Taiwan’s Wildest Volleyball Tournament

The ball flies, the players tumble

Paddy field volleyball may look like the regular game, but playing it is another matter. Head referee Zhang Zhaolun (one of the referees from the Changhua County Volleyball Association who officiated this year) says the basic rules are much the same, but the muddy water reaches above players’ calves and seems to glue their feet in place. It throws off the timing of every jump, move, and save. Balls they think they can reach often drop to the ground as they watch helplessly. Laughing, he offers a tip: “You have to dive for it! You’ll only win if you stop worrying about how you look!”

Ball in hand, a woman struggles to pull her feet free of the mud as she slowly makes her way beyond the end line to serve. “Wait! Wait for me!” she calls as she struggles, asking the referee to hold off on the “start play” whistle. The crowd bursts out laughing, and the emcee replies over the microphone, “It’s okay! We’ll wait for you!”

In most games, for the first few points, both sides are usually feeling their way and holding back a little. Then someone falls into the mud. After the laughter, others follow suit, forget about keeping up appearances, and the match really takes off. One player dives for a ball and becomes a mud-covered figure in an instant; another treats the paddy like a swimming pool and stays down even when it is time to receive a serve. Some teams even turn mud into an instrument of “punishment”: Miss a ball and your teammates pelt you with it. The emcee gets so anxious he cries: “Be nice to your teammates!”

“Just eat dirt! Changhua’s soil is the most nourishing!” This becomes the most spirited cry from the sidelines.

Visitors from abroad unexpectedly joined Taiwan’s wildest volleyball tournament.

With 52 teams competing this year, the Erlin Douyuan Leisure Agriculture Area Development Association  opened four courts so more players could take the field at once.

Visitors from abroad take the plunge

Alongside local farmers, civil servants, and teachers, this year’s competitors included new faces such as students and tech engineers, as well as visitors from abroad. A group of German travelers, in Taiwan for about ten days, heard about the tournament from a friend and unexpectedly found themselves playing in this “crazy volleyball event.” Covered in mud afterward, they said it had been great fun. They planned to tell people back in Germany about it and hoped to return as a team next year.

On either side of the net, there are seasoned volleyball club players as well as makeshift teams stepping into a paddy for the first time. Even amid the fierce play, there are warm moments. For instance, halfway through one match, both teams suddenly bend down and feel around in the mud, looking as if they are acting out the old saying about “gathering clams while washing your pants” (killing two birds with one stone). Spectators farther away are baffled until they learn that someone has lost their eyeglasses. Ten minutes later, a pair of mud-blackened glasses is held high, to thunderous applause.

Middle-aged men give it their all. (courtesy of the Taoyuan Photographic Society)

Uncle A-Toh’s volleyball dream

The idea for the competition dates to 2020. Li Junxian, then chair of the Erlin Douyuan Leisure Agriculture Area Development Association, was walking around Taiwan with Zhuo Ming-bang, owner of Zhuo Ye Cottage, a recreational establishment in Miaoli County. During an overnight stop in Erlin, inspiration struck: “Playing volleyball in a rice paddy would be something else!”

“This isn’t a formal competition. It’s a carnival! The only rule is to have fun!” Zhuo says with a laugh. Known as “Uncle A-Toh”—a nickname derived from Toh, the Taiwanese Hokkien pronunciation of his surname, Zhuo—he started playing volleyball in third grade and kept at it through university. After entering the workforce, however, he spent 40 years away from the game. Now he hopes the event will help people see rural communities anew and feel their energy while having a good time: “The less you know about volleyball, the more fun you have!” Skill takes a back seat to teamwork and laughter.

“Uncle A-Toh,” Zhuo Ming-bang, gets into the paddy himself and “eats” his share of mud.

A two-tier concrete spectator stand was built this year to give onlookers a more comfortable place to watch.

The joy of playing in the mud

The event has brought the community together. The Douyuan Association and local young people started preparing three months in advance, laying out the courts and walkways, building spectator stands, burying water pipes, and adding showers. The whole community joins in, giving it their all. On tournament day, farmers who are busy with fieldwork most of the time become enthusiastic commentators and event staff. They fix pipes, adjust nets, and deal with whatever comes up while still finding time to have some fun themselves—perhaps by pushing a friend into a paddy for a “refreshing dip.”

There is more than volleyball: The program also includes food-and-agricultural education games and a wine tasting in the fields. At the players’ gathering after the games, roast whole pig, local dishes, and fragrant Erlin wine give everyone a chance to mingle in the breeze and savor a leisurely evening in the countryside.

“Zeng Xiangshuo Has Seven Boyfriends,” “Easy There, Yu the Cannon,” and “No Idea Which Team”—competitors bring all kinds of joking team names into the paddies. They leave covered in mud, endlessly laughing and promising to meet again next year. That is the most charming aspect of Erlin’s paddy field volleyball tournament.

More stories about Erlin, Changhua: Fields of Dreams: New Farming Directions in Erlin

The number of shower outlets rose to 12 this year, allowing two teams to wash off at the same time.

Local food served after the games helped players refuel as they enjoyed some time in the countryside.