The 2013 ISTAF Super Series Dates have been released! The first round will be held in New Delhi, India, from the August 29th to September 1st, 2013. The dates and locations of the four rounds are below. As usual the other important international event is the King’s Cup which will once again be held in Thailand, but dates are yet to be confirmed.

Round 1 – August 29 to September 1, New Delhi, India
Round 2 – September 26 to 29, Bangkok, Thailand
Round 3 – October 31 to November 3, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Round 4 – Final round yet to be announced.

Australia is ineligible to compete in the 2013 Super Series but we will field a team at the 2013 King’s Cup World Championship later this year!

The Northern Territory Government announced on 31 October 2012 that the 2013 Arafura Games are deferred. Sadly this means that Sepaktakraw and 22 other sports will not be able to participate in this international competition enjoyed biennially since the Arafura Games’ inception in 1991.

Official bodies in many of these sports have increasingly recognised Arafura Games events nationally as steps in training and emerging talent development. And formal and informal sporting and community international relationships have steadily strengthened.

In 2011 the International Sepaktaraw Federation in Singapore accredited the Association’s Arafura Games Sepkatakraw event, recognising it as part of the international competition event circuit. Its the only accredited international Sepaktakraw event held in Australia. The 2011 event included teams from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Macau, Brunei, and Singapore. Japan was absent for the first time because of its earthquake.

The Australian men’s Sepaktaraw team are all Darwin men, who first played together for the Northern Territory at the 2009 and the 2011 Arafura Games.

In the inaugural 2011 Sepaktaraw World Cup in July in Kuala Lumpur this men’s team from Darwin represented Australia as one of 24 countries invited to compete. The team trained in 2012 in both Darwin and Thailand, and in August won bronze medals in its class at the international Kings Cup tournament in Thailand.

The Association looks forward to working with the Government in finding the best fit for Sepak taraw’s events in a revitalised Arafura Games, in supporting the Games’ financial viability, and extending relationships with local and international sporting communities.

We are also looking for ways to organise our own local and international Sepaktakraw events for men and women in the future.

The Northern Territory Government’s media release can be found here

Let us know what you would like to see happen for Sepaktakraw – post on FaceBook or email us . All comments are very welcome.

The Australian men’s team competed in the 27th King’s Cup Takraw World Championship in Bangkok, invited to participate with teams from 24 countries. The Kings Cup is the most  prestigious  and longstanding competition in the international Sepak Takraw circuit, organised by the Takraw Association of Thailand in conjunction with the International Sepak Takraw Federation,

The 27th King’s Cup World Championship kicked off at 9 am, Monday 2nd July and ran all week.

The Championship started with the doubles competition, with Australia in the Division 2 pool with Iran, Brazil, France, Macau and Bangladesh.By the end of Day 2 Australia had won against France, Macau and Bangladesh, and lost (just!) to Iran, reaching the Doubles semi finals with Brazil. It was close fought – Brazil defeated Australia in 4 sets 15-7, 9-15, 15-8, 15-11.

On Wednesday 4th July, the finals of all Championship doubles were held and Iran beat Brazil in the Division 2 final. And the high profile regu competition started, with three players a side. Australia, again in Division 2 but with a slightly different pool,  won both its regu matches against France and Bangladesh but lost against Brazil, and lost, but still qualified for the Division 2 regu semi finals match against Iran. In the semi final Australia gave Iran a run for its money, but lost 15-11, 15-7, 15-7.

An awesome effort in achieving bronze medals for the Division in both competitions!

Read on below for details about the men’s team, click here for more photos, or hit our Facebook page for updates and links to a lot more pics…

The Australian players are three Darwin men – Alex Newman (captain), Daniel Ellen-Barwell, and Sakharet Sanensuk (Tang). The team was accompanied by Steve Svensson, an Australian Association committee member with long standing contacts in international sepak takraw.

This year Alex and Daniel maintained their intense training schedule in Bangkok with the Bangkok Youth Players. under the guidance of renowned coach Veerachai Jantagulmana, and with the support and endorsement  of the Head Coach of the Thailand National Sepak Takraw Team on behalf of the Takraw Association of Thailand. Tang continued his training in Darwin and joined Alex and Daniel for an intensive week before the Kings Cup.

The Australian Sepak Takraw Association is immensely appreciative of the special guidance given to its squad in Thailand, and their efforts have shown spectacular results.

Two Sepak Takraw players from the Australian squad have been training hard in Bangkok, Thailand for some time now – but recently they took a couple of days off to go and spectate at the Princess Cup Sepak Takraw competition – also in Bangkok, Thailand. The Princess Cup is a major competition open to Thai teams ranging from regional, state and youth teams to commerical and government teams. Seeing some of the best players in the world up against each other is something not to be missed! So the guys filmed some matches and have uploaded them to youtube. Check out the Takraw Australia Youtube Channel, and join us on Facebook to let us know what you think!