Interview

Q::What kinds of national or international Tchouk activities have you participated?

A:: I established Kaohsiung Tchoukball Committee in 1996. I was a secretary-general for six years ever since. In 2002, I was the associate secretary-general and international spokesperson of National Tchoukball Committee. Since I represented Taiwan to communicate with other countries, I was very close to the Tchoukball Association of those countries. Starting from year 2000, we began to hold international invitational tournament. We also hold National Chung-Cheng Cup in Taiwan and International Invitational Tournament in 1999. In 2000, I led national team to Swiss to participate the World Cup of Tchoukball. I also led the team to Britain to participate World Cup of Tchoukball in 2002.

In 2003, I was the secretary-general of Asian Pacific Association. That's also when Professor Fan died and I went to India to hold the first FITB Asia Pacific Tchoukball championship. I also brought Taiwan team there to participate. In 2002, I help Twian to apply for hosting 2004 World Cup. In 2004 when World Cup was host in Kaohsiung, I was the Committee -general and also the person in charge. In 2005 when the first Beach Tchoukball was held in Swiss, I didn't go because of some personal problems. But I did help our team to deal with business going over there. The 2006 FITB Asia Pacific Tchoukball championship was also in Taiwan where Principal Xiao from Kaohsiung and I host together. In 2007 Kaohsiung City Government also give Tchoukball a special favor. They let us host Kaohsiung Warm-up Series of Tchoukball. These international tournaments are made possible with the help of some international friends. So I am also the person to communicate and negotiate with other countries if there are international tournaments in Taiwan.

Q::What are some common problems you face when promoting Tchoukball?

A:: From historical perspective, there are many problems concerning Tchoukball. First of all, it's the people. If the person in charge works really hard in promoting, this exercise will be popular. If he or she is selfish and like to have many excuses, of course it's hard to promote this exercise.

Secondly, it's the policy problem of the government. Our government's policies aim at Asian Olympic Games. Yet what we can win in that Games is little, it is hard to impress others internationally. So I think the government should do some evaluation and give other sports some chance. So I think government's policies is the biggest problem of promoting Tchoukball. Aside from that, enterprise sponsorship is another problem. As all the enterprise follow government's policies and support those sports are popular easily seen, such as baseball and basket, that's bad for sponsoring other sports. For example, if we want to host international tournament, it is not enough just to have government's sponsorship. If the enterprise can help such activities, I think it will be easier to promote Tchoukball.

Q::How can schools effectively promote Tchoukball?

A:: If schools want to promote Tchoukball effectively, the first factor is the government's policies. For example, if we find this exercise is suitable to children, then the Ministry of Education must issue an official document to every school to promote the exercise. I am confident to say that this exercise is suitable in the elementary school because all it needs is just a ball and a set of nets. You can play in every place. It ‘s an excise for children's large muscles. It's really an educational exercise.

Professor Chang-Shou Chen, our chairman of Physical Education, once supervise a student doing a research on the difference between players who have participated in Tchoukballl team and those who have not. The experiment proves that players participating in Tchoukball team are better in their muscle power, jumping and even running than those who have not in Tchoukball team. Tchoukball, nicknamed Gentlemen Ball, can teach children important lessons through the exercise since it asks children to be courteous. You can't stop others from throwing the ball. All you have to do is try to catch your balls. It can change children's mentality. So I think if we are going to promote Tchoukball in schools, the first thing is from government's policies.

Besides, school teachers not only know how to play Tchoukball, but they also have to know how to motivate children to love Tchoukball. They need to know how to teach children to play Tchoukball. I want to hold a teaching demonstration for teachers and show some procedures of teaching children. With the cooperation of government and schools, as well as sufficient equipment, I am sur it will benefit children.

Q::Can you suggest we children how to participate Tchoukball?

A:: First you need to have teachers supervising the skills of Tchoukball. Schools need to have enough equipment. With these elements, I think as long as your teachers are willing to let you try and you know the methods of playing, I am sure you will like it. The best method, I think, is to put the Tchoukball net outside so that you can play at recess. Schools can hold more class Tchoukball games for children to participate.

Q::What are the things to pay attention to when we are playing Tchoukball?

A:: When playing Tchoukball, I think you need to know how to catch and shoot correctly. Catch the balls that are above shoulders and your hands should be thumb to thumb. If the ball shoot to your belly, curve your hand to lower the power of the ball. Act promptly if the ball is really low. Tchoukball is an exercise that seldom hurt people as the buffer zone is three meter long.

Tchoukball was invented by a Swiss doctor. He noticed that people used lots of tricks when playing basketball, such as bumping others in defence. As referees often fail to see little tricks, players got hurt and caused a lot of troubles. The doctor then wanted to come up a sport that will not hurt the players or cause many arguments. He thought and thought and improvised continuously and finally came up with a three-meter buffer zone.

Q::Can you suggest us how to buy Tchoukball equipment?

A:: Concerning about the equipments, I also spent some time to do research. The first Tchoukball introduced in Taiwan is a little bit different from what we are using now. With my help, the ball and net used now in Taiwan's games have obtained international certification. The best and cheapest net of the world now are all in Taiwan.

The boss made the net spent much time revising and researching and finally invented the best net. Now he has sold 7 containers of net to Swiss and made several million for Taiwan. The best nets now are all in Taiwan. Even the best nets in Europe are made in Taiwan. The ball has a long story, too. Many famous brands have contacted me to make this kind of sponge Tchoukball. But there is technological problem. So it's hard to make. This sponge Tchoukball is like inflated bread. When you press it, you can feel its softness. It is like the inflation of bread. Before it's inflated, it's very small. It turns big once it's inflated. That's why it is soft like bread. There are only one net company and one ball company that have obtained international certification. We are fortunate enough to have them help us promote Tchoukball for these years. I am also helping them to expand their business to the world and let the world knows the net and the ball that are made in Taiwan.

Q::May we ask which city or county is most efficient in promoting Tchoukball?

A:: Every city and county is promoting with just a difference of up and down, and also spot and surface. Some counties' teams are strong but they don't promote to the local elementary and junior high schools. Some are good in promoting to elementary and junior high schools but they don't have strong teams.

Q::What kind of assistance can the government provide if they want to promote Tchoukball?

A:: Of course it's money. But the most important thing is that our government, when promoting sports, needs to know what kind of sport is the most suitable for us to master. Affirm our own advantages and promote the sports pragmatically. It costs about a million to host an international Tchoukball. As now we are hoping to expand international affairs, we can take the advantages of Tcouk Ball and nurture more people to deal with international affairs.

Take Korea for example. They are promoting continuously Tae Kwon Do and spend lot of money, man power, and stuff to look for famous Tae Kwon Do coaches from all over the world. They spend lot of money to invite them to Korea to train their players. Then they work hard to include Tae Kwon Do in the competition list of Olympics. Now when we talk about Tae Kwon Do, we often refer to Korea. I am hoping that our country can promote Tchoukball as Koreans promoting their Tae Kwon Do. Under such circumstance, our Tchoukball will have hope.