Falco Tempo Booster - legal or not?

I haven't found the answer yet, so I'm asking you here: 

ITTF advice on use of this product

Megaspin.net consulted ITTF about whether using this product complies with ITTF regulations. We were told you cannot boost a sponge without an influence on the top sheet and we were referred to the law below:

2.04.07 The racket covering shall be used without any physical, chemical or other treatment.

As stated by the ITTF, a racket covering should be used as it has been approved. The ITTF does not approve a racket covering, but rather the  Top-sheet  (the black or red rubber). Then manufacturers may choose a type of sponge that could hard or soft, thin or thick, boosted or not! Moreover, any player may change the sponge and use the sponge of his choice (this is very common in Asia). So Falco boosting is 100% legitimate: this technique does not touch the approved rubber since it only  boosts  the sponge previously unglued."

It seems like Falco has changed their attitude(?).

Found here: https://www.megaspin.net/store/default.asp?pid=falco-tempo-long-booster

Edited by carbon136 - 08/14/2015 at 1:05pm

I don't see how the Falco booster could not touch the underside of any ITTF approved topsheet.  The booster may only boost the previously unglued sponge, but how can it not adhere somewhat to the reverse side of a topsheet?

It seems to me as though Falco is doing some rationalizing, IMO faulty, to justify the use of their rather expensive product.

Great balls of fire!  Has table tennis been taken over by aliens from the planet Sunmoon or what?  Does anybody, from club conqueror to international level pong god/goddess really need this happy horse manure to play this friggin' sport?

carbon136 wrote: And how does ITTF check the rubbers if they are boosted on tournaments? They have some special expensive machine, don't they?

There is no expensive machine to test for booster since it is virtual VOC free. The only way to fail a racket test is if you boosted too much and you exceed the maximum allowed thickness.

Not all, but the majority of players boost. There are dozens of threads regarding top players and boosted rubbers.

Now, so enez wont detect falco tempo long what so ever?

carbon136 wrote: Matt Pimple wrote: There is no expensive machine to test for booster since it is virtual VOC free. The only way to fail a racket test is if you boosted too much and you exceed the maximum allowed thickness. Do you know that for sure? :) If it's a truth, then everybody could boost, even top players...

Boosting is the way to go. Why bother even if we boost 100 layers we cant be world champions right? So i will continue to boost my chinese rubbers forever.

You seem to be talking about really heavy boosting.

Edited by carbon136 - 08/15/2015 at 6:29am

mercuur wrote: Real equality exists for in the fact that everyone can ignore or obey a rule deciding for themselve which is not necessarily thinking of own profit only.

This is hilarious!  This is laugh-myself-sick-and-fall-on-the floor hilarious!!!

carbon136 wrote: ITTF advice on use of this product Megaspin.net consulted ITTF about whether using this product complies with ITTF regulations. We were told you cannot boost a sponge without an influence on the top sheet and we were referred to the law below: 2.04.07 The racket covering shall be used without any physical, chemical or other treatment.

I can,t find any faktory tuned rubber aproved seperately from the non tuned versions in the larc list.
So when I have an uncle charley working for a tabletennis or even a chocolate factory can I ask them to tune my rubbers  to them faktory tuned and me a more honnest player ?
Or are all factory tuned rubbers illegal because factory tuning also implies changing the topsheets as approved by ittf and is ittf just not testing for this ?

As technical information :

Factory tuned could be tuning the sponge first and then connect it with a non tuned topsheet. In that case the topsheet gradually becomes tuned in the package from taking over tuner from the sponge. Factory tuned rubbers would develop a strong reversed dome before they come in use.
As they hardly have a stronger dome then tensor rubber Ft rubbers are apparently not using a ft tuned sponge only.  To avoid a strong reversed doming they must be made as untuned versions first and then the whole rubber is tuned with the topsheet expansion avoiding a reversed dome.

When the ittf would make this illegal a brand as Dhs would still be able to do this as integrated part of the produktion process and have a single tuned topsheet approved for the larc list under a different name such as hurricane III neo.  They only have to pay an additional fee for that and it will be the same topsheet as the hurricane III with just larger pimple distance from tuning out of the mold (just as speedglue did before with the normal hurricanes). 

To avoid this ittf should have to control the produktion process inside the faktories to ensure that faktories don,t change the topsheets after taking them out of the molds for testing by ittf. Plus testing all rubbers at tournaments for same pimple distance as the larc list example had. Then dhs can probably throw a few molds away that where used for some rubbers because the pimple distance is too short without tuning between mold and ittf testing.

Same then  for all rubbers where the topsheets and sponges are tuned seperately by a tuner/softener bath after molding and then sponge and topsheet welded together (gluing doesn,t work anymore with too much tuner and softener substances). Probably that implies that all tensors and tenergies become illegal as wel because I hardly believe that rubber builds some kind of tension when it solidifies in a mold.  That,s probably just insinuated by esn marketing.

Ittf could approve this method of produktion and forbid tuning after gluing or welding topsheet and sponge together but either way it implies controlling the produktion process inside the factories.

Question is who or what would be served by this ? Fairness ? 





.


Edited by mercuur - 08/17/2015 at 5:23am

A bounce test says little with all different blades underneath I think.

But also think of what it would imply when they really tested for boosting .
Butterfly sponsors several pro players such as Boll and can make and supply special Tenergies for them with a stronger glue effect with ease. The only negativ would be (apart from lesser control)  a shorter life and less constant playing characteristics but this is not relevant for the pro's.
Sponge thickness is easy to maintain by starting with sponge of adapted thickness,

With sharper control on boosting the prp players using Tenergy but not sponsored by Butterfly would have to use the market version of Tenergy instea d of equal rubbers as Butterfly sponsored players.

My opinion the best solution for players would be that the ittf obliges brands that sell tensor/tension/Ft rubbers also sell the substances they use for the tension/tensor/Ft  effect in a bottle to buy with the rubbers for maintenance of the inbuild glue effect or increasing the glue effect.  The later is not something that the majority of players would profit from anyway.
Or allow Falco tuner and the likes because in praxis it,s more or less the same stuff....Suitable for boosting but also as conditioner for longer live of the inbuild glue effect of no matter what glue effect rubber.

The only real reason they don't allow it, at least that I can think of and makes sense to me, is that ittf don,t allow these - other brand - tuners to protect the rubber selling brands for selling lesser numbers of rubbers.  Too many would return to buying and using cheaper classic and chinese rubbers plus a cheap booster instead of the much more expensive glue effect rubbers. 
Even the expensive boosters are cheap then in comparison with current rubber prices (driven up by players competing with each other and more willing to pay from that).



Edited by mercuur - 08/17/2015 at 9:29am

Another booster that is nearly VOC-free is X-Treme Power Booster. And it's long-lasting too. 

Edited by notfound123 - 08/17/2015 at 11:43am

DreiZ wrote: Will Elmer's RC work with Falco boosted rubber?

Yes Elmer's RC works fine with Falco booster. I used that combination for a while and never had any problems.

Is anyone else as bored as me over this booster issue?
Comeon guys, DHS is now one of ITTF's biggest sponsor. DHS has no rubber that compare with tenergy. Do really think that the ITTF will enact measures that will ban the equipment as used by the CNT and issued by their (ITTF and CNT) biggest source of non-government cash?
Let's move on.