Editing Sepak takraw (section)

===Canada===
The [[Lao people]] first brought Sepak Takraw into Canada when they immigrated as refugees in the 1970s. But the game began gaining exposure outside the Laotian communities when a Saskatchewan teacher, Richard (Rick) Engel, who was introduced to Sepak Takraw while living in Asia, included it in Asian Sport, Education & Culture (ASEC) International's School Presentation Program. Sepak Takraw was so well received by schools that it became part of ASEC's mandate to help introduce, promote and organize the sport across the country. In May 1998, after introducing many schools to the sport, and in concert with experienced players, ASEC International organised the first Canadian inter-provincial tournament with men's, boys' and girls' teams. By the end of 1998, Engel was sent to Bangkok, Thailand to film at the 14th King's Cup Sepak Takraw World Championships – the footage of which was used to produce a widely used instructional Sepak Takraw video/DVD, called ''Sepak Takraw – Just for Kicks''.

On 11 December 1998, the Sepak Takraw Association of Canada (STAC)<ref>[http://takrawcanada.com/?q=node/32 Sepak Takraw Association of Canada (STAC)]</ref> was incorporated to organise and govern the sport nationally. Its office was set up in [[Regina, Saskatchewan]], where there were experienced players and organizational support, sharing resources and office space of the already established ASEC International, a committee which has now become Sepak Takraw Saskatchewan Inc.<ref>[http://www.sepaktakrawsask.com/ Sepak Takraw Saskatchewan Inc.]</ref> The first annual Canadian Open Sepak Takraw Championships (a national and international tournament event) were held in May 1999 in Regina, and have over the years attracted teams from across Canada, the United States, Japan, Malaysia and China. That same year Canada also attended its first International Sepaktakraw Federation (ISTAF) Congress and was accepted as member of ISTAF. In 2000, Rick Engel, Perry Senko and Brydon Blacklaws played for Team Canada and earned a silver medal in the entry level division of the King's Cup World Sepak Takraw Championships in Thailand. Another major milestone was achieved on 3 December 2000, when STAC and the sport of Sepak Takraw became an official class E Member of the [[Canadian Olympic Committee]].

Canada has since contributed much to the development of Sepak Takraw worldwide, with Engel authoring three instructional books<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://takrawcanada.com/?q=node/15#block-block-3|title=Sepak Takraw Books & DVD's}}</ref> and helping produce five DVDs about the sport, while STAC did the publishing. The most notable of these books is ''Sepak Takraw 101 - The Complete Coaching/Instructional Manual for Sepak Takraw (Kick Volleyball)'', the third edition of which has also been translated into Indonesian and published in Indonesia through a government education project. Engel has since introduced the sport and conducted Sepak Takraw skills clinics in schools and sessions at physical education teachers' conferences all over Canada, the US and Europe.