The playing space of each court shall be not less than 10 metres long, 5 metres wide and 5 metres high. The 5m height is to the bottom of the lighting fixtures, not ceiling height. Lighting levels should be consistent and uniform throughout the entire playing venue. The light intensity, measured at the height of the playing surface, shall be at least 600 lux uniformly over the playing surface, and at least 400 lux elsewhere in the playing area of the court. For international competition, lighting levels are much higher and need to satisfy the requirements for live streaming. It is recommended that LED Lighting be used to significantly reduce running costs. Lighting control must allow the lights above a table to be controlled individually as this will allow running costs to be reduced by only having lighting at tables in use.
Make sure the floor is also smooth and level and is able to support the weight of the table tennis. Wooden semi-sprung floors provide the best surface, whereas solid concrete and carpeted floors are unsuitable for competition. Be sure the flooring provides a good visual contrast between the ball, table top surface, and the surrounding areas, both for the benefit of the players and the spectators. Pick a flooring that is should be dark and non reflective. All the modern table tennis venues now use specialist sports flooring on top of the wooden floor. This floor covering is textured PVC with a foam backing. It absorbs impact which results in less stress on muscles and joints. The textured surface gives better grip and reduces the chance of falls and accidents. International specification requires a dark colour. Sections of flooring are welded together to ensure that there are no tripping hazards. To find out more about this type of surface, search for “best flooring for table tennis” in your search engine. The ITTF has information on suitable flooring here: [1]
If the venue has additional areas for other sports, then the floor surfaces on all areas should be at the same height. There should be large lockable double doors between these areas to enable the movement of equipment on trolleys when these areas may be needed for Tournaments.
If there are any windows or other external light sources, there needs to some method to enable them to be completely blanked out so that light, particularly sun light, does not leak through. Hard areas or potential obstacles around courts where a collision could occur need to be padded to reduced the chance of player injury. Any exterior door being used whilst courts are in use must be light shielded or light trapped so it does not interfere with play.
If there are any air conditioning units, ensure that they don’t cause any air currents which will deflect the flight of the ball. Floor venting is a method suitable to avoid this problem. Whirly Gigs should be fitted with electrically controlled baffles to help minimise sunlight problems and to control air flow at different times of the year. Passive systems like insulation are encouraged to minimise ongoing costs and airflow problems. Insulation also assists with the efficiency of any active temperature control systems. Install temperature and humidity sensors for monitoring purposes in the playing and social areas. Monitoring should match Sports Medicine Australia and the Table Tennis National Heat Policy guidelines.
Changing rooms should have showers and a change area with seats and hooks for clothes available. These should be available for both men and women. A disability toilet with shower and changing facility should available. There should also be a change room, with a change table and seating available for parents of young children.
This area, if it is an open space, could also be used for social events, presentation ceremonies, and as a gathering place for players to socialise. This area could be associated with a canteen that would function during larger events. A chair for each table space should be available. Extra chairs and tables needed for tournaments should be available in storage. Make sure this area has lots of wall space to enable information and promotional posters to be placed in plain sight and allow Honour Boards to be mounted.
Though the canteen will probably not be in full use all the time, it is an important source of income for the venue and should be included. Have plenty of bench space to allow preparation of food. Be sure it can be secured and can also cater for several different user groups to store their items and use the facility.
Swipe Card access to the building should be considered. A card could be issued to financial members who could use the card to access the building at a time that suits them. This method could be used to cater for players who work during evenings, at night or shift work. The card system could also be used to record the lengths of lighting use and allow or prevent access to certain areas of the building.
Add a clear window display so that the public can see into the office. It should be sufficiently large that all administration work can be completed during tournaments. The administration office could also incorporate a lockable storage area as mentioned as storage area 1 under the heading of storage. The office may also be used for the display of trophies. The table tennis equipment sales could also be incorporated in the Administration Office.
During weekdays the parking areas of some municipality’s may need to be time limited to prevent workers, shoppers, etc. using public transport from occupying parking spaces. Devise other methods if necessary to suit the situation. Have a dedicated parking bay for emergency vehicles such as ambulances. This area should be immediately adjacent to an area where an ambulance trolley can move directly from the inside of the building directly to the ambulance without the problem of stairs or gutters. There should also be disabled access parking areas for wheelchair access where people can leave their vehicle and use their wheelchair to enter the playing area without having to overcome steps or gutters.
The number of tables required is based on the numbers required for daily/weekly use (taking into account forecast expansion targets) and also what capacity is available to expand to run tournaments. The type and size of tournaments that can be run is directly related to the number of tables that are able to be operational at any one time. Operational means with suitable equipment, court sizes and lighting. Although a smaller playing area could be used, for wheel chair players it would not be ideal for players who are more advanced than beginners and social players. As the standard of the competition increases ,the court playing area needed will also increase. At international level, an area of not less than 14m long, 7m wide is required.
Ideally they should be about 1. 5m long and 75cm high and should completely enclose the playing area and be dark in colour. Colour and size of any logos on the barriers are regulated.
During tournaments seating should be available for at least a coach and a player from each team, seating for pennant players should also be considered. This seating is in addition to the requirements of spectators but it is important to leave enough practical access and emergency access space for people movement in any seating layout.
Smaller storage - There will need to be a smaller storage area that can be accessed quickly and easily. This area will be used to store items that are accessed frequently. These might be things like bats for use by social players or school bookings, a first aid kit, forms for membership application, table cleaning apparatus, etc. They may also contain pens, pencils, paper, scorebooks, trophies awaiting presentation or pickup, scoreboards, spare nets, posts, balls, etc. There will be other expensive items such as laptop computers, computer displays etc. that will be needed for tournament competition, table tennis robot and accessories for practice sessions and coaches equipment, office equipment that is used with reasonable regularity which might include printers, scanners, laminators, electric stapler, shredder, and more. This storage area should be attached to the Administrative Office as that is where most of this equipment will be used or distributed from. Larger storage - Another area of storage would include an area large enough (typically 12m x 5m) to store all the extra tables, barriers, scoreboards, umpires chairs, chairs, etc. that would be needed for tournaments. There may also be other larger pieces of cleaning equipment (floor scrubber) that may need to be kept there. This storage area should be at floor level to allow easy movement of equipment. All equipment should be able to be stored on movable trolleys to make the task of transporting equipment as easy as possible. There should be access points at either end of the storage area. This will allow delivery of any equipment easily and with minimum effort. Outside access will entail an area where a truck could back up to a storage area and drop off or pick up items. A roller door rather than double doors would be more secure and allow the truck to backup to the door. A roller door means that an area that could be used for storage is not taken up because of the need to have a clear space to allow for doors when open. At the other end of the storage area a large opening should be available whose floor level is at the same height as the playing area floor to allow easy transportation of equipment. Again, a roller door would be better due to the reasons already stated. This storage area should have lighting and power points.
There will be other expensive items such as laptop computers, computer displays etc. that will be needed for tournament competition, table tennis robot and accessories for practice sessions and coaches equipment, office equipment that is used with reasonable regularity which might include printers, scanners, laminators, electric stapler, shredder, and more. This storage area should be attached to the Administrative Office as that is where most of this equipment will be used or distributed from.
This storage area should be at floor level to allow easy movement of equipment. All equipment should be able to be stored on movable trolleys to make the task of transporting equipment as easy as possible. There should be access points at either end of the storage area. This will allow delivery of any equipment easily and with minimum effort. Outside access will entail an area where a truck could back up to a storage area and drop off or pick up items. A roller door rather than double doors would be more secure and allow the truck to backup to the door. A roller door means that an area that could be used for storage is not taken up because of the need to have a clear space to allow for doors when open. At the other end of the storage area a large opening should be available whose floor level is at the same height as the playing area floor to allow easy transportation of equipment. Again, a roller door would be better due to the reasons already stated. This storage area should have lighting and power points.
Be sure it has a cleaners sink with hot and cold taps. The sink should be mounted at a height that will allow a mop bucket to be placed under the taps and filled. The sink should be large enough to allow the emptying of mop buckets after cleaning.
Have at least one chilled water dispenser that will work as a drinking fountain and as a source where drink bottles can be filled. There should be room to place both an automated drink dispenser and snack food dispenser. Obtain a table tennis robot. This may be hired out for use and again provide another source of income. Provide umpires chairs - one for each table are needed. Make sure these chairs are higher than the tables to allow umpires a clear view of the playing area. Umpires chairs should have a swivel platform to allow scoring equipment and boards to be effectively used throughout matches. Add a PA system with a wireless microphone to allow information and announcements from anywhere in the building to be given. This is essential to communicate safety issues and is needed to run tournaments. Speakers need to be strategically located around the stadium so that players when playing can clearly hear the announcements above the background noise. Install phone and internet connections. This is now a requirement for many printers and tournament software.
An emergency evacuation exit is required, preferably several. A defibrillator should be an essential instillation. They can either be purchased or you may be able to obtain one through a grant. A fully stocked first aid kit should be readily accessible with cold packs available for sprains.
