Woodball
 Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou meeting members of the medal-winning teams at the 3rd World University Woodball Championship in 2010 | |
| Highest governing body | International Woodball Federation |
|---|---|
| First played | 1990 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | Lawn game |
| Equipment | Wooden mallet, wooden ball |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | 45 countries and territories |
| Olympic | No |
| World Championships | No |
Woodball (pinyin: Mùqiú) is a sport where a mallet is used to pass a ball through gates. This game can be played on grass, sand or indoors.
History
The sport was invented in Taiwan by Weng Ming-hui and Kuang-chu Young in 1990. Weng wanted to convert a property he owns in Shilin District in Taipei so his retired father could play golf leisurely. However the plan proved to be feasible leading to Weng to develop woodball a sport based on golf but with a mallet, a ball and gates made of wood. He took an additional two years to formalize the rules of the sport.
Weng established the Chinese Taipei Woodball Association (CTWA) in 1993 and began promoting the sports publicly including in schools.
The Asian Woodball Association and International Woodball Federation were established in Taipei.
The 1st World University Championship was held in 2004.
The Olympic Council of Asia made the sport a program of the Asian Beach Games in 2008.
Events
World Cup Championship
Ten editions of the Woodball World Cup Championship has been held, with the last edition taking part in Malaysia in 2026.
Asian Beach Games
Woodball is included among the explicitly suggested sports hosts can include in the Asian Beach Games as per the guidelines published by the Olympic Council of Asia in 2025. The sport hase been inthe program of Asian Beach Games since its inception in 2008. Beach woodball was las held in the 2016 edition.
SEA Games
Woodball was played at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand.
See also
References
- ↑ "Member Organization". International Woodball Federation. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ USWoodball. "Introduction". Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- 1 2 "MOFA honors inventor of woodball". Taipei Times. 6 July 2007.
- 1 2 "Everyone's Golf". Taiwan Today. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ Huang Chen-hsing. "Dreams Come True: To Fulfill a Mission Impossible" (PDF). News Letter International Woodball Federation (3).
- ↑ "Woodball - FISU". www.fisu.net. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "Uganda prepares for Woodball World Cup Championship 2026". Xinhua. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
- ↑ "Host City Asian Beach Games Guidelines and Obligations" (PDF). Olympic Council of Asia. 2025. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
- ↑ Olympic Council of Asia. "Woodball". Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2026.
- ↑ "Woodball Asian Beach Games 2016". Olympic Council of Asia. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
- ↑ Mohan, Matthew (12 December 2025). "Grandfather, 75, clinches woodball bronze on his SEA Games debut for Singapore". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
- ↑ Kutty, Chandran Raman (7 December 2025). "Woodball's long game: From garden pastime to SEA Games". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
External links
- Official website of the International Woodball Federation
- Book or rules