On 5 November 2016, Novinky.cz published an article about Czech ball players.
It’s not just children who enjoy chirping marbles. It also attracts adults, and there are not a few of them. “The average age at the tournaments is around 40 years old, while the bigger ones have 70 to 80 people,” Pavel Zoufalý, a multiple national and world champion in ball chirping, told Novinky. There is even a Czech Ball Association in the Czech Republic, of which Zoufalý is the secretary.
“The Dutch, Germans and Slovaks also play marbles,” said the champion Zoufalý, who said the next world championship will be held in Spain in 2019 and he would not want to miss it.
So far, such a championship has only been held in our country, every two years at Petrin Hill. The Czechs have been predominant in numbers, of course, but there have also been competitors from Africa. “Now we are trying to unify the rules of frying in different countries,” said the Czech player.
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Even the frying of balls has its own exact rules, at least at tournaments organised by the Czech Ball Association: the pit is located seven and a half metres from the line, from where the initial throw of the balls is made, then the frying itself follows. The hole must be seven to eleven centimetres long and at least five centimetres deep. “Metal balls must not be played with. They are heavier and that would be an advantage,” explained the Czech representative.
It is played in all weathers. “There is also a tournament to welcome the New Year, the first week of January, we played in minus fifteen. The entry fee is a bottle of something to warm up,” said the champion, who also has a special game set. “An ordinary glass will only cost you a few crowns Novinky.cz
source: Petr Svorník, Právo