Founded in 1933, USA Table Tennis (USATT) is

the National Governing Body (NGB) for table

tennis in the United States. The goal of the

association is to promote table tennis, the

world's most popular racquet sport, in America

and to provide all participants, recreational

and professional, the best possible experience

by advancing and administering the sport in a

variety of ways.

To these ends, USATT is responsible for

organizing and training teams for national and

international events including National and

World Championships, Pan American Games and the

Olympics. It also works closely with over 150

international table tennis associations and

approximately 215 table tennis clubs in the

U.S.

USATT is similarly connected with many national

organizations that promote the sport including

the American Wheelchair Table Tennis

Association, Amateur Athletic Union, National

Senior Games, Association of College Unions

International and individual state games.

Through its network of affiliated clubs, USATT

has nearly 300 sanctioned tournaments each year

in addition to league play, coaching programs,

exhibitions and other promotional, recreational

and educational activities. It also sanctions

regional and national championships, conducts

local and national player development clinics,

approves equipment and supports national team

members. USATT also provides a computerized

national athlete rating system.

Finally, USATT provides information and

assistance for conducting tournaments and

directs America's most prestigious table tennis

events, the U.S. Open Championships and the USA

Table Tennis National Championships.

USA Table Tennis was formed with the aid of

table tennis associations from around the

country. USATT was an outgrowth of the American

Ping Pong Association (created in 1930), the

U.S. Amateur Table Tennis Association and the

National Table Tennis Association, which was

formed in 1932. The unifying of these three

groups helped sidestep certain complications

created by Parker Brothers' acquisition of the

patented name "Ping-Pong," the game they

marketed nationally.

Known as United States Table Tennis Association

(USTTA) until 1994, the organization has been

located in several cities including Doylestown,

Pennsylvania; Orange, Connecticut; and St.

Louis, Missouri. It moved to Colorado in 1979

when it became a Group A member of the United

States Olympic Committee (USOC).

The association's magazine was first published

in October, 1933. Consisting of four pages, its

first press run was 3,000. It has been called

Table Tennis Topics, Spin and Table Tennis

Today before the recent name change to USA

Table Tennis Magazine.

History / Equipment / Glossary / Rules

Back