How Kenya Tchoukball was born!

The history of tchoukball in Kenya dates back to September 2005 when a group of Five Starehe Boys Went on an Ambassadorial mission in the United Kingdom to launch what has been commonly known as "The Starehe Way" During the mission, we toured Norfolk schools and were hosted by Flegg High School where we met a highly hyped Physical Education Trainer, Graham Young, who was also a tchoukball coach and a very dedicated tchoukball advocate in the United Kingdom. We were naturally interested in tchoukball, which was a game we had never known or played before.
We asked to learn the game and just after 10 minutes of learning we were able to play our first match! We loved it! We enjoyed it! It was great and we vowed to bring the game back home. Graham was a kind man; he offered us a pair of frames and three nice tchoukballs with which to start the game in Africa.... That was the birth of Kenya tchoukball!

Look out for more information on the development of Kenya tchoukball and uncover the role of Graham Young, Yahya Sebit, Nina Crisp, Julio Calegari, Flegg High School, Starehe Boys' Centre, Rift Valley Academy, Kennedy Miruka and the many others in the onward growth of tchoukball in Kenya.

You may also want to visit the following sites:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8345019&ref=ts#/group.php?gid=17501958946
http://uaetchoukball.blogspot.com/

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/

Starehe Tchoukball

Tchoukball, an international game that was started some few years ago and is getting recognised here at starehe. Starehe is the first school in Africa to introduce tchoukball into its sports curriculum and is therefore unrivalled in this field. Howeveer, efforts are underway to introduce the game in other schools in the country. These efforts are being spearheaded by the current tchoulball captain at starehe Kennedy Miruka who has already written a constitution to be represented to the Ministry of Sports for implementation.

Tchoukball is already becoming popular due to its characteristics as a non-violent game where it is almost impossible to pick up any injuries. Despite this the game is quite interesting and fun as opposed to what many might think.

This is the pioneer Tchoukball team at Starehe and indeed in Africa. At far right is the first Tchoukball Captain at Starehe Kenedy Miruka.who is also co-ordinating the introduction of Tchoukball in other schools.

To find more about this article visit: http://www.stareheboys.ac.ke/sc_life/tchoukball.htm

Email me at kenmiruka2004@gmail.com

Kenya Tchoukball!

Ever heard of tchoukball? Do you know what it is? How it is played? Where it is played? Well if you've been looking for it then you are on the right place. Visit us at Starehe Boys' Centre & School to know more about the game in Kenya. It is very interesting to see how many our youth in Kenya use their brains and brawns for all the wrong and right reasons ranging from petty crimes to entrepreneurial activities. Being an active and highly energetic group of people, the youth need to be involved in productive activities. Yes they can be the most destructive, given the opportunity and they can be the most productive as well. Tchoukball provides an ideal opportunity to utilize both brain and brawn in a productive manner. A game for all ages; young and old; all gender; male and female. It is a dynamic game adaptable to almost all settings ranging from the indoor halls, the outdoor pitches, the beach, etc! to the great stadias all round the world.

Tchoukball was first played in Kenya in 2005 at Starehe Boys' Centre & School. Since then it has been fully integrated into the sports program of Starehe Boys and is currently one of the most competitive games in the school. A few schools in and around Nairobi have had a chance to know about the game and show substantial interest in it.

We are looking forward to those who may have interest in this game or may be willing to introduce it to their schools, clubs or communities. Anybody can join this great network of establishing and enjoying this new, exciting, and beneficial game that enhances national cohesion, teamwork, family values, effective leadership, interpersonal skills, corporate relations.... etc. Learn more about tchoukball in the website: http://www.tchoukball.org/ For more information for individuals, schools, clubs, etc, contact me at: kenmiruka2004@gmail.com Hey let us get tchouking!