Sepak Takraw, otherwise known as kick ball or called Sepaktak-TAW, is an indoor team game usually played on a hard court resembling a tennis court. It is not exactly a fast-paced game as tennis is, but it is easy and fun. Players dive, spin, jump, crouch and steal the ball like in badminton. The rules are simple. Score is determined by points. Every player receives two points for each point he or she makes.
Sepak Takraw can be played at different skill levels and all ages from youth to senior citizen. It is popular with both boys and girls and is played on the ground and on carpet/matting. The players alternate shots between the foul line and the boundary lines in order to try to win the game.
There are many teams that compete in the International Sarasota Senior Volleyball Association (ISTA) and the Southern Florida International Sarasota Soccer Organization (SFSO). Many clubs are affiliated with the Sarasota-Manatee Area Soccer Council (SMARTSC) and the Florida State Soccer Hall of Fame. The ISTA and SFSO both play a round robin system to determine the winner. The club leagues for both clubs allow regulation size fields. The Sarasota-Manatee News Herald has also published a regular season schedule of ISTA and SFSO tournaments.
The kick volleyball player wears white sneakers with black socks. Black and white contrasting colors are used as the primary colors of the uniforms. The shorts have a white stripe down the side. Players wear gloves and shin guards. The flag, which is usually a palm tree on a white background, is also used as the logo for the sport native of southeast Asia. The rattan ball, which is made from an evergreen palm and has a center piece of reed, is carried in the right hand by the forward.
The most prevalent piece of equipment worn during a match is the net, which is either made from woven mesh or nylon. If the net is made from woven mesh, the name of the sport will be derived, as it is commonly referred to as “woven net”. A net used for playing Sarasota-Manatee soccer is called a sepak takraw.
Aside from the net, other equipment used in the sport of Sarasota-Manatee soccer includes the shins. These are also known as ‘shoes,’ and they are made from cotton, although they can also be made of other materials. They are worn by the defenders and the forwards. Each team has a designated player wearing the shins, which serves as its uniform. The name of the player would then be written on the backside of the shins, in order to better identify him during halftime and in other situations.
Two other types of soccer uniforms exist in the world today: the popular football jersey (which is also commonly referred to as a kit) and the national soccer jersey. Soccer jerseys are commonly played by children and adolescents during their younger years. It was in the latter part of the 15th century that a Sepak Takraw expert came up with the unique name for the game that is now known as ‘football.’
The word ‘football’ is actually a shortened version of the Malay words ‘Takraw’, which translates to ‘army’ and ‘ta’. The name ‘football’ actually came from the name of the town where the first official match of the sport was held. In recent times, the term’sepak takraw’ or ‘Sepak Tahawas’ has been used to refer to the entire game; however, the name of the game has only recently been allowed to encompass any form of clothing, including shirts for the sexes.