The Garlando new “Pro Play” ball which was used for the first time at the World Cup last month has been approved by the ITSF Executive Committee as the official ball for Garlando tables for the next 2 years, upon recommendation by the ITSF Technical Commission.

The report from the Technical Commission insisted on the fact that the Pro Play ball is a much better ball than the Speedplay ball which players unanimously disliked and which created unsatisfactory playing conditions. Also, feedback from players at the World Cup has been very positive overall.

The Commission noted the following:

- the ball gets altered after a few matches; it becomes more slippery, however this is the case with all balls that always become either more or less slippery after a few matches

- not all balls are perfectly round, however the roundness of the Pro Play ball remains satisfactory

- brand new balls sometimes display a small area on the surface that is more slippery than the rest (it looks like a drop of water); this also happens with balls from other brands sometimes; it is probably linked to the tumbling process that roughens up the surface


During the 2-year sanctioning of the ball, the Garlando Company has been invited to address these comments and any other feedback, in order to further improve on the quality of the ball.

We are thankful to the Garlando representatives who have promptly replied to this invitation by addressing the comments listed above right after they were discussed at the World Cup.

Thus, they are currently working on the device responsible for finalizing the correct roughness of the ball, which in turn will also contribute to its roundness and even surface. The Garlando people are striving at getting the best possible results in this last stage of the process.

Also, the new balls will be produced with the ITSF logo on them which also involves some technological device.

Thus, this is why the Pro Play ball has not been mass-produced yet.

The Garlando Company has announced that the balls will be available for sale in May through their distributors worldwide.


In the meantime, we were left with 2 options regarding ITSF events:

- keep the Speed Play ball

- or have the Sport Commission give special authorization to event organizers to choose between the different balls available

Taking into account the fact that situations vary a lot from one country to the next, the second option has been chosen, in order to give more flexibility to tournament organizers and national federations which must have a say in the decision taken.

Of course, this authorization from the Sport Commission implies that the results from these events will be valid and count towards the ITSF World Rankings.

 

The ITSF is constantly striving at making sure that players taking part in ITSF events can play with high quality equipment.

Implementing changes can be a lengthy process as whenever new equipment is sanctioned, it takes time to start mass production of the new product. But in the end, it's usually worth waiting for.

We thank you for your understanding.