Bats and rubbers used in Preston from the 1950's onwards

Today almost everyone uses smooth table tennis rubbers, sometimes called "inverted" or "reverse" rubbers. But they weren't the first types of rubbers, infact at first there wasn't even rubber used - it was cork or sand paper.  And the net, well that has changed height too.

Here our members talk about the equipement they used when they first started playing in the 1940's and 50's and how it's changed to today where you can have anti spin, long, short, medium pimples, anti loop, tacky inverted, mechanical group inverted, speedglue effect rubbers and soon rubbers designed for the new plastic ball. Some people just pick up a bat and play, others prefer to match their bat to their rubbers. Which do you chose first, your bat, your forehand rubber, your backhand rubber. No other sport except possibly golf has as much variety in equipment available to players. That's one of the joys, or down falls of table tennis.