Asia Pacific Schools Tchoukball C’ships to be launched in Singapore in 2025
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The Asia Pacific Schools Championships, launched in 2025, will create opportunities for students to participate in tchoukball competitions.
PHOTO: TCHOUKBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE – A competition showcasing the finest tchoukball student-athletes from the region is set to take place in Singapore in 2025.
Called the Asia Pacific Schools Tchoukball Championships (APSTC), the tournament is created by the Tchoukball Association of Singapore (TBAS) and endorsed by the Asia Pacific Tchoukball Federation, TBAS said in a media statement on Monday.
Besides the hosts, teams such as Macau, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are also likely to feature in the competition. All of them have expressed interest in taking part, said TBAS.
Calling it a “thrilling new chapter” for the sport in Singapore, TBAS president Delane Lim said: “The inaugural APSTC will be a testament to our commitment to fostering talent and solidifying our sport’s position on the global stage.”
The aim of the competition is for aspiring tchoukball players to have the chance of representing their country on an international level from a young age, which will allow them to gain experience.
The competition will comprise round-robin and knockout matches, with both male and female teams competing in the Under-17 and U-12 categories. The seven invited countries and territories are set to bring a total of 28 teams, two for each category, while hosts Singapore will have four in each age group.
Singapore’s players could be selected based on their performances in the National School Games. Although the Games do not currently include tchoukball competitions, the TBAS hopes that they will do so soon. Otherwise, TBAS will organise inter-school tournaments to pick the team.
The decision to launch the APSTC also came off the back of the election of a new TBAS executive board on Aug 25, with Lim returning unopposed as its president. Among the new board members is former national tchoukballer and honorary secretary Mark Sum, who is also an educator at a primary school.
Sum, whom Lim identified as one of the key personnel to increase collaboration between TBAS and schools in Singapore, said: “There is now an increasing demand for a school category in tchoukball tournaments due to the growth and popularity of the sport in (the) Asia Pacific.”
Lim is hopeful that with Sum’s lead, TBAS can be more active in working with schools to ensure a pipeline for future national athletes. Referring to the rest of the committee, the president added: “With the backing of our newly appointed officials and the enormous support from the Asia Pacific Tchoukball Federation, we are poised to make a resounding impact.”
Malaysia Tchoukball Association president Lee Fui Shin said it is looking forward to the APSTC. She also highlighted its commitment in supporting the competition by sending its top school teams to compete.
Said Lee: “Through APSTC, countries like ours can introduce the sport to more schools, giving them the opportunity to proudly represent their nation.”
In July, Singapore hosted two regional tchoukball competitions at the Pasir Ris Sport Centre – the World Youth Tchoukball Championships, with the Republic’s teams winning the Under-15 boys’ and Under-18 girls’ categories, and the South-east Asia Tchoukball Championships, in which the hosts won both the men’s and women’s titles.
