Teqball is a sport that I’ve covered before and since it’s been a while I thought it would be fun to check in to see where they are in the lexicon of sports in the world and specifically in the U.S..
Bangkok hosted a tournament recently and the turnout was outstanding.
“It’s been amazing. It’s year three for me. It’s more and more exciting. More nations are competing,” said Margaret Ellen Osmundson, a decorated player representing the United States. “It creates more excitement with some new faces.”
The World Teqball Championships 2023 in Bangkok drew a record number of players, at 211, and a record number of participating countries, at 61. In addition, this year’s championships set a record number of total matches, at 404. A record number of 126 matches were streamed (including two gala matches), of which twenty-four of these will be broadcast. In addition to Australia and Oceania, every continent is represented. 80 female and 131 male teqers will face each other in five categories: women’s & men’s singles, women’s & men’s & mixed doubles.
“The spectatorship is going to grow. The U.S. technically has more players playing but I’m not sure of the population in Thailand, but this is the first year. The people playing here create an exciting atmosphere. The strength of the Thai team is very abundant and will grow rapidly in the next year.”
Having a soccer background will help you in this sport.
“Yes and no, “she laughed. “I’d say with a soccer background it ports naturally, instinctively, and technically. You can probably pick up the sport a little bit faster. However, it’s not a mandatory thing to have played soccer in your life.”
Teqball has aspirations of being an Olympic sport someday.
“I’d say being on the backend of things I’ve been playing for over four years now. I’ve worked for the company and worked all the ins and outs of it. I think on the business side, we are checking all the boxes,” Osmundson stated. “If we checked all of them we would have been included in the 2028 list. I think mass participation is the thing that’s going to have to increase.”
I think Teqball could benefit from a moderate merchandising plan. When people see you wearing the jerseys or T-shirts it’s a conversation starter.
“It needs to happen. There needs to be more of a push for branding and brand recognition. It’s huge for any market, NBA, NHL, FIFA, you have hundreds of different countries with different teq backgrounds,” Osmundson recited. “First, we need the fans, and we need the following. A way to do that is to have some sort of merchandising push.”
The pros are great athletes. To play, you have to be a really good recreational athlete. To watch, it takes very little, and it’s fun. Check it out.
