Sepak Takraw

Sepak Takraw (Kick Volleyball) is a fast growing and popular sport in Asia. Called Takraw for short, it is a cross between soccer & volleyball, played on a badminton doubles sized court.

Contents

1 Teams 2 Court 3 Ball 4 Game play 5 Rules 6 Scoring 7 History 8 Popularity 9 Recreation 10 Associations

Teams

A match is played between two teams, each with three players. A three player team is also referred to as a "Regu".

Court

Played in court 20' x 44' (13.4m x 6.1m) similar to doubles badminton court. The net which divides the court stands 5' (1.52m) at the centre and 5' 1" (1.55m) at the posts for men; 4' 8" (1.42m) at the centre and 4' 9" (1.45m) at the posts for women.

Ball

Traditionally hand-woven, the Takraw ball is made of rattan stems or very hard plastic. A ball weighs approximately 250 grams.

Game play

Two teams compete for higher scores by spiking a ball into the opponents court. Each team gets three chances to kick, knee, shoulder or head the ball back to the opposing team. Like in Volleyball there are passes, sets and spikes — but the strokes must be made soccer style: no hands or arms allowed.

Rules

The same rules apply as for volleyball, with the following exeptions:

1. players are prohibited from using their hands;
2. a player can touch the ball 3 successive times;
3. the players position of the defensive team is not rotated;
4. net-in service is accepted.

Scoring

There's a discrepancy here. Some report the following:

A match is composed of 3 sets. The team scoring 15 points win a set. The firstteam winning two sets wins the match. In any set, if both teams are tied, 13 to 13, the first team to score 13 points may choose to decide the set through 5-point match. If the teams are tied at 14 to 14, the first team to score 14 points may choose to decide the set through a 3-point match.

Meanwhile, this alternate scoring system has also been published;

1. When a fault is committed by either serving side or receiving side, a point is awarded to the opponent side including making the next service.
2. The winning point for a set is a maximum of 21 points.
3. The match is played in 2 sets with 2-minute rest in between.
4. If each "Regu" wins one set, the match shall be decided in the third set called "Tie break" with 15 points.
5. Before the tie break set takes place, the umpire shall toss a disc or coin, and the side winning the toss shall serve first. The changes of side will occur when one "Regu" reaches 8 points.

History

The sport dates back to the 15th century when it was played by indigenous Malays. Back then it was called "Sepak Ragu" (lit. "Kick ball") and played mainly by men and boys using a circle formation. They used a ball made of cane or rattan. The game remained in that form for hundreds of years until the 1940s when a net (called a "Jaring" in Malay) and formal rules were introduced. By this time, the game was also being played in Thailand where it was known as "Takraw". Variations of the game spread throughout Asia. In the Philippines the sport was called "Sipa", in Burma it was dubbed "Ching loong", in Laos "Kator" and in Indonesia "Rago".

The increasing popularity of the game soon led to competitions within the various countries. By 1965, when it made its debut in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, the rules had been standardized and the sport became officially known as "Sepak Takraw". The choice of this name was essentially a compromise between Malaysia and Thailand, the powerhouse players of the sport.

Popularity

It is Malaysia’s national sport. It is also popular in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and to some degree, in the Philippines.

Sepak Takraw introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpar.

Has spread to over 20 countries world-wide.

Now a sport played at the South East Asian Games and at the Asian Games.

Recreation

Played both indoors or outdoors, as a solo or group recreational activity. Typically, the goal is to hit the ball consecutively as many times as possible without using hands or arms.

Associations

• Sepak Takraw Association of Canada (STAC)
• Sepak Takraw Club Switzerland (STCS)
• Sepak Takraw Association Berlin (STAB)

Sepak Takraw

Is played by many children in Singapore

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