The activity of expert table tennis players during matches under the old scoring system has been studied within the French Table Tennis Federation. The results showed that the players` actions were organized to form sequences dividing each match into phases of exploration and execution (Sève, 2002, Table Tennis Sciences, 4 & 5, 167-176; Sève, Saury, Theureau & Durand, 2002, Cognitive System Research, 3, 501-522). Matches began with an inquiry period during which the players looked for strokes that impinged upon the opponent's play. Regardless of the outcome of the inquiry phase, however, it had to come to an end when the players felt they could no longer afford to sacrifice points for fear of losing the match. On September 1, 2001, the scoring system changed, and the goal of the present study was to evaluate the impact of this new system on elite table tennis players` activity during matches. Four top-level table tennis players from the French Men's Table Tennis Team volunteered to participate in the study. Matches during the France Championships in 2002 were videotaped and the players` verbalizations as they viewed the tapes were collected a posteriori. The data were processed within the methodological framework of course-of-action theory (Theureau, 1992, Le cours d`action). The data were analyzed by (a) transcribing the players' actions and verbalizations, (b) decomposing their activity into elementary units of meaning, (c) grouping these elementary units into larger sets called series, and (d) constructing graphs to present the dynamics of the activity during matches. The analysis revealed nine series of activity: four exploration series (Look for effective serves, Look for effective serve returns, Look for effective first attacks, Look for winning game configurations) and five execution series (Reproduce effective serves, Reproduce effective serve returns, Reproduce effective first attacks, Reproduce winning game configurations, Perturb the opponent). Each series grouped together all elementary units pertaining to the same preoccupation, and they were the same as those revealed in earlier studies of matches under the old scoring system. Conversely, the organization of the series during the matches was different. The exploration series ended much sooner under the new scoring system than under the old system. The most likely explanation is that the shorter sets of the new system no longer allow players to test the effectiveness of different strokes without increasing their risks of losing the set. Analysis also showed (a) modifications in the series of actions oriented toward finding effective serves and serve returns, (b) difficulties recalling some of the match events, and (c) a loss of familiar references during the matches. Under the old scoring system, the players relied on successions of five serves (or five serve returns) to (a) facilitate the identification of effective serves (or serve returns), (b) memorize the succession of serves, and (c) divide the sets into three characteristic phases (start, middle and end of set). Under the new scoring system, which requires that players alternate serves and returns every two points, this organization has become obsolete and the players must now find the most effective means to adapt.
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