“Tchoukball is different from basketball. There is less physical contact (in tchoukball competition). You hardly see players manifest themselves (during the competition). Teamwork is the key. We compete with another team. However, our opponents are our friends but never our enemies,” said Fu Keong Lo, who has played tchoukball since 2009, after his first match in the 1st Macao Tchoukball Tournament held in Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) Stadium.
Sports like basketball, soccer and volleyball are probably familiar to you. However, have you heard about tchoukball? Do you know how to play tchoukball? Or do you know how to pronounce “tchoukball”?
Tchoukball is pronounced “chook-ball”, Lo explained that ‘Tchouk” is echoic to the sound when the ball is struck at the rebound frame, which is a trampoline-like net similar to the hitting area of a tennis racquet.
Shen-Szu Fang, the general secretary of the International Tchoukball Federation (FITB), attended the opening of the 1st Macao Tchoukball Tournament held in MPI Stadium on February 12, 2012. He said that tchoukball is a team sport conceived by the Swiss biologist and physical educator Dr. Hermann Brandt in 1971. FITB was found with the support of Swiss Tchoukball Federation and French Tchoukball Federation in the same year andDr. Brandt was the president. Dr. Brandt died in 1972.
There is a rebound frame at either end of a tchoukball field. The frames are not used to separate two sides, but serve as a mechanical amplifier to return the ball to the field. Teams compete against each other by rebounding the ball off the frame at either end of the field. The defending team tries to catch the rebounded ball before it lands in the playing area. There is no assigned score-frame to the teams, which means both teams can score from either frame if the defenders fail to catch the rebounded ball.
TinoSiu acquired tchoukball in 2006 and established the China-Macau JunziQiu (Tchoukball) General Association (MTA) on October 17, 2010. “I am attracted by the spirit of tchoukball. Therefore, I would like to recommend to Macao people,” said Siu. According to Shen-Szu Fang, the general secretary of FITB, MTA is the only recognized tchoukball association in Macao by FITB.
The spirit of tchoukball is fair play, comity and mutual respects. Tchoukball can be translated as JunziQiu, which literally means gentleman in Chinese. “It is common that tchoukball players own up to the fouls they committed if referees overlook the faults, and players congratulate a score even they lose a point,” said Siu.
“Tchoukball is a game like other sports. However, it is more than a game. I would describe tchoukball as education,” said Fang who is the head coach of Taiwan National Team, which is the current world tchoukball champion. “My players told me that they did not expect the transformation by playing tchoukball,” Fang added.
“I find myself influenced a lot by tchoukball,” said Lo. “I was a bit individualistic before. But now I would consider my friends and my family before I make any decision.”
Interceptions, tackles, and any kind of physical contacts are forbidden in Tchoukball in order to prevent from sports injuries. “No physical contact and we have knee pads. The possible injury would be a sprained finger or bruised face if you miss a ball,” said Phoenix Lei, who plays basketball, handball and tchoukball, when she is doing warm-up for her first match in the local tournament.
“Tchoukball is interesting. With the rebound frame, the key (of tchoukball) is not to slam but to imagine or calculate where the rebound goes,” Fang said with a smile when Lei scores with an edge ball.
“Some would wonder if we are playing handball when they see tchoukball. Tchoukball looks alike handball but yet unique from any other ball games,” Siu confessed that tchoukball is not a mainstream sport in Macao, such as football, volley ball, and basketball, etc. which are taught in school.
“We welcome everyone to try and I believe they will like it [tchoukball],” said Siu with confidence to the development of tchoukball in Macao.
“I think the development of tchoukball will be better in Macao than in Hong Kong because Siu’s student network is helpful to promote in a small city like Macao.” Fang said. Siu is a professor of the School of Physical Education and Sports in MPI.
MTA expands the promotion of tchoukball from MPI to local secondary schools. The 1st Inter-Secondary School Competition is currently proceeding since November 2011. Nine secondary schools participate in the competition. “We are planning to promote in local primary schools and universities,” said Siu.
“I persist to practice because I like tchoukball and we have many opportunities to participate in world competition,” Lei said after the Macao team went to the 2nd Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championship in Taiwan in November 2011.
According to Siu, the Hong Kong-Macao Interport Tournament will be held in Macao in May 2012; the Macao team will participate in the 5th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championship in August in the Phillipines.