From: rio@me.utoronto.ca (Oscar del Rio)
Subject: Re: Backside of penholder bat usable?
Keywords: penholder bat, backside, 2-colour rule
Organization: UofT Mechanical Engineering
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 01:55:44 GMT


I tried to reply directly, but the mail bounced...

In rec.sport.table-tennis you write:

>I play with a penholder grip with red plastic on only 1 side of the bat. The 
>other side is bare wood, unpainted with natural colour.

I don't know what you mean by "plastic", but any surface of the racket
used to HIT the ball (hand-shake or pen holder) has to be covered with
rubber (pips-in or pips-out).  So you can hit the ball with the back of
your penhold racket only if it is covered with any of this rubbers.
Even if you don't use this side, it has to be of dark color (red or black).
This is what we mean by the 2-color rule... The two sides of any racket
(penhold or shakehand) must be of different color, one red and the other
black...

This is what the rules say about it :
(from the USTTA Rules posted in this group)

4       The Racket

4.3     The visible surface of each side of the blade, whether used 
        for striking the ball or not, shall be uniformly dark colored
        and matt. Any trimming or binding around the edge of the
        blade shall not be either wholly or partly white or brightly
        reflecting.

4.4     A side of the blade used for striking the ball shall be
        covered with either ordinary pimpled rubber with pimples
        outwards having a total thickness including adhesive of not
        more than 2 mm. or sandwich rubber with pimples inwards or
        outwards having a total thickness including adhesive of not
        more than 4 mm.

4.5     Definitions:

4.5.1   "Ordinary pimpled rubber" is a single layer of non-cellular
        rubber, natural or synthetic, with pimples evenly distributed
        over its surface at a density of not less than 10/sq. cm. and
        not more than 50/ sq. cm.

4.5.2   "Sandwich rubber" is a single layer of cellular rubber covered
        with a single outer layer of ordinary pimpled rubber, the 
        thickness of the pimpled rubber not being more than 2 mm.

4.6     The covering material shall extend up to but not beyond the
        limits of the blade, except that the part nearest the handle
        and gripped by the fingers may be left uncovered or covered
        with any material and may be considered part of the handle.

4.8     The two surfaces of the racket blade shall be of clearly
        different colors, namely black and bright red, as defined in
        the ITTF Technical Leaflets.

4.9     It is the responsibility of the player to ensure that the racket
        covering can be identified as an authorized brand and type and
        that the colors of the two surfaces of the blade are clearly
        distinguishable under normal playing conditions.

4.10    Subject to the requirements of 4.3 a side of the blade not
        intended for striking the ball may be painted or covered with
        any material, but if a player strikes the ball in play with a
        side of the blade whose surface does not comply with the
        requirements of 4.4 - 4.9 he shall lose a point.

4.11    Slight deviations from uniformity of color or continuity
        of covering due to fading, wear or accidental damage, may be
        ignored provided they do not significantly change the
        characteristics of the surface.


Hope it helps,

Oscar del Rio
Toronto, Canada

Newsgroups: rec.sport.table-tennis