Easter Weekend Cane Ball competition

20/04/2018 at 10:24am

27 teams from all over Australia came to Canberra to compete in the 2018 National Karen Cane Ball Tournament over the Easter Long Weekend. For those unaccustomed to the sport it involves all types of athletic agility, high flying bicycle kicks, incredible flexibility and amazing coordination skills in order to kick a softball sized ball made out of cane back and forth across a net. It somewhat resembles a mix of soccer and volleyball. Cane ball is a traditional sport in Karen culture and this tournament help aims to reunite and re connect Karen young people living in Australia.

ACT Karen community president Mr Saw Andrew Sein said that this years tournament was an incredible success with men’s and women’s teams coming from all over the country and even as far as New Zealand to enter the competition. There were all levels of skill on show at the tournament, with some players demonstrating a very impressive high standard. Mr Sein continued by saying that some players are even reaching a level where they could represent Australia on the international stage. He also added that the tournament was a fantastic event for the Karen community and is a great way to support young people and encourage their love of sports in their community instead of the use of drugs and alcohol.

At the end of a long Easter Sunday of cane ball, Queensland’s Dream Team came out as the men’s champions with Total Karen from Victoria taking out the runners up. Vermicelli from the Northern Territory finished third. The Four Sisters Team won the women’s tournament beating Super Three in the final, while Power Puff came in third. All three of these women’s teams coming from the ACT.