Tchoukball
European Tchoukball Championships 2014.jpg
A tchoukball match in progress.
First played1970
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team members7
Mixed-sexNot in international championships, but very common in some national championships
TypeBall sport, team sport
EquipmentTchoukball, rebounder
Presence
Country or regionWorldwide
OlympicNo
World GamesInvitational sport at 2009 World Games
Symbol of Tchoukball
Symbol of Tchoukball

Tchoukball /ˈkbɔːl/ is an indoor team sport developed in the 1970s by Swiss biologist Hermann Brandt. Brandt was concerned about the number of injuries in sport at the time and as part of an educational study he wanted to create a sport that reduced injuries, was not aggressive between players and enabled people of all shapes, sizes, genders, cultures, and backgrounds to play together.

The sport is usually played on an indoor court measuring 27 metres by 16 metres. At each end there is a rebounder (a device similar to a trampoline off which the ball bounces) which measures one square metre and a semicircular D-shaped forbidden zone measuring three metres in radius. Each team can score on both ends of the court, and comprises 12 players, of whom 7 may be on the court at any one time. In order to score a point, the ball must be thrown by an attacking player, hit the rebounder and bounce outside the 'D' without being caught by the defending team. Physical contact is prohibited, and defenders may not attempt to intercept the attacking team's passes. Players may take three steps with the ball, hold the ball for a maximum of three seconds, and teams may not pass the ball more than three times before shooting at the rebounder.

Tchoukball match in progress in Geneva.
Tchoukball match in progress in Geneva.

Tchoukball is most popular in Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan, but has become an international sport, with national federations in over 60 countries. It is governed by the International Tchoukball Federation (FITB), which was founded in 1971.


History

Tchoukball was created in Switzerland by Hermann Brandt, who was concerned by the numerous serious injuries among athletes resulting from sports prone to aggression and physical contact. He believed that sports should be not only for champions, but also contribute to the creation of a better and more humane society.[1] He designed tchoukball to contain elements of handball (it is played with hands, and the balls used are similar), volleyball (as the defending team must prevent the ball from falling) and squash (since there is a rebound).

Basic rules

Court

Ball

Depending on the category of players (Men/Women/M18/M15/M12), different sizes of balls are used ranging from a circumference of 54 cm to 60 cm and weighs between 325 grams to 475 grams.

Scoring

Two teams of 7 players each (men or women) compete to score points with the team with the most points at the end winning the game. When a team gains a point, control of the ball is transferred to the other team.

Rebounder
Rebounder

Positions

Each team comprises the following positions:

Each side of the court comprises a left shooter, right shooter and 1 or 2 defenders, while the centre usually stays near the middle of the court if this formation is used. The shooters are generally in charge of shooting although in some cases the defender can also take the shot. The defenders are in charge of coordinating the first line of defence while the centre pivot takes charge of the second line of defence. However other formations include not using a centre pivot, the team would bypass the centre and throw full length court passes directly to the shooters/inners. This gives an extra first line defender or a dedicated second line defender.

Playing the game

Variant

  1. Tchoukball (Indoor)
  2. Beach Tchoukball
  3. Wheelchair Tchoukball
  4. University Tchoukball
  5. Youth Tchoukball

International Tchoukball Federation (FITB)

The FITB, founded in 1971, is based in Geneva, Switzerland. It now comprises 47 member associations and 22 (15+7) countries with a designated FITB Representative. It supports and advises national associations and individuals willing to spread tchoukball in new areas. For instance, tchoukball was recently integrated in the school program of some regions of Senegal. The FITB was a demonstration sport in the 2009 World Games, which took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

69 Members in March 2022:[2]

Number of Members by Regions:

  1. Asia Pacific : 15 + 2 + 5 = 22
  2. Africa : 14 + 6 + 1 = 21
  3. Americas : 7 + 2 + 1 = 10
  4. Europe : 11 + 5 + 0 = 16

Official

  1.  Argentina
  2.  Austria
  3.  Bangladesh
  4.  Benin
  5.  Brazil
  6.  Burkina Faso
  7.  Cameroon
  8.  Canada
  9.  Colombia
  10.  Ivory Coast
  11.  Czech Republic
  12.  Democratic Republic of the Congo
  13.  France
  14.  Germany
  15.  Ghana
  16.  Guinea
  17.  Haiti
  18.  Hong Kong
  19.  Hungary
  20.  India
  21.  Indonesia
  22.  Italy
  23.  Japan
  24.  Kenya
  25.  Macau
  26.  Malaysia
  27.  Mauritius
  28.  Mexico
  29.  Morocco
  30.    Nepal
  31.  Pakistan
  32.  Philippines
  33.  Poland
  34.  Taiwan
  35.  Senegal
  36.  Singapore
  37.  South Korea
  38.  Spain
  39.  Switzerland
  40.  Thailand
  41.  Togo
  42.  Tunisia
  43.  Uganda
  44.  United Arab Emirates
  45.  United Kingdom
  46.  United States
  47.  Vietnam

FITB Representative

  1.  Angola
  2.  Belgium
  3.  Fiji
  4.  Maldives
  5.  Mali
  6.  Malta
  7.  New Zealand
  8.  Niger
  9.  Nigeria
  10.  Paraguay
  11.  Portugal
  12.  South Africa
  13.  Tanzania
  14.  Uruguay
  15.  Venezuela

Non Member, without local federation, but have team

  1.  Cambodia
  2.  Chile
  3.  China
  4.  Laos
  5.  Myanmar
  6.  Rwanda
  7.  Sri Lanka

World events

World Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
1971 The 1st World Tchoukball Championships  Switzerland  France -
1976 The 2nd World Tchoukball Championships
1980 The 3rd World Tchoukball Championships  Switzerland  Taiwan  Taiwan
1982 The 4th World Tchoukball Championships  France  Taiwan  Taiwan
1984 The 5th World Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
1987 The 6th World Tchoukball Championships  Switzerland  Taiwan  Taiwan
2000 The 7th World Tchoukball Championships Geneva, Switzerland  Taiwan  Taiwan
2004 The 8th World Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Switzerland  Taiwan
2011 The 9th World Tchoukball Championships  Italy  Taiwan  Taiwan
2015 The 10th World Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2019 The 11th World Tchoukball Championships  Malaysia  Taiwan  Taiwan

World Beach Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2005 The 1st World Beach Tchoukball Championships  Switzerland  Taiwan  Taiwan
2017 The 2nd World Beach Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan

Tchoukball at the World Games

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
1989 Tchoukball at the World Games 1989  Germany  Taiwan  Taiwan
2009 Tchoukball at the World Games 2009  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan

World Youth Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation M-18 Boys Winner M-15 Boys Winner M-12 Boys Winner M-18 Girls Winner M-15 Girls Winner M-12 Girls Winner
2004 The 1st World Youth Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan - -  Taiwan - -
2011 The 2nd World Youth Tchoukball Championships  Austria  Italy  Singapore  Taiwan  Taiwan  Italy -
2013 The 3rd World Youth Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2015 The 4th World Youth Tchoukball Championships  Singapore  Singapore  Taiwan  Taiwan  Singapore  Taiwan  Singapore
2019 The 5th World Youth Tchoukball Championships  Singapore  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Singapore  Republic of China  Taiwan

World University Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2017 The 1st World University Tchoukball Championships  Malaysia  Taiwan  Taiwan

World Youth Beach Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2017 The 1st World Youth Beach Tchoukball Championships  Indonesia  Taiwan  Taiwan

Regional events

Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2003 The 1st Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  India  Taiwan  Taiwan
2006 The 2nd Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2008 The 3rd Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2010 The 4th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  Singapore  Taiwan  Taiwan
2012 The 5th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  Philippines  Taiwan  Taiwan
2014 The 6th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2016 The 7th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  China  Taiwan  Taiwan
2022 The 9th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships  Malaysia  Taiwan  Singapore

Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2009 The 1st Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships  Hong Kong  Taiwan  Taiwan
2011 The 2nd Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2013 The 3rd Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships  South Korea  Philippines  Taiwan
2015 The 4th Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships  Malaysia  Taiwan  Taiwan
2019 The 5th Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan

Asia Pacific Beach Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2013 The 1st Asia Pacific Beach Tchoukball Championships  Thailand  Taiwan  Singapore

Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation M-18 Boys Winner M-15 Boys Winner M-12 Boys Winner M-18 Girls Winner M-15 Girls Winner M-12 Girls Winner
2010 The 1st Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships  Singapore  Taiwan -  Hong Kong  Taiwan -  Taiwan
2013 The 2nd Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships  Malaysia  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Singapore  Taiwan  Taiwan
2014 The 3rd Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships  Singapore  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan
2016 The 4th Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan  Taiwan

Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2009 The 1st Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships  Thailand  Singapore -
2011 The 2nd Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships  Vietnam  Philippines  Singapore
2013 The 3rd Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships  Thailand  Singapore  Singapore
2015 The 4th Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships  Malaysia  Singapore  Singapore
2017 The 5th Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships  Thailand  Singapore  Singapore

South Asian Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2012 The 1nd South Asian Tchoukball Championships    Nepal  India -
2014 The 2nd South Asian Tchoukball Championships    Nepal  India -
2016 The 3rd South Asian Tchoukball Championships  India  India -

East Asian Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2016 The 1st East Asian Tchoukball Championships  China  Taiwan -
2017 The 2nd East Asian Tchoukball Championships  South Korea

European Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2003 The 1st European Tchoukball Championships Italy Italy  Switzerland  Switzerland
2006 The 2nd European Tchoukball Championships Switzerland Switzerland  United Kingdom  Switzerland
2008 The 3rd European Tchoukball Championships Czech Republic Czech Republic  Switzerland  Switzerland
2010 The 4th European Tchoukball Championships United Kingdom United Kingdom  Switzerland  Switzerland
2014 The 5th European Tchoukball Championships  Germany  Austria  Switzerland
2016 The 6th European Tchoukball Championships  Czech Republic  Austria  Switzerland
2018 The 7th European Tchoukball Championships  Italy  Italy  Italy
2022 The 8th European Tchoukball Championships United Kingdom United Kingdom  Italy  Switzerland

European Youth Tchoukball Championships

Year/Dates Competition Host Nation M-18 Boys Winner M-15 Boys Winner M-12 Boys Winner M-18 Girls Winner M-15 Girls Winner M-12 Girls Winner
2016 The 1st European Youth Tchoukball Championships  Czech Republic  Italy  Italy  Czech Republic -  Austria -
2022 The 2nd European youth Tchoukball

Championships

United Kingdom United Kingdom  Switzerland

African Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2010 The 1st African Tchoukball Championships  Ghana  Togo  Senegal
2012 The 2nd African Tchoukball Championships  Togo  Togo
2014 The 3rd African Tchoukball Championships  Benin  Togo
2016 The 4th African Tchoukball Championships  Kenya  Cameroon

East African Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2014 The 1st East African Tchoukball Championships  Uganda  Uganda

Pan American Tchoukball Championships

Year Competition Host Nation Men Winners Women Winners
2010 The 1st Pan American Tchoukball Championships  Brazil  Brazil  Brazil
2012 The 2nd Pan American Tchoukball Championships  Uruguay  Brazil  Brazil
2014 The 3rd Pan American Tchoukball Championships  Colombia  Brazil  Colombia
2016 The 4th Pan American Tchoukball Championships  Mexico  Brazil  Uruguay
2022 The 5th Pan American Tchoukball Championships  Brazil  Brazil  Argentina

FITB presidents

Name Nation Years FITB headquarters
Dr Hermann Brandt  Switzerland 1971–1972 Geneva, Switzerland
Dr Théodore Werey  France 1972–1984 France
Liu Zhengfeng  Taiwan 1984–1996 Taoyuan County, Taiwan
John Andrews  United Kingdom 1996–2000 United Kingdom
Michel Farve  Switzerland 2000–2004 Switzerland
Daniel Bushbeck  Switzerland 2004–2009 Geneva, Switzerland
Huang Chin Cheng  Taiwan 2009–2017 Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
Fang Shen Szu  Taiwan 2017–2021 New Taipei City, Taiwan
Huang Chin Cheng  Taiwan 2021–present Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Brandt, H., Etude scientifique des sports d’équipe, Ed. Roulet, Geneva, 1971
  2. ^ "FITB Members". fitb.org. Retrieved 2023-03-22.

Associations