Development of Environmentally Friendly Table Tennis Rackets as an Alternative for School Sports Equipment

Abstract

This study aims to develop an environmentally friendly table tennis racket made from plastic waste as alternative sports equipment for schools, specifically to address the limitations of physical education learning facilities. The method used is Research and Development (R&D) with the Borg and Gall model through the stages of preliminary study, planning, product creation, trials, revisions, and final product improvements. This study was conducted at SMA Negeri 1 Pamotan involving physical education teachers and students as research subjects. Data were collected using a five-point scale questionnaire from 1–5 given to media experts, subject matter experts, and students in small and large-scale trials. Furthermore, the data were analyzed descriptively quantitatively by calculating the average value to determine the level of product feasibility based on aspects of appearance, strength, comfort, ease of use, and learning benefits. The results showed that the assessment of media experts obtained an average of 4.00 in the good category, while the subject matter experts obtained an average of 4.75 in the very good category. In the trial stage for students, the small scale obtained an average value of 4.86 and the large scale 4.62, both included in the very good category. These results indicate that the developed product has good quality and is acceptable to users in the learning process at school. Based on these results, table tennis rackets made from plastic waste are declared suitable for use as alternative training tools and learning media in schools. In addition to its good function, this product is also educational because it can raise students' awareness of the importance of recycling and environmental care. Thus, this product can be an economical, innovative, effective, and sustainable solution to support table tennis learning in schools.