Jump to content

Tchoukball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tchoukball
Image
A tchoukball match in progress.
Highest governing bodyInternational Tchoukball Federation (1971)[1]
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

Tchoukball (/ˈtʃuːkbɔːl/ CHOOK-ball) 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.

History

[edit]

Tchoukball was created in Switzerland by Hermann Brandt,[2] 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.[3] 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

[edit]

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.[4]

Basic rules

[edit]
Image
Match in progress in Geneva Nations Cup: 5th place women semi-final Switzerland M18-France.

Teams may comprise 12 players, however only 7 may be on the court at any one time.[5]

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 × 16 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 54 – 60 cm and weights from 325 – 475 grams.

Scoring

Image
Rebounder

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

[edit]
Image
Defence prepared for the Germany-Spain match for third and fourth place at the Ferrara 2024 European Championship.

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 Centre Pivot (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.

Playing the game

[edit]

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)

[edit]
Image
Symbol of Tchoukball

The FITB, founded in 1971, is based in Geneva, Switzerland. As of 2021, it includes 50 member associations[6] 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

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

Events

[edit]
  • World Federation
  1. World Championship
  2. European Championship
  3. Asia - Pacific Championship
  4. African Championship
  5. Pan American Championship
  6. FITB World Youth Tchoukball Championships in 6 Categories: B18,B15,B12 and G18,G15,G12.[7] 6th FITB World Youth Tchoukball Championships 2023

World events

[edit]

World Tchoukball Championships

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

World Beach Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2005 Image Switzerland Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2017 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2025 Image Indonesia Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei

Tchoukball at the World Games

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
1989 Image Germany Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2009 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei

World Youth Tchoukball Championships

[edit]

6th FITB World Youth Tchoukball Championships 2023


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 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei - - Image Chinese Taipei - -
2011 Image Austria Image Italy Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Italy -
2013 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2015 Image Singapore Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore
2019 Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2023 [8] Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei

World University Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2017 Image Malaysia Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei

World Youth Beach Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2017 Image Indonesia Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2023 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2025 Image Thailand Image Chinese Taipei Image Thailand

Regional events

[edit]

Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2003 Image India Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2006 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2008 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2010 Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2012 Image Philippines Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2014 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2016 Image China Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2022 Image Malaysia Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore
2024 [9] Image Hong Kong Image Chinese Taipei Image Hong Kong
2026 Image Taiwan Image Singapore Image Hong Kong

Asia Pacific University Tchoukball Championships

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

Asia Pacific Beach Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2013 Image Thailand Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore

Asia Pacific Youth Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host M-19 Boys Winner M-16 Boys Winner M-13 Boys Winner M-19 Girls Winner M-16 Girls Winner M-13 Girls Winner
2010 Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei - Image Hong Kong Image Chinese Taipei - Image Chinese Taipei
2012 Image Malaysia Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2014 Image Singapore Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei
2016 Image Taiwan Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei Image Chinese Taipei

Southeast Asia Tchoukball Championships

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

South Asian Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2012 Image Nepal Image India -
2014 Image Nepal Image India -
2016 Image India Image India -

East Asian Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2016 Image China Image Chinese Taipei -
2017 Image South Korea

European Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2003 Italy Italy Image Switzerland Image Switzerland
2006 Switzerland Switzerland Image United Kingdom Image Switzerland
2008 Czech Republic Czech Republic Image Switzerland Image Switzerland
2010 United Kingdom United Kingdom Image Switzerland Image Switzerland
2014 Image Germany Image Austria Image Switzerland
2016 Image Czech Republic Image Austria Image Switzerland
2018 Image Italy Image Italy Image Italy
2022 United Kingdom United Kingdom Image Italy Image Switzerland
2024 Italy Italy Image Italy Image Italy
2026 Image Switzerland Image Italy Image Switzerland

European Youth Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
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 Image Czech Republic Image Italy Image Italy Image Czech Republic - Image Austria -
2022

Championships

 United Kingdom United Kingdom Image Switzerland

African Tchoukball Championships

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

East African Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2014 Image Uganda Image Uganda

Pan American Tchoukball Championships

[edit]
Year Host Men's winners Women's winners
2010 Image Brazil Image Brazil Image Brazil
2012 Image Uruguay Image Brazil Image Brazil
2014 Image Colombia Image Brazil Image Colombia
2016 Image Mexico Image Brazil Image Uruguay
2018 Image Argentina Image Brazil Image Uruguay
2022 Image Brazil Image Brazil Image Argentina
2024 Image Argentina Image Uruguay Image Uruguay
2026 Image Colombia Image Colombia Image Uruguay

FITB presidents

[edit]
Name NationalityYearsFITB headquarters
Hermann Brandt Image Switzerland1971–1972Geneva, Switzerland
Théodore Werey Image France1972–1984France
Liu Zhengfeng Image Taiwan1984–1996Taoyuan, Taiwan
John Andrews Image United Kingdom1996–2000United Kingdom
Michel Farve Image Switzerland2000–2004Switzerland
Daniel Bushbeck Image Switzerland2004–2009Geneva, Switzerland
Huang Chin Cheng Image Taiwan2009–2017Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Fang Shen Szu Image Taiwan2017–2021New Taipei, Taiwan
Huang Chin Cheng Image Taiwan2021–2025Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Lim Zi Xuan, Delane Image Singapore2025-presentSingapore, Singapore

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ "FITB Home". fitb.org. Retrieved 2025-08-18.
  2. ↑ "Tchoukball comes home to Geneva". SWI swissinfo.ch. 10 August 2000. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Brandt, H., Etude scientifique des sports d’équipe, Ed. Roulet, Geneva, 1971
  4. ↑ Yap, Ricky (14 August 2019). "Tchouk! Tchouk! Tchouk!". New Straits Times. New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  5. ↑ "Regulations". fitb.org. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
  6. ↑ "FITB Members". fitb.org. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  7. ↑ "World Youth Championships Finishes in Singapore".
  8. ↑ "World Youth Championships Finishes in Singapore". 24 July 2023.
  9. ↑ AT Kokrajhar Bureau (2024-07-29). "10th Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championship Concludes in Hong Kong". Assam Times.
[edit]

Associations

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tchoukball&oldid=1378376091"