Musings: Handball or Tchoukball

We lost the handball semi-finals to KR Almuni that Saturday morning. On top of the usual glue marks on my sweat-soaked jersey, I had a slight cut on my palm and abrasion on my knee. I was sprawled on the court on several occasions. And one time I may not have fallen if only my kind opponent had just held on to me. Though exhausted, I felt good. I had fun. I enjoyed having spent that Saturday morning under the blazing sun with 7 of my team mates fighting it out on the handball court.

... KESAMET ...

As we sat around discussing the match thereafter, Ms Tang started telling us about this new game her school had just introduced. The game is supposedly similar to handball except that there is no physical contact and interception of the ball allowed. One point is scored when one player shoots the ball onto this rebound frame placed at each end of the court. The defending team can only prevent the goal by catching the rebound ball before it falls onto court again.

Later on, I found out the game is called tchoukball, something invented by Swiss Physician Dr. Hermann Brandt in 1970s. He believed that “the objective of human physical activities is not to make champions, but rather to help construct a harmonious society". He intended tchoukball to be a tool to bring peace between teams, from the simplest most friendly encounter to the most competitive international fixture. The true ethos of tchoukball was supposed to be that of “A Sport for All”, a spirit that Dr Hermann Brandt felt was sadly lost in many of today's contemporary sports.

Isn’t sports meant to be a tool to bring out the best of oneself? And that expression comes with pushing one’s limit against oneself as well as competing creatively against the strongest opponents within a defined set of boundaries. While becoming a champion is not the means to an end, shouldn’t it be the goal that any serious athlete should aim for? To strive for excellence, to be the best.

Can’t most sports be played by all? Isn’t it just a matter of which level the players themselves want to take it at? I wonder what exactly this “A Sport for All” spirit means.

I also wonder if I will ever find myself playing this “very intense, extremely fast and skillful sport which allows individuals to express themselves as part of a team”.

A game that I would not face any resistance or opposition since no interception or physical contact is allowed. Is that any reflective of life? Sometimes, part of the fun and experience comes from the tussling one has to go through.

A game that I have no means of defense except to depend heavily on lady luck to bring the trajectory of the ball to cross the spot where I happen to be squatting low. Isn’t it human nature to put up a fight when attacked? Does it really promote peace and harmony amongst the teams when I just stand there and allow my opponents to make an attack?

A game that I could so easily score since the rebound frame is unguarded and forbidden zone only a semi-circle 3 m in radius. Where does the true challenge lie? In handball for example, one has to put the ball past a keeper from outside a forbidden zone of 6 m in radius. And often it is exhilarating to be flying in from outside the semi-circle, hanging in mid-air for that spilt second while aiming for the best corner to put the ball past the keeper. That is intense, fast and requires much skill.

Well, I guess I will stick to handball, a game I feel is as genuine a team sport and totally unique ... just like most other team sports ... A game which I will continue to enjoy expressing my individual self as part of the team …