New Year New Sport - Tchoukball

New Year New Sport - Tchoukball

New Year New Sport is a brand new project introducing school children and local communities to tchoukball, a fast and fun cross between handball and volleyball which can be played indoors, on grass and on the beach.

About the initiative

New Year New Sport is brand new project introducing school children and local communities to a whole new ball game - tchoukball.

Tchoukball is a fast and fun cross between handball and volleyball and can be played indoors, on grass and on the beach. It is non-contact and played all over the world. Great Britain currently holds the gold medal position in Europe. Copy this address into your web browser to see a video of tchoukball in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxjaZ6WARwk

New Year New Sport was launched in September 2007 and is being delivered through a partnership between the Tchoukball Association of Great Britain, Suffolk Sport, Active Norfolk and Sport Hampshire & IOW. This is only the first year of our exciting project and in future years we will be expanding throughout the whole of the UK.

Hundreds of children and teachers have already experienced tchoukball through the project and we have only just begun! We are providing free demonstrations and teacher training sessions in schools and colleges throughout the year. We are also supporting end of year competitions at each of the areas’ Youth Games.

So why is tchoukball an ideal school sport? Three main reasons: it is athletic, non-contact and inclusive. It offers an energetic and healthy activity in which boys and girls can play together and, being new, sets a level playing field for everyone. Tchoukball is open people of all abilities – whether you want to play for fun or compete at the highest level.

New Year New Sport is already creating the next generation of Great Britain tchoukballers – in the same way that Jaz and Pippa (see posters) have come through the system.

Would you like to try a new sport this year?

What we could do with a bronze award worth £1,000

Tchoukball receives zero funding from government because it is new on the scene. We are also staffed entirely by volunteers. £1000 would buy two sets of tchoukball frames (the trampettes used to rebound the ball in tchoukball) and enough balls for two schools. This would help them to learn tchoukball in PE lessons, set up lunchtime and after school clubs and organise matches against other schools in the area.

What we could do with a silver award worth £12,500 or even the gold award worth £50,000

The Silver Award would pay for nearly 30 sets of frames and tchoukballs for schools in the three project areas. This would almost be enough to provide equipment for each School Sports Partnership in Norfolk, Suffolk and Hampshire.

The Gold Award would buy the essential equipment for over 100 schools in the project and provide young people in every area with an exciting and brand new way to keep fit and meet new people. It would give them the means to train to compete in national school competitions and build towards representing their country in tchoukball.

Our final word

Many young people who experience and learn tchoukball in school take it with them when they leave – an excellent exit route. Our U18 Great Britain internationals are proof of what can be achieved by trying something new.