Tchoukball! Feels Good to Move!
This spring elementary PE students learned how to play tchoukball, a game that challenges teams of four or five to communicate and cooperate. Here, a few of Chelsea Williams’s grade four students explain the fun.
"I never even knew tchoukball existed!” Lori says. She likes the tchouk frames, small trampoline-like nets on frames used to rebound and score. Xavier adds that after learning how to play other sports – like basketball, soccer and badminton – tchoukball is his new favorite. He appreciates the fun of learning a new game. And Elise says the game reminds her of volleyball, with similar passing rules.
The number three is important to tchoukball. There are three main rules. Before your team can score you need to pass the ball at least three times. If you have the ball, you can take three steps and must pass the ball within three seconds. This keeps the game moving. Similar to other netball games, the other team does not intercept the ball so there is no crowding on the court. Intead, ball possession changes when there is a fault or a team scores.
That’s how you play tchoukball, but here’s what’s so great about the game: we get to know each other! All year we’ve been on and off campus, and sometimes it’s easier to work with our friends when we’re back in the classroom. But in PE, Mr. Lunardo, Mr. Dawson and Mr. Horsburch rotate group members so we all learn to work together. “Sports is a way to hang out with new people,” Daniel says. Then we’re all ready to work with different classmates in other classes too.
PE actually helps you work well in other classes. The movement break is good for your brain. “I think of PE and recess as similar,” Ella says, “When you get active, it helps your brain feel fresh.” Daniel, Elisa, Ella, Lori, and Xavier agree that it feels good to move freely. PE is special this year. So much is restricted by the pandemic, but in PE, teachers make safe ways to be physically active.