SEPAK TAKRAW - a new and nearly unknown kind of sport
by Rex Hagget, United Kingdom
SEPAK TAKRAW - a new and nearly unknown kind of sport |
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| added on March 1st, 1999 |
by Rex Hagget, United Kingdom |
SEPAK TAKRAW & RATTAN BALL SPORTS
What
is rattan? My dictionary provides the following definitions: "One of
several species of Calamus, climbing palms with long thin pliable jointed
stems, growing chiefly in the East Indies; piece of rattan stem used as cane or
for other purposes; rattan used as material in buildings, etc." Rattan's
best known use in the West is probably in the making of furniture.
The
plant has such strong, supple qualities allowing it to be woven into a very
light - weight ball. These rattan balls have formed the basis of games unique to
Southeast Asia for many hundreds of years.
A
book by Norman Lewis entitled “Golden Earth” relates a journey
through Burma during the 1950s. Lewis observes that "the three things for
which Burma is, of all countries, the most famous are snake charming, the
playing of 'rattan football' and the destruction of the invading forces sent by
a Ming Emperor of China."
THE NAME OF THE GAME
| Another equally famous rattan ball game in that part of the world was sepak takraw, a name officially used until recently. Originally each country had it's own name for the sport. Thus, in Brunei it was known as sepak raga jala, in Burma it was called ching loong, while in Ceylon it went by the name raga. The Indonesians used the name rago, in Laos it was called kator, and in Malaysia, sepak raga jaring. The version played in the Philippines went by the name sipa. Variations of these names are used in other Asian countries. |
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When a federation of participating countries was formed in 1965, it standardized the name of the sport as sepak takraw. This compromise terminology was derived from the Malay word "sepak" (kick) and the Thai word "takraw" (rattan ball) |
Whils't
on the subject of names, the reader will have noticed that I said that, until
recently, the official name for the game was sepak takraw. At a meeting
of the Asian Sepak Takraw Federation (ASTAF) in December 1994, the name was
changed to "acrobatic volley" or "acrovolley".
The
reason for the name change is that the ASTAF is making strenuous efforts to get
the sport included in the 2000 Olympic Games at Sydney, Australia. The sport
currently falls far short of the "five continents" or 65 countries
criteria for Olympic status. ASTAF would like to see the sport included as a
branch of volleyball. Both regular volleyball and beach volleyball are already
Olympic sports. The International Federation of Volleyball has promised to help
push acrovolley along the road to Sydney 2000.
| HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED |
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Rather than laboriously cataloging the various rules governing the game, I will instead quote from an article which appeared in the magazine Asiaweek on 19 May 1995:
| "The year is 2000, the setting a small court ringed with cheering spectators in Sydney. Six lithe muscular men stand poised for action, three on each side of a 1.5 meter high net. Suddenly, one of them snaps backwards from the waist like a ballet dancer, throws a leg in the air and smashes a woven ball with his instep. The ball flies over the net and slams against an opponent's head. A team-mate rushes forward and flicks the ball with his thighs as a third man executes an electrifying cartwheel and 'spikes' the ball across the net. |
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That imaginary scene
from the Malay game sepak
takraw could turn into reality at the Sydney Oylmpics. Although the game is
played mostly in Southeast Asia, during the last five years it has spread to
over a dozen countries including the United States, Finland, India, Japan and
Korea. It was played in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing and is being considered
as a cultural event at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.
"The game might be
best described as a cross between soccer, gymnastics and volleyball with
features of soccer predominating. It requires great agility, coordination and
fitness. As kicks are the most important part of the game, soccer skills such as
bicycle kicks come in handy and for the kicks to be effective, they must be
powerful.”
“Sepak takraw and
soccer share one cardinal rule; players are not allowed to use their arms or
hands to propel the ball. They may, however, use any other part of the body.”
Each
team, as in volleyball, is permitted to hit the ball only three times before it
must cross the net. One difference is that it can be hit three times by the same
player.
The
game begins when either the "left forward" or "right
forward" player (both positioned in quarter circles near each end of the
net) throws the ball to the "back" player (positioned inside the
serving circle). The "Back" must get the ball across the net with just
one kick. Players on the other team can position themselves anywhere.
The
point is won or lost when the ball touches the ground, in or outside the court,
or it does not cross the net after being played three times by either team or regu.
To win a set, a team must score 15 points. When the teams are tied at 13 points
each, they play an additional 5 points. With a tie score of 14 apiece, the teams
play for 3 points. The scoring method is similar to badminton [and to
Volleyball]: only the serving team may score points. A game is completed when a
team wins two of three sets.
THE HISTORY OF THE GAME
| The game is believed to have originated as early as the 9th century. It was, and still is, a favorite pastime of office boys and workshop workers during lunch breaks. One often sees groups of them forming a circle and heading and kicking the ball to keep it in the air for as long as they can. This is the old way of playing the game when it was still known as sepakraga. |
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The net for sepakraga was introduced as recently as the 1920s. Prior to 1965, sepakraga (also known as takraw or kator) was considered a minor game played primarily in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Laos. Each country had it's own set of rules with no uniformity in the size and dimensions of the court.
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Since its introduction at the 3rd Southeast Asian and Pacific Games (SEAP) in 1965, sepak takraw has become a major sport. The rules of ASTAF govern the competition. The game is now included on the sport schedule of schools in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. |
Although
sepak takraw has been included as an official sport in numerous Asian
Games, I am aware of its having been philatelically commemorated on only a few
occasions [as you can see from the following listing].
[Note: Mr. John Kessel, the
Director of Programs at U.S.A. Volleyball (the national governing body for
volleyball in the United States), was contacted regarding certain points in this
article. Although he was familiar with Sepak
Takraw, he could not confirm that the sport was ever considered for inclusion
as an event of Atlanta's Cultural Oylmpiad celebration. He also mentioned that
to his knowledge, there has been no “public" statement by the
International Volleyball Federation "promising to help push acrovolley
along the road to Sydney 2000.”]
(This article was taken from the “Journal of Sports Philately”, issue May / June 1996, with kind permission from the author.)
