| In light of the global spread of COVID-19, World Table Tennis Day – the annual celebration of the sport, taking place on 6th April 2020 – will be taking on a very different form to previous years.
Instead of the traditional social gatherings, casual table tennis activities and charity events taking place around the world, this time people will be engaged in the sport like never before via special initiatives planned on social media.
Run by the ITTF Foundation and supported by the ITTF, World Table Tennis Day has grown tremendously year on year with a record-breaking 922 events in 107 countries registered in 2019.
With 2020 World Table Tennis Day taking on a different spin to proceedings to accommodate for everyone needing to stay at home in the current period, here is what people can look forward to in two weeks’ time:
The longest rally in history?!
Create history and contribute to the longest table tennis rally! In true World Table Tennis Day spirit, anyone can take part!
All you need to do is respond to this social media teaser by sending in your video of hitting a table tennis ball. One hit is enough, but be creative!
You can use any random objects that you can find around the house to hit the ball, or why not perform a trickshot! Whether you’re in your bedroom, the kitchen, living area, garden, garage, or even outside, you can film your video from anywhere!
The craziest, funniest video clips will be combined to create the longest ever rally online, which will be published on ITTF and ITTF Foundation social media channels on 6th April 2020.
*** TECHNICAL DETAILS ***
Please film your video in horizontal mode and from the front view (just like in the social media teaser). Then submit your clip to this OneDrive folder and remember to tell us your name, city and country, so that we can give a proper shoutout to all the participants featured in the final video!
Deadline to submit your video: 2nd April 2020.
24 hours of non-stop table tennis!
You will not want to take your eyes off the ITTF’s digital channels on 6th April 2020, especially with 24 hours of wall-to-wall table tennis showing on the ITTF’s Facebook page, starting at 00:00 GMT.
That’s 24 hours of original, never seen before, archive footage, all in HD, taking you on a trip down memory lane to revisit a bucket list of classic, unforgettable matches from the past and many of the greatest legends to ever play the sport!
That’s not all! To get you in the festive spirit, hidden easter eggs will appear on screen at certain points of the 24-hour programme. The challenge is for fans to collect as many Easter eggs as possible by taking selfies that show the eggs and submit them to this online form for a chance to win autographed balls and rackets.
COVID-19: user generated content the key
You may already have seen the #SafeTableTennis video series doing the rounds on social media, in which fans are sending in videos of themselves playing table tennis while quarantined at home with anything and everything they can find lying around.
The very best fan submissions are being featured on ITTF social channels with the additional chance to win a prize.
COVID-19 is of course affecting the players as well and they too have been sending in their videos, showing how they are keeping up with their training routines to stay on top of their game even while on quarantine. The best #TrainLikeAPro “Home Edition” videos are being featured on ITTF social channels.
Additionally, players have also sent in fun videos on how to combat the virus from physical distancing to a truly innovative way of blowing out birthday candles.
Stay tuned for more creative content from the world of table tennis on the ITTF’s social platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Weibo | 
