The final of the CILFA table tennis tournament pitted Arish, an Indian player, against Ayuko, a Japanese player. It was a close match, but in the end, Arish won the gift basket filled with local specialties: a Reblochon cheese, a sausage, and a bottle of red wine from Savoie.
During this educational activity, the students discussed the sports they played and those that were popular in their countries.
If you’d like to play table tennis, too, please note that CILFA lends rackets and balls to its students, and there are two ping-pong tables available near the classrooms.
Annecy also has many outdoor ping-pong tables, open to everyone at various locations throughout the city.
Some facts and trivia about table tennis:
- It is one of the most widely practiced sports in the world.
- Originating in England, where it first appeared in the late 19th century, table tennis became an Olympic sport at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea.
- Equipment: a table with a net, rackets, and a ball.
- The rules to follow:
- On a serve, the ball must first bounce in the server’s court.
- A game (match) generally consists of 3 (or 4) sets of 11 points (with a 2-point lead required to win).
- Les techniques de jeu : l’effet coupé, l’effet top spin.
- Tactics: attack and defense.
- Table tennis inspired the first hit video game, “Pong,” a virtual ping-pong game released in 1972.
- Also in 1972, the Chinese invited American players to a tournament in China. This became known as “ping-pong diplomacy.” It was followed by the first visit by a U.S. president to China—Richard Nixon.
- In 2000, the size of the ball was increased by 2 mm to slow it down and make the matches easier to follow.
And if you want to play for a club in Annecy, you can find all the information here: https://www.annecytt.fr/
