Santa Cruz Table Tennis Club

Santa Cruz Table Tennis Club Official page for the Santa Cruz Table Tennis Club. Table tennis & ping pong since 1992.

Players often ask if there are tournaments to play in and how to go about entering them. The photo here was taken at th...
09/12/2026

Players often ask if there are tournaments to play in and how to go about entering them. The photo here was taken at the USA National Championship, which took place at the San Jose Convention Center in July. We had a good group of players representing the club there and it was a fabulous place to play - and watch some of the best players in the USA too.

The answer to the first question is yes there are quite a few tournaments year round. The answer to the second question is more complicated, but I'll give you some basic tips.

The place to start to learn about official sanctioned tournaments, when and where they're being held, is to visit https://omnipong.com/ You'll need to create a free log-in and then you can view the tournaments taking place across the country. We're fortunate here because there are many tournaments held in NorCal.

There are other types of tournaments, such a club tournaments and league play. These are lower key events usually than sanctioned events. For example, a city recreational department might put on a Ping-Pong tournament or a senior center might hold a seniors' only tournament. For these, you won't need to have a USA Table Tennis players membership/license in order to sign up and compete in the tournament.

In order to compete in a USA Table Tennis sanctioned tournament you must be qualified to play. For this, you need to purchase a membership/license from USA Table Tennis https://usatt.justgo.com/ to play and for sanctioned tournaments you must have a rating, which tells the tournament director what level player you are and also tells you what event you're qualified to play in. If you haven't played in a tournament yet, you won't have a rating.

To get a rating you can play in a tournament with an event for Unrated players. After playing in that tournament you will have a rating. It's also possible for a licensed USA Table Tennis coach to give you an estimated rating. To do this you would want to contact the tournament director of the tournament you wish to play in and ask if you can play without a rating or if they will accept a coach's estimated rating for you.

Hope these tips are helpful!

09/03/2026

A clip from a training session Tuesday on coaching table 1. This is a semi-random forehand topspin drill where the focus is on small footwork. I keep the ball to Jon's forehand. He has to play one to my forehand, one to my backhand. To contact the ball well, Jon has to hit the correct part of the ball and the ball contact point is different when hitting to my forehand than it is hitting to my backhand. Only small changes are required by the feet yet it takes a lot of practice to train the muscle memory to get the feet to move correctly. Fun drill anyone can do and benefit from too!

In another post we told you what specific table tennis balls to buy - there's only one so it's important to know before ...
08/26/2026

In another post we told you what specific table tennis balls to buy - there's only one so it's important to know before buying any. In the photo is the ball you want to buy and use - and look for the previous post here for the exact details before buying or ask us when you're at the club to show you online. We're at the club Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 4 p.m.

Today I want to share something else about table tennis balls, which is how to know when it's time to retire a ball and break out a new one. This is good to know because if you come up to the table to play and the other player says, 'I have a ball," and gets it out and you start to rally, their ball might be old and almost or even completely worn-out.

It might not matter to you (and that's fine), but you should understand that the condition of the ball does change how the ball plays, which can affect the outcome if you play a match. This is why tournament players will usually carefully check the ball that the umpire gives them to play with and reject it for another one if it's not good.

To help show the difference, there are 3 balls below. The first 2 are used and would still be fine for match play. The 3rd is starting to show signs of being worn-out. How can you tell? Notice that the lettering is starting to disappear especially where it says MADE IN JAPAN. More telling is how shiny the ball is. When the balls start to look shiny like this it means they've lost their original matte finish. And when that's gone, it's harder to spin the ball plus the ball acts differently when it hits the table both on the serve and during rallies. The bounces become more random and difficult to predicts and adjust to.

Which is why if your partner offers an old worn-out ball to play a match with, ideally you'd say, 'let's play with a nice new ball' and get one of your new ones to play with.

Or if you don't have one you can ask me for one and I might have one you can borrow.

See you at the club!
Club coach & prez Jim Langley

A common question from new players to the club is whether we have paddles and balls to use while you're at the club. The...
08/25/2026

A common question from new players to the club is whether we have paddles and balls to use while you're at the club. The answer is YES! Just ask and we'll set you up. Most players like to have their own equipment so that they can have it to play other places besides the club too. BUT don't go out and buy a paddle and balls from a sports store because you will almost always end up with a bad paddle and balls that are poor quality and both will hold you back as a player. Quality paddles feature a good paddle (the "blade") and good rubber too (the rubber sheet on each side of the blade). The ones in sports stores usually have inferior blades and rubber meaning they play poorly and don't let you spin the ball.

If you would like to buy your own, we recommend getting the one ball that is used as the official tournament ball around the world. That's the Nittaku Premium 40+ Plastic Ball made in Japan and in the color white (photo). They come in packs of 3. As for a decent paddle that will let you play well, because it has both control and spin, there is a company on Amazon now called Pro-Spin that sells a nice paddle at a very reasonable price (about $33 as of today). Look for the PRO-SPIN Ping Pong Paddles - ITTF Approved (photo). If you can't find these online, ask me at the club and I'll help. We have them for use at the club to try out too. As you know things change fast online so we don't know how long these paddles will be available, but for now they are a good product at a nice price and even include a paddle case (these make the rubber last longer). Nittaku balls are standard equipment around the world and that won't change, so they'll be available.

Keep spinnin' and winnin'
Club coach and president Jim Langley

QUICK COACHING TIP: One of the best ways for beginning table tennis players - and even some intermediate players who hav...
08/17/2026

QUICK COACHING TIP: One of the best ways for beginning table tennis players - and even some intermediate players who have grip issues - to improve - is to try to learn a proper grip and begin holding the paddle correctly more of the time. Because, lots of mistakes are caused due to not having full control of the paddle, which causes miss hits. Doh!

To help, the photos show the 3 views of a proper "shakehand" grip, called that because you are sort of shaking hands with the paddle. See how the side view pic looks like shaking hands? Also notice in the side view that the paddle is not angled at all toward the thumb or finger, it's exactly in the middle, that's where you want it.

Both the finger and thumb work for you when you contact the ball this way. The finger gently presses on the rubber "steering" your forehand. The thumb gently rests on the rubber to steer your backhand.

The other 2 photos how the rest of the hand holds the paddle. Notice that the finger goes across the bottom of the rubber, that leaves the rest available for contacting the ball. On the other side, notice how the thumb and fingers wrap around the handle to provide support so the paddle doesn't move around in the hand, which would cause errors. Some players hold the thumb as show down on the handle. It's also OK to hold the thumb just high enough that the tip is resting on the rubber, that's fine too.

These are the basics of the shakehand grip. I hope they're helpful. At first it can feel weird if you are used to your own way of holding a paddle but if you adopt the new grip and work on it, it will help you get more balls on the table and have more fun too.

One last very important thing is to always hold the paddle lightly, no force or grip strength is needed. Just hold it with enough grip not to drop it - and no more. In table tennis "soft" hands are what you want.

Any questions, just ask next time you're at the club.

Posted by Jim Langley - club coach and president

I know, I know it just looks like another fun night of matches at the club but something HUGE has changed - and it's all...
08/13/2026

I know, I know it just looks like another fun night of matches at the club but something HUGE has changed - and it's all the doing of Jeff LeBlanc, who literally spent hours of his own time to LEVEL ALL 7 TABLES IN THE CLUB!!!

This might sound easy but it was anything but. It required a laser level and measurements all over each table. Then experimental shims were used, which Jeff made or found somewhere to buy. They let him test the level of each table and get the tops perfect. Next, because these are all classic Butterfly rollaway tables that have to be put away sometimes, Jeff had to figure out how to permanently level each table to its assigned spot in the hall - the floor differs from spot to spot.

For this he sourced exact-fit square plastic caps for the legs on the tables. These press onto the bottom of the legs and stay in place, and inside the cap Jeff placed the shims! Genius! BUT, there was another challenge - the wheels under the table needed to be shimmed too.

Again Jeff came through with a brilliant solution! He removed the massive wheels from beneath the table - jacking the tables up on blocks to do this. Then he placed the perfect width shims between the base of the wheels and the table frame.

The result is truly incredible. You will be amazed at the difference when you come down and play. You can literally drop the ball on the table anywhere and it will bounce perfectly and stay in one spot when it comes to a rest - no more balls rolling down or across a sloped imperfect table! It's quite a difference in the ball timing and bounce too because now the tops are perfectly level and all the feet touch the floor with the same grip and weight on the floor, which was never the case before - and I would venture to say, having played at clubs around the country and at close to 100 tournaments (I played my first tournament in 1967), that it is NEVER the case with table tennis tables unless maybe you are so good you play in professional tournaments!

So this is a shout out to Jeff who spent his own time and $ to make this huge upgrade to our club, THANKS for going above and beyond buddy!! Please be sure to give him an attaboy next time you come down to play - and let us know how you enjoy the most level tables you'll probably ever play on!

Posted by Santa Cruz Table Tennis president and club coach Jim Langley

Address

216 Evergreen Street
Santa Cruz, CA
95060

Opening Hours

Tuesday 5pm - 10pm
Thursday 5pm - 10pm

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