Teqball

Teqball

Highest governing body	FITEQ
First played	2014 in Hungary
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	singles, doubles, mixed doubles
Type	indoor, outdoor
Equipment	Ball (association football), teqball table

Teqball is a ball sport that is played on a curved table, combining elements of sepak takraw 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 Teqball Federation (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 2023 European Games, the sport is now aiming for Olympic inclusion.^[1][2][3]

Teqball became the world's fastest-recognised sport in August 2018, when its highest governing body, FITEQ, was officially recognised by the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA). In June 2019, it was officially recognised by the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA).^[4]

In November 2020, FITEQ was granted full membership of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).^[5]

History

Teqball was invented in 2014 in Hungary by three football enthusiasts: former professional player Gábor Borsányi, businessman György Gattyán, and computer scientist Viktor Huszar.^[6][7] The creative idea came from 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 arched surface could help the ball bounce to the foot. After several years of development with Huszár, the first teqball table was made in 2014.^[8]

The sport was officially presented in Budapest on 18 October 2016, by Brazilian ex-football player Ronaldinho, one of the ambassadors of teqball.

Rules

The rules are laid out in the FITEQ's set of rules.^[9]

Summary

• 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.^{[needs update]}
• While playing, neither the table nor the opponent can be touched.
• In case of an edgeball, the rally shall be repeated.

Teqball court from the top

Playing court

The official competition size of a teqball court is a minimum of 12 metres (39 ft) wide by a minimum of 16 metres (52 ft) long by a minimum of 7 metres (23 ft) high. The court must be rectangular and marked with surrounds with a minimum height of 500 mm (20 in) and a maximum height of 1,500 mm (59 in). The Teq table is in the exact middle of the court with the net being parallel to the shorter sides’ perimeters.

Teq table

The curved 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 with the height of 14 cm (5.5 in) is installed separating the surface into two parts. The two outer edges of the width are 56.5 cm (22.2 in) above the ground.^[10]

Ball

The ball is spherical and must be made of leather or another suitable material and has a latex bladder with a butyl valve. The ball is a regular size-5 football, which has a lower pressure (between 0.3 and 0.5 atmospheres) than a normal football.

Intellectual property

Unlike equipment in traditional sports, the design of the teqball table is patented,^[11][12] so only Teqball International or others with a license from Teqball Holding SARL may legally manufacture tables. The name "teqball" itself is trademarked,^[13] 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.^[14]

Competitions

Teqball World Championships

The Teqball World Championships is an annual competition organised by FITEQ since 2017.

The Teqball World Championships has both Singles and Doubles competitions as well as Mixed Doubles. 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 to 13 October in Reims, France with a total of 90 players participating.^[15]

The 2019 Teqball World Championships took place from 6–8 December in Budapest.^[16] Around 160 athletes representing 58 countries competed across singles, doubles and mixed doubles events.^[17]

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.^[18]

2023 Teqball World Championships was organized outside Europe, for the first time, in Bangkok, Thailand.^[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 to 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]

European Games

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) announced an agreement with FITEQ that will see teqball included for the first time in the programme of the European Games in 2023.^[23]

World Rankings

FITEQ has World Rankings for singles, doubles and mixed doubles, based on World Ranking points attained in official FITEQ events. FITEQ publishes regular updates to its World Rankings, which are used determine the seeding of players into tournaments.^[24] Last update: 22 February 2022.^{[needs update]}

Singles

Place	Player[25]	Points
1.	Ádám Blázsovics	41977
2.	Györgydeák Apor	38693
3.	Julien Grondin	26696
4.	Anna Izsák	20719
5.	Csaba Bányik	15798
6.	Adrian Duszak	15660
7.	Paulina Łeżak	11912
8.	Bogdan Marojević	10380
9.	Hugo Rabeux	10358
10.	Balázs Katz	10192

Doubles

Place	Player[26]	Points
1.	Csaba Bányik	42575
2.	Ádám Blázsovics	42049
3.	Nikola Mitro	40072
4.	Szabolcs Ilyés	38634
5.	Bogdan Marojević	38632
6.	Dennis Correia	38530
7.	Apor Györgydeák	37772
8.	Luka Pilic	37477
9.	Hugo Rabeux	28877
10.	Julien Grondin	28877

Mixed Doubles

Place	Player[27]	Points
1.	Csaba Bányik	32018
1.	Zsanett Janicsek	32018
3.	Vania Moraes da Cruz	17008
3.	Leonardo Lindoso de Almeida	17008
5.	Nikola Mitro	15372
5.	Maja Umićević	15372
7.	Apor Györgydeák	13944
8.	Tünde Miklós	12792
9.	Lukas Flaks	8268
9.	Iva Burvalova	8268

Awards

Red Dot Design Award

• 2015 – Teq Smart^[28]
• 2020 – Teq Lite^[29]

ISPO Award 2015, 2016^[30]

IF Design Award 2018 – Teq Smart^[31]

Hungarian Design Award 2019 – Teq Smart^[32]

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 Granted GAISF Observer Status". GAISF. 14 January 2021.
5. "FITEQ approved as full GAISF member". FITEQ.
6. 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.
7. "Teqball: The Hungarian, Football-Ping Pong Hybrid Sweeping the World Cup". Hungary Today. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
8. "Teqball". Teqball. 1 February 2021.
9. "The Official Rules and Regulations of Teqball". fiteq.org.
10. "Teqball Table | Signs and Features | Free Sport Parks Map". Free Sport Parks. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
11. "Multi-purpose sports apparatus".
12. "Teqball table".
13. "TEQBALL Trademark of TEQBALL HOLDING S.A.R.L. Serial Number: 79162171 :: Trademarkia Trademarks". trademark.trademarkia.com.
14. "With Teqball the world is curved". www.wipo.int.
15. "Fédération Internationale de Teqball - Teqball World Cup 2018 - Events". FITEQ. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
16. "FITEQ - Coming soon!". FITEQ - Fédération Internationale de Teqball. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
17. "Ronaldinho set to star at third edition of Teqball World Championships". www.insidethegames.biz. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
18. "FITEQ announcement on 2020 Teqball World Championships". FITEQ. 1 October 2020.
19. "FITEQ - Coming soon!".
20. "Teqball joins 2019 SAL African Beach Games". Teqball. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
21. "Cameroon win first ever African Beach Teqball Cup title". macesport.com. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
22. "OCA confirms postponement of Sanya Asian Beach Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games". FITEQ. 15 January 2021.
23. "Teqball becomes 16th sport added to European Games 2023". 28 May 2021.
24. "World Rankings". 7 February 2019.
25. "Singles world ranking". FITEQ.
26. "Doubles world ranking". FITEQ.
27. "Mixed doubles world ranking". FITEQ.
28. "Sports Equipment / Sport Teqball".
29. "Multifunctional Sports Equipment Teq LITE".
30. "ISPO-AWARD-Booklet-Recipients" (PDF): 26. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
31. "Teqball SMART / Sports equipment".
32. "Hungarian Design Award Winners 2019".

External links

• FITEQ (Fédération Internationale de Teqball) homepage
• Teqball homepage