Facilities and equipment

Guidance on facilities and equipment suppliers.

Table Tennis England is committed to increasing the number of dedicated facilities that offer competitive or recreational table tennis.

Here you can find information and guidance to support the development of indoor and outdoor Table Tennis facilities.

Table tennis is one of the few sports where gender, disability and age are irrelevant. Everyone can compete against each other on equal terms.

The sport is easy to pick up and play. New players can get competent quickly but mastery of the game takes longer. It compels players to improve their skills. These factors make it a sport that will make participants return time and time again if there is easy access to places to play the sport.

Table tennis is an adaptable sport, so whether your aim is to set up a social table tennis session or to set up a formal club, this information will provide you with some useful information to get you started.

It’s the aspiration of many Table Tennis clubs to have their own full time facility, but is this the right choice for your club and what are the options?

The links below provide information and guidance to support the development and running of multi table Table Tennis facilities, whether a conversion or refurbishment of an existing community facility or the building a dedicated full time centre.

Our basic guide to indoor table tennis

Sport England Table Tennis Facility Guidance Notes

Facility Development Process Guide

Business Planning Finance Template

Playing Grades and Space Requirements

Model Design Brief 4-9 Table Venues

Building Decoration

Legal Structures for Clubs

Sport England Design and Cost Guidance

Table Tennis England noticed how popular outdoor table tennis was in Europe and China, so in 2009 we, supported by Sport England, installed 47 tables in 26 London parks to measure their impact and popularity.

The project was a success. The tables were quickly adopted by the communities they were placed in. Since then outdoor table tennis has been included as part of Table Tennis England’s strategy to increase opportunities to play.

The key benefits for organisations who have installed outdoor table tennis tables include:

Very low maintenance costs after the initial purchase
The opportunity to engages the local community and encourage social cohesion
Reduced anti social behaviour in public spaces
Improved school playground behaviour
Opportunities to reinvigorate unused space in urban environments
Added value to outdoor facilities such as playgrounds, outdoor gyms and skate parks
Provides a family friendly activity that will increase visit times and potentially custom in cafes and shops in close proximity to the tables.

Outdoor table tennis guide

Equipment guide for beginners

Equipment suppliers

Often it is difficult to obtain specialist table tennis equipment from the usual high street stores; Table Tennis England does not sell equipment. The list below simply catalogues suppliers of equipment that have met ITTF specifications.

Table Tennis England does not endorse the quality of any equipment produced by suppliers on this list.