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 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.
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