Competitive balance and the participation–spectatorship gap in Chinese table tennis

ABSTRACT

Excessive competitive imbalance holds the potential to render teams and, by extension, leagues inviable. The China Table Tennis Super League has languished in its attempt to catch on as a popular spectator sport in spite of the sport’s popularity as recreational activity. One of the primary reasons for the participation–spectatorship gap cited by officials is competitive imbalance. This research estimates a number of within-season balance measures, including the standard deviation of winning, concentration ratio, and Herfindahl–Hirschman Index. The results show that both the men’s and women’s leagues have been relatively balanced over time. Implications regarding competitive balance and other league policy considerations are explored.

KEYWORDS:

• Competitive balance
• participation–spectatorship
• gap
• Chinese table tennis

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• L83
• L80

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ It was common for Chinese table tennis players to change nationality in order to compete internationally. In the 1980s to 1990s, 36 table tennis athletes changed their nationalities to other countries. In the 2000s, that number increased to 45.

² This is the traditional open league format familiar to most fans of European sport.