Thanks for your anthwers
But refering to your anther to question 3) I think you didn't get my point for I read about the ITTFs constitution some pages before.
The question was why national associations propose rules that if you f.e. consider the one about frictionless pimples won't affect the international ITTF events at all (and that is referring to you what the ITTF rules are for).
You said: "Perhaps those that proposed the rule wished it implemented at the national level, or perhaps they did not want certain elements to come up to the international level." But why should they propose a rule to the ITTF if they wish to implement it to their national level if this their own job anyway (and not the ITTFs) ? Or were they really concerned that fricionless pimples would affect the international level in a great way ?
Refering to your anthwer to 'question' 4) I would agree with you that there would have been need for immediate action if it would have been a problem of physical health like drugs. But since it's been just a rule that affects the material to the advantage / disadvantage of certain players it would have had time to develop methods to proof at least most of the actual forbidden 'substances' (treated pimples, speed glue,tuner, booster). With just banning the material without handing a method to the national levels you hand over an advantage to cheaters over legal players who no longer use speed gluing etc.
If you will say again, that it's not the ITTFs job to take care of national levels you are maybe all right, but by knowing that all rules will be passed down to all national levels (except in Britain) you willingly accept it.
And even onthe international level thee are professionals caomplaining about the insufficient testing.
Enclosed an article by an german news-cast station - The problem of cheating was also mentioned by them during a broadcasted report about the EM.
http://www.n-tv.de/TTEM_in_St_Peters...1/1035358.html
Bad publicity on TV just because a (maybe good) rule was established to early / in a wrong way...
"it is impossible to catch every single person that cheats" - right, but you should be able to catch at least a third of them.
mfG Zuni