Paralympic Table Tennis

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1 ENGLISH FOR THE GAMES Paralympic Table Tennis When athletes come together from around the world to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they are fulfilling their dreams and competing at the highest level. Billions of people across the globe join in; watching, listening to and reading about the greatest global celebration of sport. To celebrate the London 2012 Games, the British Council is making a wide range of classroom resources available for learners of English worldwide. Table Tennis first developed in the late 19th century as an after-dinner game played by upper-class English families. Paralympic Table Tennis is now one of the largest sports on the Paralympic programme. It has been part of the programme since the first Games in Have you ever played Table Tennis? Singles Player serving Net Table Racket To find out more visit British Council 2012 Brand and Design/B122

2 1. Vocabulary a. Write the correct words in the spaces provided. a. table b. singles c. racket d. net e. player serving

3 2. The rules of Table Tennis What is it? Table Tennis is based on the same basic principles as tennis, but has a very different scoring system. With 29 medal events and nearly 300 athletes, it is one of the largest sports on the Paralympic programme. Who can participate in Table Tennis at the Paralympics? Table Tennis is open to athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities. Classifications There are a total of 11 Table Tennis classes. Lower numbers in each class indicate a more severe disability in relation to the sport. Classes 1 to 5: athletes who compete using a wheelchair Classes 6 to 10: athletes who can play standing up Class 11: athletes with intellectual disabilities How is it played? Table Tennis is played on a table 2.74m long, 1.52m wide and 76cm high. There is a net in the middle of the table which divides it into two courts. Players stand or sit at at the end of their court (at the end of the table). Players use a racket to hit a ball. The ball must go over the net and land in the other court. The ball can land on the edge of the court but not touch the sides. To start, one player hits or serves the ball. The other player tries to hit the ball back (or returns the serve ). When players hit the ball to each other, this is a rally. The rally continues until a player misses the ball, hits it into the net, or off the court. The aim of the game is to hit the ball so that the other player misses it. Each player serves two points in a row and then the server changes. But if the score reaches in any game, something else happens: in that case each server serves only one point. Matches are played over the best of five games. The first player OR team to reach 11 points wins each game provided there is a margin of two points.

4 a. Match the words in the table with their definitions below. a. doubles b. net c. racket d. rally e. serve f. singles g. court 1. A narrow piece of strong material used for securing something or giving support. 2. A continuous exchange of hits between players 3. Games played between two individuals 4. Games played between two teams of two players each 5. The area where the game is played 6. The rectangular piece of material made from string which separates the two sides of the court. In table tennis it is centimetres high. 7. To hit the ball to the other player as a way of starting the game 8. What the players hold in one hand to hit the ball

5 3. Reading Natalia Partyka You possibly haven t heard of Natalia Partyka but you should have. She has done something which only five other athletes have managed in history - she has competed at both the Paralympic and the Olympic Games. Natalia Partyka is a Polish table tennis player who was born without a right hand and forearm. She started playing table tennis when she was seven years old because she wanted do the same as her older sister. She was motivated to practise hard because her sister was much better... at first. She obviously learnt her lesson well because she participated for the first time at the Paralympic Games when she was just 11 years old the youngest athlete at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. Since then she has competed at two more Paralympic Games, winning two gold and two silver medals. It was in Beijing 2008 that she joined the exclusive club of athletes who have competed at both Games. Beijing was her third Paralympic Games and her first Olympics. So what s the difference between playing at the Paralympics and Olympics? According to Natalia, disabled players have to think more and find ways to win points because many of them can t move so fast. So it can actually be more difficult playing at the Paralympics. Natalia has many good memories, such as the time she beat Li Jia Wei from Singapore, who was then ranked number 8 in the world. However, sometimes, she says, winning isn t the most important thing. Sometimes, Natalia says, the most important thing is losing, because you learn a lot from your errors and so become a better player. With an attitude like that she will continue to improve and continue to excel. Natalia Partyka is a clearly a name we will be hearing more from.

6 a. Match the numbers to the phrases. a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 6 e. 7 f. 8 g The age when Natalia first competed at the Paralympics 2. The age when Natalia started playing table tennis 3. The number of athletes who have competed at both the Paralympics and the Olympics 4. The number of gold/silver medals that Natalia has won at Paralympic Games 5. The number of Olympic Games where Natalia has competed 6. The number of Paralympic Games where Natalia has competed 7. The world ranking of the best athlete that Natalia has defeated b. In each question, decide what the word in bold refers to. 1. but you should have. a. Heard of Natalia Partyka b. Done something which only six other athletes have managed 2. Since then she has competed at two more Paralympic Games a. The time when she was just 11 years old b. The time when she started playing table tennis 3. Many of them can t move so fast a. Paralympic athletes b. Olympic athletes 4. With an attitude like that she will continue to improve a. Thinking that beating Li Jia Wei from Singapore is a good memory b. Thinking that the most important thing is losing

7 4. Solution Exercise 1a 1. e; 2. c; 3. b; 4. d; 5. a Exercise 2a 1. d; 2. f; 3. a; 4. g; 5. b; 6. e; 7. c Exercise 3a 1. g; 2. e; 3. d; 4. b; 5. a; 6. c; 7. f Exercise 3b 1. a; 2. a; 3. a; 4. b