Indoor team sport
Tchoukball 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 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
- The court size that is generally used is 27 m × 17 m. However, there are variations to this such as in beach tchoukball where a court size of 21 m × 12 m is used.
- One rebounder is placed at each end of the field of play
- In front of each rebounder, a D shaped semi-circle measuring 3 m in radius must be drawn; it defines the limits of the 'forbidden zone'
- The lines of the zones are considered part of the zone itself, e.g. the line marking the semicircle forbidden zone is considered part of the forbidden zone, while the line around the entire court is considered a part of the 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.
- In tchoukball either team can score at either end of the court.
- A point is scored when the ball rebounds after hitting either of the 2 rebounders and touches the ground outside the forbidden zone, any part of the defending player's body below the knees, or touches the defending player while he is still in the forbidden zone.
- A point is given to the non-attacking team when the attacking team shoots and misses the rebounder, or the ball rebounds outside the playing area (either out of the court or in the forbidden zone).
- If a shot is caught by the defending team, the defending team can proceed to attack immediately.
Positions
Each team comprises the following positions:
- 2 Right Shooters
- 2 Left Shooters
- 2 or 3 defenders
- 1 Centre (or none if 3 defenders are used)
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.
