Just in case you haven’t seen or heard about it, here’s a snippet of the Q&A provided by Paddle Palace: The introduction of the new plastic “Poly Ball” for table tennis has created a lot of excitement in the table tennis world. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions with answers direct from Paddle Palace: 1) What is the new ball rule? The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) passed a resolution that all ITTF events after July 1, 2014, must use non-celluloid plastic balls. This deadline has a few exceptions; for example, the upcoming Youth Olympic Games taking place in Nanjing, China, August 16-28, 2014, is using a celluloid ball. 2) Are celluloid balls no longer legal? Celluloid balls continue to be legal for the sport of table tennis. The ITTF continues to approve celluloid balls. All the of the 3-star balls available at Paddle Palace are legal for tournament play. 3) Which tournaments are affected by the ITTF resolution? ITTF Sanctioned tournaments only are included in the resolution. This includes the World Championships, the ITTF World Tour, ITTF Junior Circuit, and ITTF sanctioned continental events. 4) Are USA tournaments required to use the new ball? No. Domestic tournaments can choose to use any approved ball, eithercelluloid or non-celluloid. For more Q&A visit the Paddle Palace website by clicking here.