The table tennis museum is being established in Joniskis

   The second in Lithuania table tennis museum is being established in the guest house situated in the centre of Joniskis (the first is in Kaunas, established by the twin brother Vincas). “Only signs are left to put”, -says its founder Romualdas Franckaitis, a member of the executive committee of Lithuania table tennis association, a chairman of jury, a deputy chairman of Joniskis table tennis club “Sidabra”.

   ABC – at the grandmothers’ chest

   “I started playing tennis when I was ten years old. There was only one table tennis in our school. Naturally, it was impossible for us little ones to approach it, so I and my brother went back from school in tears,- Romualdas remembers the interest for table tennis what originated in childhood. – The older brother made simple rackets from wood. XIX century antique granny’s dowry chest served as a table. We learned to play on it. I have kept the chest, “the first table”, until now. It is a pity that I don’t have the first rackets.” Brother’s wooden rackets and grandmother’s chest were perfect equipment for table tennis ABC. Three years later Romualdas started to play for his school in table tennis competitions. And even if he says that he didn’t achieve any significant results ( Joniskis against Kaunas or Panevezys didn’t mean much), but he leaves a deep trace in the history of table tennis. Sportsmen who are trained by him try for results. A few days ago his youngest son Romualdas became a winner of Lithuania juvenile table tennis individual championship.
   Table tennis in Franckaitis family is already not the interest of only one man. “Since family business is a hotel, I have set my collection on its third floor”, - Romualdas Franckaitis tells happily.
   Although the museum is still being established, but it already attracts many guests. Table tennis fans, sportsmen who are or were trained by Romualdas, other people interested in table tennis history come there. In the future, as the collector says, the entrance to table tennis museum is going to be free. He presents his collection to all visitors not for earning money, but because of wanting to popularize this sport by introducing its history.

   In the collection – 3800 balls

   The idea to collect table tennis balls, other table tennis equipment and attributes was born 44 years ago, as R.Franckaitis says. “It happened in 1965.When there was held Soviet Union table tennis championship in Kaunas. A long time Latvian champion Andrejs Kube came there. He brought a box with 50 table tennis balls. He showed them to everyone and told that he collects them. I liked the idea and started to put and keep the balls”, - R.Franckaitis tells.
   But while living behind “the iron wall” the collection filled very slowly if we see from the perspective of these days.” During 20 years I had collected only 180 balls”,- Romualdas says. Of course, in Soviet times this number was worth attention. The correspondent of the newspaper “Sportas” hon.Vytautas Zelenkevicius paid attention at Romualdas’ collection. The collector keeps the newspaper where his collection of 180 balls was described.
   In deed, as he says himself, the publication encouraged the collector. Previously it felt uncomfortable to go to sportsmen’s homes and ask for the balls. After the publication it became simpler to knock on more famous sportsman’s table tennis player’s door. Kaunas is a cradle of table tennis after all, so you had who to swap the balls with or who to ask for them.
   “I was most fortunate that I met and became friends with the same surname as me having Alfredas Franckaitis who lived in Germany. He provided a call to Germany thus giving an opportunity to participate in 30th world table tennis championship in Dortmund. There I met Dutch collector Adri van Drillen. There he presented 1500 balls. Everybody looked and went away but I couldn’t recede from this collection. Adri approaches me and starts conversation. I tell that I am from Lithuania and that I collect table tennis balls for many years. He gives me 50 balls as a present! Imagine what an encouragement was it for my collection! He asked if I had something in exchange. I told that when I come home I would send soviet balls for such a gift”, - Romualdas remembers regretting that balls with a nice name “Saga” are not produced in Lithuania anymore although once they made Kaunas famous. Later the collector found out that the company was moved to Moscow region.
   “I found that man who made the balls. He made a number of examples for me”,- Romualdas says.
   Acquaintance with the Dutch collector didn’t break off and they until now exchange exhibits.
   And today Romualdas with great pleasure shares impressions from Dutch collector’s home. “I was taken to the room full of boxes with balls. All day long I was delving through them and picking what I didn’t have in my collection. I picked up about 200 balls, - Romualdas tells and urges to share one more acquaintance which enriched his life. - In 1990 I participated in European table tennis championship. There I met an extraordinary collector Gerald Gurney (later named the father of collectors’). I met him unexpectedly. I wanted to get his historical starters book about table tennis. He asked where I was from. I said:” Lithuania”. He was surprised. He didn’t know or imagined country well, even though Lithuania participated in table tennis championships from 1929. In Soviet times Lithuania was so forgotten. I gave him Ukrainian table tennis net and found his weakness. We became very good friends. We started to correspond, swap exhibits. I got even several balls dating year 1900 from him.”
   Later Romualdas encouraged by Gerald became one of the founders of the magazine about table tennis “The table tennis collector”. There is Romualdas’ address in the magazine so there are contacts with collectors from all over the world. “We became good friends with many of them. If we can’t meet, we at least correspond, exchange exhibits,- Romualdas says gladly. – Now I have 3800 balls. However there are collectors in the world who have over 6000 balls. It is easier for them to collect balls because there are such balls which are made by order of the collector. There is a need of ball production in Lithuania too. But I have made three Lithuanian balls with the help of Dutch friend. They enriched my collection and I had an exclusive ball for friends to send.”

   In the exhibition – “barabanines” rackets

   You can see other rarely found exhibits in Romualdas Franckaitis collection. I have the first table tennis sets in the world. Two sets are even dating 1895. I have rackets made of tight leather, which are called barabanines, - Romualdas presents other exhibits. – I got very first still wooden rackets from one English collector. The handles are made nicely. You can see they were made with love. I have half rackets where one side is made of cork, another is wooden. When you play with such a racket you can easily mislead an opponent because when hit with a cork racket the ball changes trajectory.”
   There are plenty of other interesting exhibits in Romualdas Franckaitis’ collection: key rings reminding of table tennis, instruments of judging, lots, cups, competition programs, medals, posters, badges, stickers, cards, books and a lot of photographs…Some of the exhibits he received from friends tennis players, others when judging world and European championships and exchanging with other collectors. “I have a program of 1939 table tennis world championship. Lithuanian men were fourth in that championship.After Lithuanians didn’t succeed to achieve such results”, - the collector notices

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