“WE ARE BUTTERFLY” CLUBS

January 10, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) When you visit the WE ARE BUTTERFLY Clubs page on the Butterfly Website, the map at the top of the page stands out. There are We Are Butterfly (WAB) clubs in every major population center in the US and Canada – clubs in nearly every location where there are active groups of […]

Boll Perfect as Dusseldorf takes German Cup

January 9, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) Four teams competed today in the 2020/21 German Cup. Defending champion ASV Grunwettersbach fell in the semifinal to Borussia Dusseldorf 3-1, and Liebherr Ochsenhausen needed the doubles tie breaker to beat Schwalbe Bergneustadt 3-2. Borussia Dusseldorf was the top seed having dominated the regular season with only one loss. The team played […]

First Rankings of 2021: Fan, Xu Xin, Ma Long

January 9, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) The ITTF has launched a new ranking system, transitioning from the monthly ranking list to a weekly version. They have also simplified the ranking rules with the three largest events giving 2000 points, major championships awarding 1500 and 1000 points, and other types of events providing between 20 and 600 points. The […]

PongNow Interview: AJ Carney

January 8, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) The PongNow Interview Series – talking table tennis with some of the best players and personalities in the sport. The guest this week is AJ Carney, the Manager of Table Tennis Operations and a Coach at Triangle Badminton and Table Tennis. AJ is a great all-around athlete who excelled in table tennis […]

Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 371

January 8, 2021

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: I am a teacher trying to write a grant for the Amicus-prime robot. We are hopeful that this robot will be able to handle all of skill levels. Most of the videos showing this robot show how fast it can serve. I am also interested to learn if […]

Amicus Robot Training With Aditya Sareen – Developing Footwork & Hand Speed

January 7, 2021

Aditya Sareen demonstrates drills working with Amicus Robot and provides tips to develop Footwork and Hand Speed For more information about Amicus Robot: Please click here Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.

A Tentative Start to 2021 – ITTF Calendar

January 7, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) A year ago, ITTF events started up in late January after the holiday break and that first month hit the ground running with three events – including the German Open. The 2020 Calendar then listed 14 February events, 10 March events, and 13 April events. The 2021 Calendar is filling slowly, as […]

TTBL Liebherr Cups Preview: Dusseldorf, Ochsenhausen, Grunwettersbach, Bergneustadt

January 6, 2021

(by Steve Hopkins) The TTBL Liebherr Cup Final will be played this Saturday (January 9). Three of the top four German Bundesliga teams will play, Borussia Düsseldorf, TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen, and TTC Schwalbe Bergneustadt. As luck would have it, the fourth invitee, ASV Grünwettersbach just defeated Schwalbe Bergneustadt this week – so with a good […]

Ask The Experts: Larry Thoman No. 370

January 4, 2021

Butterfly Table Tennis Question and Answer Question: Is it true that the Amicus Prime throwing wheels can go in the opposite directions to give a higher level of spin? – Mike Answer: This Ask the Experts question was answered by Larry Thoman. He is a Table Tennis Robot Guru. Larry’s response is below: Mike, Yes, that […]

Coaching Tip of the Week: Play Both Weaker and Stronger Players

January 4, 2021

(By Larry Hodges) Many players who want to improve make the mistake of trying to play mostly stronger players. The result is the opponent controls play, and all the player can do is react to the stronger player’s shots, or go for wild shots. A player may develop some shots this way, but it’ll be […]