Tamburello
A ball, a tamburello held in the hand, and a court. The rest takes five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master.
Tambourine ball descends from the real-tennis games played across Europe since the Middle Ages. It settled into its modern form in two neighbouring and rival regions: the Languedoc, in France, and the Po plain, in Italy, where it remains a popular sport with professional championships. Today it is played in more than twenty countries across four continents, under the authority of the International Tambourine Ball Federation.
Two teams face each other on either side of a centre line. The serve puts the ball in play; each team returns it with the tamburello, on the volley or after one bounce. The point is won when the opponent cannot return the ball within the lines of the court. Scoring follows tennis: 15, 30, 40, game. A match is played over a number of games agreed in advance.
A ring of wood or composite material, stretched with a membrane and fitted with a handle. It is held in one hand and worked with the wrist and forearm. The movement resembles a tennis backhand, but the strike is flat: the ball leaves fast and low. For beginners we use light 26 cm tamburellos and depressurised balls, silent and harmless inside a school gym.
Outdoor, the historical form, is played five against five on a long open-air court. Indoor, born in the 1990s as sports halls multiplied, is played three against three inside: it is the fastest and most spectacular form, and the one the Belgian team plays. Muro, or wall game, is played alone or in pairs against a wall — the most accessible form for practice.
Indoor is played on a court that fits inside any school sports hall. No permanent alteration is needed: adhesive floor marking, tamburellos, balls. That simplicity is what allows the federation to walk into schools without costing them anything.
The official rulebook is available to download in French. The International Federation's technical references exist in French, Italian and English.