Topic: Snake Shot vs. Euro Pin

[thebodygroove]

This one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mZHh6bGB8I

You will notice that Billy is pull shooting on that table because when the tournament took place, the table still came with massive rods. They've changed that now to those space age hollow rods (they sell one single rod for about 60$!) which you had the chance to play on the Tecball, I guess.

[gitablok]

Yes, as a matter of fact, I did get to play on this table. And yes, I liked it. It is as you say a "new school" table that also supports Tornado style of play which is evident on the video.

I could be wrong, but I think the first time we saw the Tecball in Hamburg, it had solid rods of which I think the reason it was not sanctioned at the time.


ICEMAN

[thebodygroove]

Iceman,

I'm not sure about that - as far as I know, the Tecball always had hollow rods, but I might be wrong. Apart from the surface and the goals (and, obviously, the colors) Tecball and P4P are the same table.

Can you buy them in the US?

[bbtuna]

well, I notice the ball plays like the old TS ball...very light (too light in my opinion) and not true round, it really limits what can be done

also, the men are not counter balanced so there is extra time spent trying to keep your rods up (also like TS)

in my opinion, part of a tournament table needs to be

* counter-balanced men so part of the game isn't spent balancing men
* true round ball, starts round, stays round, doesn't get ticks and is heavy enough to set up without trouble
* table build quality some basic standards which includes stability - this can be acheived by weight or some other method but it is important that the table not be easily jarred, is level at all points, and can stand up to strong play over an extended period of time
* scoring, game, and time out markers
* a standard size field of play and especially standard goal size
* and the ability to shoot all shots and passes

now, how these things are acheived is up to the table designers...the material the field surface, man's foot, and ball are made of will determine the tables individual unique play characteristics

[Fastert]

Iceman,

I'm not sure about that - as far as I know, the Tecball always had hollow rods, but I might be wrong. Apart from the surface and the goals (and, obviously, the colors) Tecball and P4P are the same table.

Can you buy them in the US?

You're wright, the tables come from the same manufacturer, Lehmacher. This company developed the Tecball especially for the ITSF.
Why didn't he just put the Lehmacher (P4P) with hollow rods to the ITSF? Because the P4P organisation didn't want that table to become a ITSF table, I think that was to protect their Tour and big tournaments in Germany and Europe. That's why Lehmacher made the Tecball. It's a P4P made to the ITSF standards, but the table isn't that good as the P4P table. The ball bounces up quickly, the poles of the goals give the same sound as an goal, so there are many discussions during a match when they shoot on the pole. But with all these negative characteristics it still is a nice table to play on and you can do all styles on it, maybe when the ball is dirty, the pull or push balls become less smooth.

@ Iceman: LOL, it's Henk Habets, Hobbits live in an other world  , but I will when I see him, maybe this weekend, because we have a tournament in my home cafe on the Eurosoccer (also a great European table  ) and he often comes to these tournaments.