Sepak takraw courts bring popular SE Asian sport to St. Paul parks

Sepak takraw, a sport played widely in Southeast Asia and within Minnesota's Southeast Asian communities, now has a permanent home in St. Paul parks.

City officials working with the St. Paul Parks Conservancy and the group Sepak Takraw of USA recently opened courts in two parks, including one on the city's east side carved from space that once held unused tennis courts.

The sport, a mix of soccer and volleyball, emphasizes high jumping and flexibility as players kick the ball over the net.

The new courts, the first of their kind in the area, will bring a new generation of sepak takraw players together, state Sen. Foung Hawj, DFL-St. Paul, said during a dedication ceremony Saturday at the Duluth and Case Rec Center. The new courts, he added, "will be here for everyone, especially our new generation and beyond. "

The city's also opened courts at Marydale Park in the North End. Sepak takraw supporters are interested in bringing the idea to Minneapolis parks.

Sepak takraw traces its roots back to Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos: "Sepak" is the Malay word for kick, and "takraw" is the Thai word for a woven ball.

The sport has a knack for bringing people together. Lee Pao Xiong, president of Sepak Takraw of USA, said that disparate Southeast Asian immigrant communities have one thing in common: their love for sepak takraw.

"If you look at the sport, it's mixed, you have a combination of Lao, Hmong and Kareni playing together. You don't see that in any other place," he said. "So, it's really breaking down barriers, and that's what we want to see."

Ker Cha, a veteran sepak takraw player from the St. Paul area, said the new courts will provide a home base to recruit and train new players.

"It will definitely increase ... how many people are coming to play," said Cha, who was part of a team that competed in the King's Cup, an international championship held in Bangkok, Thailand. "Younger players who want to get better are coming out here, and we can train them."

Xiong said he envisions a future where sepak takraw becomes an Olympic sport, so training a new generation of players is essential to bringing the sport to greater prominence.

"Some of the best players from the United States are from here," he said. "So, let's go to the next level. We need to develop players, and develop teams, and develop leagues. And then we can pick the cream of the crop from these leagues and advance into the Olympics."