Teqball

Teqball is a ball sport that is played on a curved table, combining elements of football and table tennis. Back and forth, the players hit a football with any part of the body except arms and hands. Teqball can be played between two players as a singles game, or between four players as a doubles game. The game is represented at an international level by the International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ). A number of world-class footballers have been attracted by the game, and after being added to the programmes for the 2021 Asian Beach Games and the African Beach Games, the sport is now aiming for Olympic inclusion.[1][2][3]

Teqball
Natalia Guitler smashing the ball
Highest governing bodyFITEQ
First played2014
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team membersSingles/doubles
TypeInside/outside
EquipmentFootball, teqball table
Presence
Olympicyes

In November 2020, the highest governing body of International Federation of Teqball (FITEQ) was granted full membership of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).[4]

History

Teqball was invented in 2012 in Hungary by three football enthusiasts: former professional player Gábor Borsányi; Hungarian businessman György Gattyán; and computer scientist Viktor Huszár.[5][6] The creative idea came from Gábor Borsányi, who used to play football on a table tennis table. The horizontal design of the table made the ball often not bounce to the players, so this game was not enjoyable. Borsányi thought that if the table were bent, the arahc could help the ball bounce to the foot. After several years of development with Viktor Huszár, the first teqbal table was born in 2014.[7]

The sport was officially presented in Budapest, Hungary on October 18, 2016 by Brazilian football ex-football player Ronaldinho, one of the ambassadors of teqball. The first all-women's team, BellaTeq, was founded in 2020 by co-founders Margaret Osmundson and Carolyn Greco in California.[8]

Table

The curved Teqball table measures 3 metres (9.8 ft) in length and is 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) wide with the highest point at 0.76 m (2 ft 6 in) in the middle of the playing surface where the net is installed separating the surface into two parts. The two outer edges of the width are 0.565 m (1 ft 10.2 in) above the ground.[9]

Teqball table from the top

The table is also used for the sports Teqis, Teqpong, Teqvoly and Qatch, which are based on tennis, ping pong, volleyball and handball respectively. These sports are not governed by the International Federation of teqball.[10]

Rules

Main rules of teqball:[11]

  • Teqball can be played with balls used in football, with size five being official and recommended.
  • Teqball can be played by two players (singles game) or by four players (doubles game).
  • A teqball match consists of best-of-three sets.
  • Each set is played until a player/team reaches 12 points.
  • Every player/team has two attempts to complete a successful service.
  • The players/teams change service after each four points.
  • It is forbidden to touch the ball with the same body part twice consecutively.
  • It is forbidden to return the ball with the same body part twice consecutively.
  • Every player/team is allowed to return the ball with a maximum of 3 touches by any body part, except for the hands and arms.
  • In doubles, a team has a maximum of 3 touches, however, the teammates must pass the ball at least once to each other.
  • While playing, neither the table nor the opponent can be touched.
  • In case of an edgeball, the rally shall be repeated.

Intellectual property

Unlike equipment in traditional sports, the design of the teqball table is patented,[12][13] so only Teqball International or others with a license from Teqball Holding SARL may legally manufacture tables. The name "teqball" itself is trademarked,[14] giving the trademark holder control over who may advertise teqball events or otherwise use the name in public. The teqball inventors view these legal restrictions as essential to their efforts to grow the sport.[15]

Competitions

Teqball World Championships

The Teqball World Championships is an annual competition organised by FITEQ.

The Teqball World Championships has both Singles and Doubles competitions with men and women participating together. The first Teqball World Championships was held in Budapest, Hungary in 2017 with more than 20 participating nations. The 2018 version of the event was held from 12–13 October in Reims, France with a total of 90 players participating.[16]

The 2019 Teqball World Championships took place from 6–8 December in Budapest.[17] Around 160 athletes representing 58 countries competed across singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.[18]

FITEQ has taken the decision to postpone the 2020 Teqball World Championships due to the ongoing uncertainty and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. [19]

African Beach Games

Teqball was included in the first African Beach Games in Sal, Cape Verde on 14–23 July 2019.[20] Cameroon won the title by beating Nigeria in the final.[21]

Asian Beach Games & Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG)

As a sport that is officially recognised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), teqball was added to the programme for the Sanya 2020, but The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has postponed the Sanya Asian Beach Games, which was due to take place from 2-10 April 2021, as well as the Bangkok and Chonburi Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), which was scheduled for 21-30 May 2021. The decisions were taken by the OCA Executive Board in light of the ongoing challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OCA, the National Olympic Committee of Thailand and the AIMAG 2021 Organising Committee have agreed that the event, in which teqball will be a demonstration sport, will now be held from 10-20 March 2022. The OCA has noted that it will continue its consultation with the Chinese Olympic Committee and the Sanya Asian Beach Games Organising Committee to agree a new date for the 6th Asian Beach Games, where teqball is set to make its debut as a medal sport.[22]

World Rankings

Teqball World Rankings are updated monthly by FITEQ. Last updated on: 03 February 2021

Place Singles[23] Points
1. Adrian Duszak 16856
2. Ádám Blázsovics 15010
3. Apor Györgydeák 5418
4. Julien Arnaud Grondin 4936
5. Csaba Bányik 4579
6. Bogdan Marojevic 3580
7. Barna Szécsi 2757
8. Árpád Sipos 2556
9. Patryk Kaminski 2376
10. Fethi Larit 2092
Place Doubles[24] Points
1. Csaba Bányik 21895
1. Ádám Blázsovics 21895
3. Bogdan Marojevic 10470
3. Nikola Mitro 10470
5. Szabolcs Ilyés 9043
6. Julien Grondin 7510
7. Adrian Duszak 7304
8. Hugo Rabeux 7126
9. Francisco Diaz 6816
10. Andres Berriel 5383
Place Mixed doubles[25] Points
1. Marcos Viera da Silva 6855
1. Natalia Guitler 6855
3. Zsanett Janicsek 4782
3. Csaba Bányik 4782
5. Nikola Mitro 4045
5. Maja Umicevic 4045
7. Patryk Kaminski 3200
8. Ewa Krol 2560
9. Rita Mitri 2120
9. Lázár Zsolt 2120

List of References
  1. Aloia, Andrew (9 October 2018). "Fiteq World Cup: England call up football freestyler who did not know teqball existed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  2. "WATCH: Neymar and fellow Brazil stars play Teqball". Sky Sports. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  3. "Teqball". Teqball. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  4. "FITEQ approved as full GAISF member".
  5. Stuhl, Angelise Stuhl (25 May 2015). "Teqball Is A New Tabletop Sport That Allows Soccer Players To Perfect Their Skills". SportTechie. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  6. "Teqball: The Hungarian, Football-Ping Pong Hybrid Sweeping the World Cup". Hungary Today. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  7. "Teqball". 2021-02-01.
  8. CNN, Jaide Timm-Garcia and George Ramsay. "Meet BellaTeq, the first all-female Teqball team hoping to signal a 'new era' for the sport". CNN. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  9. "Teqball Table | Signs and Features | Free Sport Parks Map". Free Sport Parks. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  10. "Ronaldinho appointed global ambassador for Teqball".
  11. "Teqball | Rules". Teqball | Rules. Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  12. "Multi-purpose sports apparatus".
  13. "Teqball table".
  14. "TEQBALL Trademark of TEQBALL HOLDING S.A.R.L. Serial Number: 79162171 :: Trademarkia Trademarks". trademark.trademarkia.com.
  15. "With Teqball the world is curved". www.wipo.int.
  16. "Fédération Internationale de Teqball - Teqball World Cup 2018 - Events". fiteq.tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  17. Upsolution. "FITEQ - Coming soon!". FITEQ - Fédération Internationale de Teqball. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  18. "Ronaldinho set to star at third edition of Teqball World Championships". www.insidethegames.biz. December 5, 2019. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  19. "FITEQ announcement on 2020 Teqball World Championships". 2020-10-01.
  20. "Teqball joins 2019 SAL African Beach Games". Teqball.com. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  21. "Cameroon win first ever African Beach Teqball Cup title". macesport.com. Retrieved 2019-08-27.
  22. "OCA confirms postponement of Sanya Asian Beach Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games". 2021-01-15.
  23. "Singles Ranking".
  24. "Doubles Ranking".
  25. "Mixed doubles rankings".
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