Tchoukball’s bright future

The Tchoukball Association of the Philippines (TAP) once again proved how winning the right way works. TAP leaders, led by the national sports association (and Southeast Asian Federation) president Raymund Jamelo, International Tchoukball Federation (FITB) general secretary Elvie Jamelo and other officials made a courtesy call on Philippine Olympic Committee Secretary-General Pato Gregorio, Deputy Secretary-General Karen Caballero and POC membership committee chair Bob Bachmann at the POC offices Thursday to present their application for membership. What made the visit more significant was that the group was accompanied by FITB president Fang Feng-Szu himself.

Coach Fang was in the country to observe the eighth National Tchoukball Championships (NTC) held at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium last week. Fang also gave pointers to the dozens of newly certified tchoukball referees and coaches. At the awarding gala held at the Selah Garden Hotel Friday, any of the young Filipino players requested him for commemorative photographs, knowing how rare it is for the leader of a sport’s international federation. Thirteen teams from all over the country participated in the grueling round-robin tournament.

“Philippines is very consistent in imparting the spirit of tchoukball,” explained Fang. “We at FITB are here to fully support them in all the good plans that they have.”

In the last Southeast Asian Tchoukball Championships in Thailand last November, a Filipino player injured his ankle in the finals, and was consequently unable to walk. Since the young team had been promised a visit to the famous Bangkok night market, the players, officials and Fang himself took turns carrying the injured athlete around, so he wouldn’t be left behind. Such an act is unheard of involving an international federation head, but evokes true spirit of the sport.

TAP will have a representative at the POC General Assembly today, as proof of their willingness to learn and abide by POC regulations. Tchoukball originated in Switzerland in the 1970’s, and was designed primarily as a way to practice handball. It is now played in an organized manner in 48 countries worldwide. The Philippines is number two in Southeast Asia in men’s and women’s indoor tchoukball, and is also in the top 10 in the world in both men’s and women’s beach tchoukball. 

“Our main challenge is getting the players to train together, since we are based in Bacolod and our best players are scattered all over the country,” admits TAP president Raymund Jamelo. “We have regular Skype meetings to align our training. When we get funding, we will bring all the national players to Bacolod to prepare for international competitions.”

The country has a strong chance to medal in the Asia-Pacific Tchoukball Championships (APTC) which will be held in Singapore from July 6 to 8. Taiwan is currently the top team in the world, followed by Singapore. The Philippines has a strong chance to finish third, especially in the men’s division, with an outside shot at a silver medal should they upset the host country. Should the POC recognition happen before then, the team may also be eligible for an incentive from the Philippine Sports Commission. The Incentives Act includes only competitions held at least two years apart, such as the APTC.

Also on the agenda at the meeting with the POC last week was the possibility of including tchoukball as a demonstration sport at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines. Tchoukball federations from eight ASEAN countries have already written TAP expressing their desire to play in the tournament. The minimum number for consideration is four countries. This will also mean the likelihood of the tchoukball matches being televised by the host broadcaster, as there is a demand for a broadcast. The POC has also received proposals for first-time inclusion from other sports, and is studying its options, considering that the Philippine SEA Games will be relatively short. The preparations were previously stalled by the recent POC recall elections. The national Olympic Committee of a SEA Games host country stands as the de facto head of the SEA Games Federation.

Fang said that, should all these plans fall into place, the Philippines will be a strong candidate to host the next Asia-Pacific Tchoukball Championship in 2020. The future looks very bright for this young sport with old-world values.