Join Tristan Low as he attends Freakshow Tchoukball club’s training, uncovers Singapore Tchoukball’s lesser-known local scene and finds out what drives members to keep playing.

Tchoukball in Singapore

You may have seen it during PE lessons, you may have seen a reel or two about it, or you might even know it from that one random schoolmate who plays it. I’m talking about Tchoukball, the fast-paced, non-contact sport that’s equal parts chaos and control, and yes, it involves a trampoline. What most people don’t realise is that Singapore isn’t just playing it, we’re excelling at it.

The Singapore women’s team won the gold medal against Chinese Taipei for the first time in history during the finals of the 2022 Asia Pacific Tchoukball Championships, and the men’s team are consistently placing third in the world for the past decade. Thanks to their hard work and success, Tchoukball gained charity status and sponsors, a huge step from the times when the players had to pay for their jerseys, flight tickets, and when coaches were volunteers.

Inside Freakshow Tchoukball Club

However, like with any successful national team, their players have to start from somewhere. Thankfully there’s a quietly thriving Tchoukball scene in Singapore to nurture young talent. This unseen community has its own league and Community Centre (CC) support, while every Polytechnic and Institute of Technological Education (ITE) in Singapore has a competitive Tchoukball team. Furthermore, there are more than 12 clubs that play tchoukball locally. 

One of those clubs is Freakshow. Based in Kembangan CC, it is one of the longest-standing Tchoukball clubs in Singapore.

People of all genders and ages gather under the Freakshow banner to train together and play in local competitions. However, with the sport already lacking mainstream attention, and considering how players have to take time out of their Monday nights and Saturday mornings to train, what keeps the team and Freakshow’s players motivated to play?

Freakshow members doing work in between matches. Photo by Freakshow Tchoukball Club

Fostering a Community 

Honing your skills and winning matches in your sport is one thing, but at the very foundation is the love for the game. That’s exactly the mindset that Mr Sin Lyvong, 23, captain of the Freakshow Tchoukball club, aims to foster during training. When asked how he keeps players motivated, especially during the off-season, he says, “We want to foster a really good training environment so that people are motivated to come and train with the people that they care about”. He adds that “being with people that you care about and playing a sport that you also are passionate about is what takes priority for me”.

Some players have been part of the team since the early days of the club and have grown alongside it and their teammates. Mr Póne, 23, an older player of the club, has been around for eight years, ever since he was in secondary school. He has known some of his teammates for about 11 years. To him, “Other than the love for the sport, seeing different generations of people coming in and out of the club and helping to foster that community is what keeps me coming back”.

Of course, managing a club with people from diverse age groups and backgrounds comes with its challenges. Mr Sin mentions that with a competitive Tchoukball club, everyone is here because they want to improve their skills and get selected for competitions. He would encounter diverse personalities, be it headstrong players, or  those that lack confidence. The challenge lies in finding a way to cater to all kinds of personalities and help every player become the best version of themselves. 

Mr Zack Chao, 35, coach and player of the Freakshow Tchoukball club, agrees with Mr Sin’s sentiment, explaining that fostering this sense of community will help with the club’s longevity. Compared to the school level, he says that “the main challenge is managing players of different age and skill levels, so we have to build a safe and supportive environment for all of them to train and also stay motivated”. The expectation of commitment is also something they have to manage as not every player can fully commit to school, work, and other commitments.

Senior members of Freakshow having supper together after a competition. Photo by Freakshow Tchoukball Club

The future

With TBAS (Tchoukball Association of Singapore) making a bid to host the 2027 World Tchoukball Championships, the future of Tchoukball in Singapore looks bright. The growth of the sport in the country and around the world is reflected in Singapore’s humble local scene. Freakshow’s primary aim as a tchoukball club is to ensure its longevity rather than purely winning. Mr Sin says that while every club wants to win, he is looking more long-term. “I won’t be here forever, our coach won’t be here forever, and we want to pass the torch on to players who are capable, and hopefully keep the club running even when we’re gone.” 

Freakshow Tchoukball club training at SUTD’s (Singapore University of Design and Technology) outdoor court on a Saturday Morning. Photo by Tristan Low

Mr Zack also hopes to “continue to grow the club and have a better system to support the players and coaches”, in order to “build a strong community that we can keep going for many, many years”.

For some members of the club, the sport is just as much about connection and balance as it is about competition. To Mr Póne, it gives him something to take pride in. “I’ve been here for maybe eight years now and some of the people here I’ve known for that long, I’ve literally grown up with them. I think it also reminds me to just take a break from life. Sometimes it’s not just all about work. You can be passionate about something outside of it and you can have fun with your friends doing it as well.”

As Tchoukball continues to develop in our little red dot, it’s clear that the sport is more than just a game for many. It’s a growing community, a support system, and for many, a second home.

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