I've been brainstorming the subtle and obvious differences between the two sports I'm most familiar with, table tennis and Ultimate. These two games might cater to very different types of athletes but they still share qualities found in any competitive athletic sport. I'll share my own experiences for the most part (although it would be interesting to see what Adam's take on this topic is).
Round 1 - InjuriesTable tennis - Not a strong suit for TT in terms of manliness, that's for sure. I used to do this stupid drill where I had to attack these short serves that were just inches away from double bouncing on the table. Don't worry if that sentence didn't make any sense to you, just picture swinging the paddle to hit the ball while it's only inches away from the edge of the table. This lead to a lot of poorly aimed swings that clipped various parts of my hand against the table. The room I practiced in for most of my table tennis career was kinda small so sometimes I'd make a huge swing at the ball only to nail my hand against the cement wall. Ouch. Once I saw this top level player take off his shoes after a match to find red lining the bottom of his socks. The width of the table is only 5 feet. Imagine how hard he was grinding side to side to make his feet bleed like that.
Ultimate - I'm up to 3 collarbone breaks in my life, the 2 that were due to Ultimate were both on my dominant arm. Wearing a bra to keep my shoulders braced back was not fun but at least I learned to throw lefty. Layout scars are cool reminders of the sport, but torn ACLs aren't. Wrist tendonitis is not fun either.
R1 Winner: Table tennis
Round 2 - Equipment/ClothingTable tennis - Butterfly, Stiga, Donic, and more companies that most of you have never heard of. Looking back now, I realized that dressing for table tennis really meant dressing like a goob. I had to wear collared shirts and my mom always combed my hair for me before tournament days. The constant plyos motions (sidestep and karaoke) necessary for each point required short shorts at mid-thigh or higher. Short shorts are a big no-no. Annual equipment costs for table tennis consists of shoes (~80), a blade (150-200), and monthly purchases of new rubber (50 x 2). Ouch. Finding a TT company to sponsor you is pretty important. Butterfly would send me the bare minimum of stuff but that still would offset me at least 1500 per year in expenses.
Ultimate - Patagonia, GAIA, VC, 5Ultimate, and others come out with a variety of gear. I'm proud to wear my jerseys and shorts off the field. If people stare at the layout stains on your chest just do what I do and glare back at them. I think I'm up to 18 or so jerseys and I like my jersey number. Thankfully I'm a handler so a pair of cleats can last me at least a year. Robot shreds cleats and goes through 4-5 pairs a year. Cleats (~100), jersey/shorts (~50), and a disc (4). Besides those costs all you need is a field and nice weather.
R2 Winner: Ultimate
Round 3 - Athleticism/learning curveTable tennis - Many people think table tennis requires little athletic skill. It takes a lot of effort to track that damn ball back and forth at speeds upward of 70 mph. And no, it's not like Forrest Gump. Table tennis takes a lot of fast twitch muscle memory and a ridiculous amount of hand-eye-feet coordination. At the highest level, it takes two players of similar skill levels to be able to display the constant back and forth attacks needed for a spectator to realize how much athleticism is really involved. This type of skill set might not be as noteworthy as Beau jumping over Runner but it's still a type of athleticism that takes years of practice and physical training. The learning curve is also much less forgiving for table tennis. Imagine how much your Ultimate game would improve if you practiced everyday for 2-3 hours a day, for 8 years. You'd be a monster. I was still a chump.
Ultimate - I've seen some amazing displays of athleticism on the field. It's a lot easier to notice when it's two guys going after the same disc than two guys hitting a stupid ball that you can't even see back and forth. Running suicides, running stadium stairs, lifting, doing agility workouts, and so much more needs to be invested off the field. Learning the rules and the game might take a little getting used to but the sky is the limit from there. The hardest part about this learning curve? The throwing, obv.
R3 Winner: UltimateRound 4 - Public appealBoth sports seem to be struggling to gain popularity against the mainstream sports in the US. I definitely see a lot of similarities between the two player-run organizations,
USATT and
UPA. Everyone had a bright and ingenious idea of how to bring table tennis to the big show back when I still played and was quick to offer criticism to whoever was in charge. Seems like Ultimate is the same way. Table tennis just took more of a gamble with changing the rules whereas Ultimate is still clinging to its precious SOTG. Imagine if Ultimate suddenly mandated that the disc size had to be increased by 5%, games were to be played based on time elapsed instead of to a certain number of points, and the thrower had too much of an advantage with the disc and therefore was no longer allowed to pivot. Pretty outrageous, but that's what happened to table tennis. The ball diameter was increased from 38mm to 40mm because the higher ups thought by slowing the game down it would be attract more of an audience (people were apparently complaining that it was too hard to see a 38mm ball hit back and forth on TV). Games were also adjusted from 21 points with 5 serves per player to 11 points with 2 servers per player. And lastly the server couldn't hide his serve anymore, the ball had to be visible for its entire up and down path before serve contact. Did the gamble work? I dunno, do you see table tennis on ESPN now?
Ultimate markets to the college crowd on campuses across the country. Varsity athletes from high school turn to the disc because they still have that competitive drive in them. This is probably one of the reasons why the UCSD program is strong every year. Youth Ultimate and summer leagues and BBQ pickup can be found all over these days. Yet with all the athleticism of Ultimate the best we can offer the general public is CSTV. Ouch. It might still be a while before Ultimate shakes off the generic preconceived notions of playing with dogs and hippies hitting the grass in between points. Things like Ultivillage and Cultimate are definitely helping though, and the UPA is doing its best to transform into the harsh and unforgiving entity that's required and seen in other legit sports (read: Ambush at UCC '07). Remember the trump card though, table tennis is an Olympic sport and is hitting their 20 year mark next summer in Beijing. You can't really argue against a fact like that. Hint: bet on China to win all 5 events (men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and mixed doubles).
R4 Winner: Table tennis
Round 5 - Culture/travelI think I was 12 when I first visited China to train for table tennis. I went to a local school in the city where I was born, Wuhan, and realized how different the training ethic was compared to back in the US. These kids were my age and they were pretty much living in a table tennis dorm. They would go to class for 6 hours, come back to their room to change, and then train for 6 hours in 3-hour sessions with a mandatory nap in between. Their free time was spent doing schoolwork and studying for exams. My skill set was about the middle of the pack compared to the other kids my age. When I came back just two years later I couldn't keep up with any of them and I was dead last. In those two years I found a Butterfly sponsorship to give me free stuff because I was one of the top juniors in the US. Meanwhile these kids were probably still using the same equipment they were two years ago and they could easily wreck house if they ever found their way across the Pacific. Out of the hundreds of kids in that school that displayed talent, maybe only 2 or 3 would be able to rise above their classmates to compete on the provincial team. That kind of explosive growth is commonplace in all cities throughout China.
Playing table tennis in the US has graced me with opportunities to travel abroad and compete internationally alongside other US juniors. Visiting countries like China, France, Poland, and Denmark have all been incredible memories. I hope to have similar traveling experiences with Ultimate. Tournaments like Fools, Potlatch, and Labor Day are under my belt since this time last year with Lei Out only a month away. Bigger names like Kaimana and Paganello loom in the horizon, uncertain of when they will land. I look forward to the green grass, blue skies, and bright sun in my Ultimate future as I'm suited up and remembering to breathe right before the pull. Table tennis was fun, but no matter how much I sugarcoat the game it was still basically being trapped in a 15 x 20 foot room with low ceilings and walls that echo PING PONG PING PONG. I guess I'm an outdoors guy.
R5 Winner: UltimateWith a score of 3-2, Ultimate wins, obv.
