

USA Table Tennis
AbbreviationUSATT
Formation1933
TypeNPO
PurposeSport governing body
HeadquartersColorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Region served
United States
FieldsTable tennis
Main organ
Board of Directors
Websiteusatt.org

USA Table Tennis, colloquially known as USATT, is the non-profit governing body for table tennis in the United States and is responsible for cataloging and sanctioning table tennis tournaments within the country. It was founded in 1933 as the United States Table Tennis Association. In addition to processing tournaments, USATT maintains a national rating and ranking system. It also oversees the USA National Teams.[1] In total, USATT has over 14,000 members.[2][3] The headquarters of USA Table Tennis is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States,[4] which is also home to the United States Olympic Training Center. USA Table Tennis offers a $100,000 incentive for American Olympic table tennis athletes,[5] though no American athlete has ever won a medal for table tennis.[6]

History

The United States Table Tennis Association was created in 1933.[1] The phrase "Table Tennis" was created because the name "Ping Pong" had already been trademarked by Parker Brothers.[7] Though the legal name of the USATT remains the "United States Table Tennis Association, Inc.", the non-profit corporation adopted "USA Table Tennis" as their d/b/a name effective 1994.[8]

Members

Although about 19 million Americans play for recreation,[9] USATT has only about 14,000 members, as of November 2024.[10] There are two main membership types, associate and general. General members can participate in USATT sanctioned events and leagues with no additional rating fees while associate members have no membership fee but may not participate in USATT sanctioned leagues and can pay per USATT sanctioned event. The pricing for a year for adults is $75 while for juniors and collegians is $45.[11] There are over 300 table tennis clubs affiliated with USATT, almost 50 of which are in California.[12] There are almost 450 USATT Certified Coaches in the United States.[13]

Major sanctioned tournaments

U.S. Open

Further information: U.S. Open (table tennis)

Started in 1931, the annual U.S. Open is the oldest table tennis event in the United States.[14] It attracts over 600 athletes annually.[15] The U.S. Open has been previously held in various locations, including Anaheim, California; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; Las Vegas, Nevada and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[16] Past Menʼs Singles champions include Chen Weixing and Aleksandar Karakašević. Past Womenʼs Singles champions include Zhang Mo and Li Jiawei.[17]

The 2010 U.S. Open was held at the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, MI, between June 29 and July 3.[16][18] The Men's Singles champion was Sharath Kamal of India and the Women's Singles champion was Georgina Pota of Hungary.[19]

The 2011 U.S. Open was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[20] The Men's Singles champion was Thomas Keinath of Slovakia. The Women's Singles Champion was Nai Hui Liu of New Jersey.[21]

U.S. Nationals

The U.S. Nationals have been held since 1976.[22] The tournament is closed to non-citizens of the United States.[23] In addition, the U.S. Nationals along with two other national ranking tournaments determine the members selected USA Table Tennis Adult, Cadet, and Junior Teams. Over 750 athletes registered for the 2017 U.S. Nationals,[24] which were held in Las Vegas, Nevada.[25] Past Men's Singles champions include Kanak Jha, Eric Owens and David Zhuang and past Women's Singles champions include Lily Zhang, Jasna Reed and Wang Chen.[22]

National Teams

As of 2021 World Championships[26][27]

Coaches

Team First Second Third Fourth
National Team Coach Gao Jun
Men's Team Wenzhang Tao Cory Eider Samson Dubina Wei Qi
Women's Team Huijing Wang Yue Wu Yijun Feng

Players

Team First Second Third Fourth
Men's Team Kanak Jha Sharon Alguetti Nikhil Kumar Jishan Liang
Women's Team Lily Zhang Amy Wang Sarah Jalli Rachel Sung

Current sponsorships

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "About USATT". United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on March 19, 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ^ Hurt III, Harry (5 April 2008). "Ping-Pong as Mind Game (Although a Good Topspin Helps)". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  3. ^ Armour, Nancy (18 December 2001). "Technology changing way fans see game". USA Today. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  4. ^ Strauss, Robert (28 January 2001). "Following the Bouncing Ball". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  5. ^ Bishop, Greg (4 June 2009). "U.S. Wrestlers Given Incentive to Bypass Mixed Martial Arts". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  6. ^ Brady, Erik (16 August 2008). "U.S. team falls short of table tennis medal". USA Today. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  7. ^ Hodges, Larry (1993). Table Tennis: Steps to Success. Human Kinetics. ISBN 978-0-87322-403-1.
  8. ^ "Bylaws of United States Table Tennis Association, Inc" (PDF). USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  9. ^ Hollander, Sophia (22 May 2010). "Table Tennis Talent Blossoms in NYC". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Organization". Team USA. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  11. ^ Kaye, Gordon (6 October 2015). "USATT Membership Program Update". USA Table Tennis. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  12. ^ Weiss, Brady; Mike McClure (19 April 2010). "USA Table Tennis - Members and Clubs by State". Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  13. ^ Weiss, Brady; Mike McClure (19 April 2010). "USATT Coaching". Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  14. ^ "2010 U.S. Table Tennis Open Heading to Grand Rapids, Mich". USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  15. ^ "2010 U.S. Table Tennis Open Heading to Grand Rapids, Mich". United States Olympic Committee. 5 December 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  16. ^ a b "2010 U.S. Table Tennis Open Heading to Grand Rapids, Mich" (PDF). West Michigan Sports Commission. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  17. ^ "U.S. Open Table Tennis Champions". USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  18. ^ "2010 U.S. Open" (PDF). USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  19. ^ "Achanta Sharath Kamal wins US Open Table Tennis Championships". The Times of India. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  20. ^ Kaminski, Steve (3 July 2010). "Dell Sweeris hopes to get U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships back in Grand Rapids soon". The Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  21. ^ "Results for 2017 US Open". register.usatt.org. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  22. ^ a b "U.S. National Table Tennis Champions". USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
  23. ^ "2009 U.S. Nationals" (PDF). USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  24. ^ "Results for 2017 US Open". register.usatt.org. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  25. ^ "2017 SuperMicro US National Table Tennis Championships - Draws, Results and News". Team USA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  26. ^ "TTTEAMUSA NATIONAL TEAM COACHES". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  27. ^ "National Team". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  28. ^ "Official Sponsors of USA Table Tennis". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.