Throwball

Throwball is a popular non-contact team sport which is played by two teams. In this sport, each team comprises of seven to nine players excluding 3-5 substitutions. It is played on a rectangular court with a net in the middle. Throwball is much similar to volleyball. However, there are some fundamental differences in both the games. It is also popular in overseas hubs where there are sizeable Indian communities present. It was first played in India as a women's sport in Chennai during the 1940s. Like volleyball, throwball's roots are linked with the Young Men Christian Association (YMCA).

One team aims to defeat its opponent team by scoring more points in each set. Each set is comprised of 25 points and winning of any two sets will bring victory to the team. The players in throwball attempt to defeat their opponents by throwing the ball into the opposition's side, hoping that the other team will fail to return it, which will lead them to score a point. Scores are earned by a team if its respective opposing team fails to return the ball, its player touches the ball twice or the ball touches the net.

History of Throwball

On 18th August 2008 in Reina Beach, Saskatchewan (Canada), students of the University of Regina created a new game called The ball broke- Awesome! Ball, as a recreational sport. It was initially played on beaches, regardless of the number of players on either side. Later, it was designed to be a beach sport which was more irregular than basketball, requiring a few more athletic efforts. The first set of rules was written by Jamie D. Anderson, for a standard beach volleyball court. Later, these sets were implemented in throwball. 

In the first exhibition match of throwball in 2008, an observer Travis Eftodie noticed the act of furious throws during the game which was played at the International Thunder Beach Training place and the game had its new name as Throwball. Travis Tokaruk slightly modified throwball rules in his ninja training school. After this, the game successfully spread around the beaches. 

It is strongly believed that the first ball used for throwball was created by the Giant Tiger and brought for a Toonie in Regina Saskatchewan. 

Throwball was extremely popular among women in England and Australia during the 1930s.

In 2008, an inter-faculty federation; Federation Inter-faculty de Thunder ball (FITB), was founded. They also organized the first World Throwball Championship in 2009 for the women teams and girly boys. Currently, the sport is widely popular in Brazil, Europe and in countries such as Italy and the Netherlands.

Throwball was introduced in India by Jagat Singh Chauhan, an alumnus of the YMCA; where it was played as women's sport in the 1940s. By 1950s the game spread in other cities. Soon, Throwball Federation of India (TFI) was formed, and the first Indian National Throwball Championship was conducted in Haryana. 

In 1990, a drastic change was seen in India, where both men and women were playing. The first set of rules for throwball was formally composed by Harry Crowe Buck, a member of the YMCA. In December 2015, a Junior International Throwball match was conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where a total of eight countries participated.