Speed glue is an
adhesive used to assemble
table tennis rackets in a manner to make them hit balls back with increased speed. It is optional; a person may choose to use regular glue instead. Its use in tournaments is currently disputed due to believed toxicity in some speed glues. The theory behind speed glue is that it is soaked up by the
sponge layer between the rubber topsheet and blade of a table tennis paddle. The sponge begins to expand, and consequently begins to stretch the attached rubber topsheet causing increased tension and creating a "trampoline" effect on the ball causing it to bounce back quicker. Speed glue use is generally more common among advanced table tennis players. The increased speed of the strokes of the paddle is usually too great for beginners to handle. Professional players who use speed glue generally apply it to their paddle a few hours before their match because the effects of speed glue do not last long. The effects last usually 3–6 hours, although recently long life glues have been developed to prolong the effect for up to 4 days. Offensive players tend to use speed glue more than defensive players as they emphasise speed over spin and control. Generally, speed is inversely proportional to control, although this depends largely on ability. Speed glue needs to be reapplied several times to have an optimal effect. The nature of speed glue is very unpredictable, so several coats are needed to make the bounce of the paddle more predictable. When professionals are seen applying speed glue to their paddles before a tournament, they have applied speed glue to it several times before that time. Softer sponge rubbers will gain a larger performance boost from speed glue than harder rubbers. The use of speed glue will, over time, degrade the quality of the rubber so persistent use will mean the rubbers will need to be replaced sooner. Speed glue is mixed with certain
solvents to create a better effect. Some of these solvents are illegal and contain potentially hazardous vapors. They are considered to be
inhalants. In 1995, the
International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) banned the use of all
halogenated solvents, all solvents with
benzene rings, and
N-hexane in paddles. They have also started the practice of random testing of paddles in international tournaments checking for the aforementioned solvents. The amount of increase the glue will give a rubber is dependent on the sponge. Softer sponged rubber, e.g. Yasaka's MarkV 30, Butterfly's Bryce FX, Joola's Samba, will absorb the glue more readily and therefore have a bigger dome when they expand, leading to a greater effect, with harder sponges e.g. most Chinese rubbers, Butterfly's Bryce Hard, expanding less leading to a slightly lesser effect. In gameplay terms, speed glue has some disadvantages. Due to the increased sponge thickness, speed does increase, but as mentioned before usually control decreases as speed increases. Also, after several regluings speed glue begins to build up on the racket, increasing the weight of the paddle. The sensitivity of table tennis blades is such that a few extra grams may cause the player to not perform as well. The more the glue builds up on the rubber, the more glue must be applied on the next application to achieve the same effect. After 5-10 layers of glue, some players peel the old glue off to reduce the weight of the sponge, and to reduce the amount of glue needed to obtain the optimum effect. Another disadvantage is that the increased tension on the sponge from the glue will cause the rubber to wear out faster than usual. In order to prolong the life of the rubber, some players remove the rubber from the blade after they play to allow the rubber to contract naturally, rather than remain stressed on the blade. Spotting speed glue is very difficult at times. If the paddle makes a very distinctive high-pitched sound on contact, then the paddle may have speed glue. When holding the paddle, the person may notice a weight increase as compared to an untreated paddle. Also, there is a distinct smell that is given off from some speed glues when used. ==Regulation==