A table tennis table is a great investment for your family. It can enrich your lives by facilitating the learning of a very respectable sport, be a way for you to work out or get your kids off of the couch. Either way it is a great way to have fun! Are you planning to purchase a tennis table? Do you already have one? Do you have all of the table tennis equipment you need? There is so much out there to sift through to find the products you need. This guide should help you get started.

•Racket - Often called a paddle these generally consist of a wooden blade with rubber glued onto the sides used to hit the balls. These come in varying sizes, shapes and weights. Check with your team or coach to make sure it meets the criteria to compete if you plan to. These are scored in the following way to tell the user or consumer the speed: "DEF-" to "DEF" is for defensive players for maximum control. "All" denotes an all around blade good for players who mix styles or beginners. "OFF- to OFF+" denotes a blade made for speed and is not recommended for beginners. Regulations say that a blade must be red or black for competition.
•Balls - Make sure that you are using 40mm balls and not the old standard, 38mm ball that has fallen out of use. Balls used in competitions will be white or yellow and a have a grade of 3 on the scale that is used to measure the quality of table tennis balls. This scale goes from 0 being the worst to 3 being the best. For training purposes a lower quality ball works fine.
•Apparel - Believe it or not having the proper clothing and shoes are some of the most important table tennis equipment. Being comfortable is important to playing a good game. Tennis or squash shoes with a rubber sole are best. As far as clothing wear something easy to move, bend and jump in. Keep your shorts or skirts above the knee for the best movement. Busy or colorful clothing is not recommended.
•Net - Obviously, your table tennis table will need to have a net. It is also wise to have an extra one of these floating around, just in case the one that you have is somehow damaged.

In the USA, if you are playing table tennis, it often goes by the name ping pong. The USA table tennis association is trying to change this, but it is certainly the more popular name. If you are looking for table tennis equipment, you should also try searching for ping pong equipment. Before you buy, do make sure to make a list of what you need, so that you can get started as soon as you get home. And yes, this does include a rule list. You could also watch videos of some of the Olympic matches to learn a few tricks.

The above is a list of the table tennis equipment that you need to get for yourself or your family if you want to get started playing table tennis either professionally or just for having fun. Game night just became much more competitive, so drop the popcorn!