Tchoukball
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

Tchoukball /ˈtʃuːkbɔːl/ is an indoor team sport, played by teams of 7 players. It was developed in Switzerland in the 1970s, and 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.

It is usually played with a ball on an indoor court with a small elastic rebounder on each end. Teams score by bouncing the ball against the rebounder and getting it to bounce on the floor of the court without being intercepted by the defending team. The sport was designed to limit injuries, and physical contact between players is prohibited.

Tchoukball match in progress in Geneva.

History

Tchoukball was created in Switzerland by Hermann Brandt,[1] 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.[2] 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).

Etymology

The name of tchoukball (pronounced as "choukball", with a silent "t") comes from the onomatopoeic "tchouk" sound the ball makes when it bounces off a frame.[3]

Basic rules

Teams may comprise 12 players, however only 7 may be on the court at any one time.

Physical contact between players is prohibited, and defenders may not attempt to intercept the attacking team's passes. Players may take at most three steps with the ball, and hold the ball for at most three seconds. Teams may not pass the ball more than three times before shooting at the rebounder.

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, one square meter in area.
  • In front of each rebounder, a D-shaped semi-circle measuring 3 m in radius is drawn; this defines the limits of a 'forbidden zone' where defenders cannot stand.
  • The lines around zones are considered part of the zone: the line marking the semicircle forbidden zone is considered part of the forbidden zone, and the line around the entire court is considered a part of the court.

Ball

Depending on the category of players (Men, Women, Youth), different sizes of balls are used. These range from a circumference of 50 – 60 cm and weights from 325 – 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.
Rebounder

Positions

Each team comprises the following positions:

  • 2 Right Shooters or Right Wings
  • 2 Left Shooters or Left Wings
  • 2 or 3 defenders or Forward Pivot
  • 1 Centre (or none if 3 defenders are used) or Centre Pivot

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

Players with the ball can take a maximum of 3 steps, and hold the ball for a maximum of 3 seconds. Bouncing the ball is not allowed.

When a pass is not completed (the ball touches the ground or goes out of bounds), the other team gets possession.

The defending team cannot obstruct the attacking one during passing.

For the scoring team, stepping into the forbidden zone with the ball is not allowed. The ball must be released before the player lands in the forbidden zone.

In addition to classic indoor tchoukball, there is also beach tchoukball and wheelchair tchoukball, with slightly different rules. There are also Youth and University leagues, separate from the open league.

International Tchoukball Federation (FITB)

The FITB, founded in 1971, is based in Geneva, Switzerland. As of 2021, it includes 50 member associations[4] 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.

At the world championship level, tchoukball has been dominated by Taiwanese teams since 1980. Their only losses since then were in 2004 when they were defeated by Switzerland in the men's final, and in 2023, when Italy defeated them in the women's semi-final.

Membership

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

World events

World Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
1971   Switzerland  France -
1976
1980   Switzerland  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
1982  France  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
1984  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
1987   Switzerland  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2000 Geneva,   Switzerland  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2004  Taiwan   Switzerland  Chinese Taipei
2011  Italy  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2015  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2019  Malaysia  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2023  Czech Republic  Chinese Taipei   Switzerland

World Beach Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2005   Switzerland  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2017  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

Tchoukball at the World Games

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
1989  Germany  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2009  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

World Youth Tchoukball Championships

Year Host 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  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei - -  Chinese Taipei - -
2011  Austria  Italy  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Italy -
2013  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2015  Singapore  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Singapore
2019  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2023  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

World University Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2017  Malaysia  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

World Youth Beach Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2017  Indonesia  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2023  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

Regional events

Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2003  India  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2006  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2008  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2010  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2012  Philippines  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2014  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2016  China  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2022  Malaysia  Chinese Taipei  Singapore

Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2009  Hong Kong  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2011  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2013  South Korea  Philippines  Chinese Taipei
2015  Malaysia  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2019  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

Asia Pacific Beach Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2013  Thailand  Chinese Taipei  Singapore

Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships

Year Host 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  Singapore  Chinese Taipei -  Hong Kong  Chinese Taipei -  Chinese Taipei
2013  Malaysia  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2014  Singapore  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei
2016  Taiwan  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei  Chinese Taipei

Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Nation Men's winners Women's winners
2009  Thailand  Singapore -
2011  Vietnam  Philippines  Singapore
2013  Thailand  Singapore  Singapore
2015  Malaysia  Singapore  Singapore
2017  Thailand  Singapore  Singapore

South Asian Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2012    Nepal  India -
2014    Nepal  India -
2016  India  India -

East Asian Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2016  China  Chinese Taipei -
2017  South Korea

European Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2003 Italy Italy   Switzerland   Switzerland
2006 Switzerland Switzerland  United Kingdom   Switzerland
2008 Czech Republic Czech Republic   Switzerland   Switzerland
2010 United Kingdom United Kingdom   Switzerland   Switzerland
2014  Germany  Austria   Switzerland
2016  Czech Republic  Austria   Switzerland
2018  Italy  Italy  Italy
2022 United Kingdom United Kingdom  Italy   Switzerland

European Youth Tchoukball Championships

Year Host 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  Czech Republic  Italy  Italy  Czech Republic -  Austria -
2022

Championships

 United Kingdom United Kingdom   Switzerland

African Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2010  Ghana  Togo  Senegal
2012  Togo  Togo
2014  Benin  Togo
2016  Kenya  Cameroon

East African Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2014  Uganda  Uganda

Pan American Tchoukball Championships

Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2010  Brazil  Brazil  Brazil
2012  Uruguay  Brazil  Brazil
2014  Colombia  Brazil  Colombia
2016  Mexico  Brazil  Uruguay
2022  Brazil  Brazil  Argentina

FITB presidents

Name NationalityYearsFITB headquarters
Hermann Brandt   Switzerland1971–1972Geneva, Switzerland
Théodore Werey  France1972–1984France
Liu Zhengfeng  Taiwan1984–1996Taoyuan, Taiwan
John Andrews  United Kingdom1996–2000United Kingdom
Michel Farve   Switzerland2000–2004Switzerland
Daniel Bushbeck   Switzerland2004–2009Geneva, Switzerland
Huang Chin Cheng  Taiwan2009–2017Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Fang Shen Szu  Taiwan2017–2021New Taipei, Taiwan
Huang Chin Cheng  Taiwan2021–presentKaohsiung, Taiwan

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Tchoukball comes home to Geneva". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  2. ↑ Brandt, H., Etude scientifique des sports d’équipe, Ed. Roulet, Geneva, 1971
  3. ↑ Yap, Ricky (14 August 2019). "Tchouk! Tchouk! Tchouk!". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  4. ↑ "FITB Members". fitb.org. Retrieved 2023-03-22.

Associations

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