What is Tchoukball?

Tchoukball is a non-contact sport, which combines the pace and excitement of handball and volleyball to make it the fastest handball sport around. It's a relatively new sport that was invented by Swiss biologist Dr Hermann Brandt in the late 1960s and introduced to the public in 1970.

Tchoukball is played by two teams of nine, and the aim of the game is to shoot the ball at one of the two frames set in a semi-circle at either end of the pitch. There are three main positions to play – shooter, centre pivot and inner. Shooters do the scoring, centre pivots concentrate on keeping the ball moving and inners defend the frame area.To score a point, the ball must hit one of the frames then bounce back outside the semi-circle without being caught by the rival team. It doesn't matter which end of the pitch you score. When the ball is passed or caught each player may only hold onto it for three seconds. Players can only move three steps while holding the ball, and teams are only allowed three passes before they must shoot.

Although a full size international court is 40m by 20m, the size can be varied to suit the age group and the number of players and space available. As Tchoukball is a non-contact sport it can be played by boys and girls as young as seven or eight. Like volleyball it can also be played on a variety of surfaces – indoors on wood, outdoors on grass.

For further information on Tchoukball see the International Tchoukball Federation website http://www.tchoukball.org/ and http://www.genevabeach.ch/