Pingpongo

According to its rules,[2] pingpongo encourages creativity and the personalization of the sport by its players. Thus, there are no fixed rules, but a general framework set by the official rules themselves. Said rules state as follows:

"Everything that is not ping pong, is ping pong with obstacles means that this sport can be played with or without a table, without net, ball, as long as something goes from a place to other, and an objective scoring system and a way of winning a match are established, and all this has been agreed as a Pingpongo match or tournament."

Pingpongo table in Fotballfesten[3] Oslo, Norway. June 2014

Pingpongo has no regulations for the size of the table or net. There is only a recommendation that a table, or tables, (neither too big, nor small) that allow the game to develop normally be used, and, if possible, that they have a certain irregularity that makes the game more unpredictable, but affects the players equally. In the official tournaments matches were played on conventional table tennis tables, and on groups of tables, or boards propped on trestles.

Details of pingpongo obstacles, table and net used during the special official tournament placed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. July 2014 [4]

The paddles and balls to be used also depend on the variety previously agreed upon for the development of the match or tournament. In the classic variations of pingpongo the traditional paddles and ball of ping pong are used.

Obstacles can be either tangible or intangible. Pingpongo has the stated purpose of promoting dialogue and consensus; thus, any obstacle must be determined by mutual agreement of the players of a given match or tournament.

The number of obstacles that may be used is infinite; therefore, pingpongo is a sport with an infinite number of game variations. Every type of obstacle to be used during official events must be previously approved by the PPOB. Even though the rules are very permissive and allow creativity at all times, when practicing pingpongo officially the use of animals as obstacles is not allowed, nor are: smoking, making Nazi comments, or any kind of expression of violence, or using cell phones during the matches.

In Norway, for instance, the organizers of each official tournament previously determine the conceptual framework in which the material and mental obstacles, the communications and the decoration of the event will be set. So, there were tournaments where the material obstacles ranged from chess pieces to images projected on the table, and the mental obstacles went from paying compliments to the opponent when hitting the ball to singing "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by Yoko Ono and John Lennon nonstop while listening to it with headphones during the whole match.

Some of the most used material obstacles in Argentina are Rubik cubes, plastic building blocks and jenga pieces, as basic obstacles, placing one, two, or three on each side of the table (the same number on each side). Other material obstacles used more sporadically are grains of salt (in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil). These obstacles are spread equally on both sides of the table and they stand out for increasing the unpredictability of the ball's trajectory. In Norway, each tournament is developed in relation to one or several topics and all material obstacles are chosen in order to highlight them.

Other obstacles are: beer bottles, cups, framed photos of Carlos Gardel, football players figurines, toy football goals, toy animals, signs depicting the amounts of money spent to organize the Olympic Games, and plastic cups. In some tournaments, the players are allowed to bring their own obstacles.

During November 2014, several of this obstacles were exhibited in a show called "memoria futura" (Future memory) at the Centro Cultural de España in Montevideo. Exhibition arranged by antipodes café with the collaboration of the Uruguayan Association of Pingpongo, AOPPO.

The purpose of these obstacles is to create difficulties for the players by splitting their performance between two tasks: playing table tennis with obstacles, and having to think in other thing, for example by answering questions, mentioning things while hit the ball (for example, countries, flowers, compliments, etcétera), singing songs, or keeping a certain conversation.

Matches are usually singles, but pingpongo can be played in teams. There is no differentiation by gender or age in pingpongo; therefore, both men and women of all ages can play as equals in the tournaments.

The game came be similar to traditional table tennis, meaning, a player gets a point when the opponent fails to stop the ball from bouncing twice on his side of the table or return it to the other side, or returns it out of the other court. However, since the rules are established before every match or tournament, different ways of scoring and winning matches can be set. Variations are infinite, but every rule to be applied on the game will be previously agreed upon by the players of the match and/or tournament, and, in the case of official events, the rules must previously supervised by the Pingpongo Board (PPOB, the pingpongo authority on a world level).

In general, the match or set ends when one of the two players obtains 7, 11 or 15 points, as agreed beforehand, gaining a lead of one or two points. When both players are even with 6, 10, or 14 points each, they will play successive points (where each player will serve once per point in turn) until one of them wins by a two-point difference. This may vary according to the variation. For example, in the football variation, when both players are even one point to the end of the set or the match, definition is made by “penalties”, which implies that each player hits the ball with his paddle sending it to the other side of the table trying to put the ball through a small goal set for that purpose.

Depending on the competition and the stage within it, a match of pingpongo may be played to the best of 1, 3, or 5 sets.

Service is done freely and decided by both players before a match.

The most common serve is the same as in table tennis where the ball must bounce first in the server's side of the table and then on the receiver's one. A mistake in service gives a point to the opponent, this can happen when the ball hits the net, bounces on the server's court or on one of the server's obstacles and does not pass onto the opponent's court, or if it does not bounce on the opponent's court. If the ball touches the net upon service and passes onto the opponent's court, service shall be done again. .

Each player serves two consecutive points, after which the opponent serves. If the match is for 11 points and both players score 10, each player shall serve once until the game ends with a lead of two points for one of the players. The same happens if the match or set is for 15 points and is tied on 13.

The players can switch court every six points.

During official pingpongo tournaments the umpire or umpires may be the players themselves, the event organizers or the audience. Some matches present different obstacles that require the participation of more than one umpire. For example, if the mental obstacle during a match is that the players name a flower every time they hit the ball with the paddle, and if they fail to do it they lose a point, it will be necessary to add one umpire per player to keep track of this rule. The players may agree to manage without umpires and umpire the match themselves. Every official tournament in official venues must have one manager in charge of keeping record of the match results, which shall be later sent to the PPOB for the ranking. Every special official tournament shall have at least one member of the PPOB present, who may participate in the tournament, act as umpire or only supervise.

A section of the official rules states that a variation of pingpongo may be accepted as official “as long as it is agreed before each tournament or match between participants”. Also, when there is a dilemma about a formal aspect of the game, the aim is to always choose the option that creates more dynamism and entertainment for the players and the audience.[2]

Even though there are an infinite number of variations, there are some already in use or recommended by the PPOB, and which may be used simultaneously:

Conservative variation: Three small obstacles per side, placed by each player on the opponent's court following strategic outlines. Once placed, they cannot be moved, except unintentionally.

“Salted” variation: The PPOB supervisor or umpire spreads equal amounts of salt on each side of the table.

Questions & answers pingpongo: Every time a player hits the ball must mention an element belonging to a certain topic.

Glass (cup) variation: A plastic cup is placed in the middle of each court. If a player dunks the ball in the glass, and it does not topple over, he/she automatically wins the match.

Structural variation: The surface of the table is modified, it can be an irregular surface or completely different from the one normally used for table tennis.

Jenga Pingpongo: Ten jenga pieces are placed, vertically, on each side. A point is lost for each piece that is toppled over.

The points awarded by tournaments for each position correspond with a unified system established by the PPOB in relation with the number of participants in the tournament. Example the distribution of points in relation with the number of participants in direct elimination tournaments:

( * ) In any case, when losing the first game, either in first or second round, the participant will receive one point. In case of advancing to second round after winning a game during first round, the player will get the corresponding points, which in this example for 23 participants would be 14.

A Round-robin tournament define points for each match won. In Pingpongo, these points are defined by the total of points of the tournament (which is the same as the number of players multiplied by 10) divided by the number of matches to be played in the Round Robin series by all players. A Round-robin tournament can help to define for example four semifinalist or just the two finalist who will receive points according to the previous table of elimination tournaments. A Round-robin tournament helps players to play more and have more chances to advance to the finals. This system is used in the FIFA World Cup, for example.

Historical classification includes all the official tournaments played since the origin of the Argentine Association of Ping Pong with obstacles (AAPPO). It is updated during the week in which an official tournament takes place.

"Top 10". Last updated: August 31, 2015

Pos[10]	Player	Nationality	Points
1	Martín Completa	Argentina	1.530
2	Nicolás Bruno	Argentina	1.120
3	Juan Martín Gutiérrez	Argentina	1.090
4	Alex Asensi	Valencia	918
5	Fernando Parra	Colombia	801
6	Ezequiel Bertrán	Argentina	693
7	Bruno Moleda	Uruguay	552
8	Hernán Lopez Winne	Argentina	534
9	Lucas Arias	Argentina	532
10	Bruno Ciocca	Argentina	523

The Biennial World Ranking was created by the PPOB with the goal to unify the scoring system between the various organizations and it is a ranking that takes into account the points distributed in the world during a period of two years. Once completed the period of 104 weeks a new ranking begins. Current Biennial World ranking corresponds to the years 2014 and 2015.

"Top 10". Last updated: August 31, 2015

Pos[11]	Player	Nationality	Points
1	Nicolás Bruno	Argentina	1120
2	Alex Asensi	Valencia	799
3	Alejandro Torre	Uruguay	599
4	Ezequiel Bertrán	Argentina	570
5	Juan Martín Gutiérrez	Argentina	420
6	Felipe Ridao	Uruguay	368
7	Diego Skliar	Argentina	340
8	Sara Galvão	Portugal	320
8	Álvaro García	Spain	320
10	Eduardo Balbi	Uruguay	308

Local rankings are regulated by the heads of each official venue but follow a unified system of distribution of points. They are updated during the week after a tournament takes place. Unlike world rankings, local rankings can give more than 1600 points a year and can be historical (counting all the points from the start of the official activities in the venue) or defined by periods of time (for example, annual, biennial, etc.)

Example: "Top 10" Ranking PINGPONGO NORGE 2013-2015. Last updated: Dec. 11th, 2015

Pos[12]	Player	Nationality	Points
1	Alex Asensi	Valencia	918
2	Felipe Ridao	Uruguay	547
3	Jo Ofrim Bjørke	Norway	516
4	Sebastián Correa	Uruguay	240
5	Tom Haugeplass	Norway	229
6	Ian Correia Sampaio	Brazil	200
7	Lars Thomas Dolven	Norway	180
8	Tuva Langfeldt	Norway	171
9	Jordi Marset	Valencia	151
10	Pedro Rubio	Uruguay	120