Featured Events / 2026 Worldwide
Chinlone and Caneball Events Worldwide in 2026
Chinlone is Myanmar's traditional cane-ball discipline, a performance-centered rattan-ball sport that overlaps in vocabulary with caneball and, in some international calendars, with sepak takraw. This 2026 guide is written from the beginning of the year as a forward-looking calendar: the events are presented as upcoming fixtures, festivals, demonstrations, and diaspora tournaments rather than as completed results. Because public listings for chinlone are less centralized than those for Olympic or league sports, the page separates fully dated events from annual festival windows and related elite sepak takraw events where chinlone is explicitly mentioned or culturally adjacent.
How to read this calendar
The 2026 chinlone calendar is not organized like a major commercial league. There is no verified global professional season with one central regular season, playoff season, and championship series. Instead, the sport appears through a mix of Myanmar religious-festival programming, national and regional cultural performances, refugee-community caneball tournaments, Chin and Karenni diaspora competitions, and international sepak takraw bodies that sometimes list chinlone as a medal or results category. For that reason, the table below uses event dates, host context, location, format, and verification notes rather than pretending that every entry belongs to the same competitive structure.
The strongest 2026 listings are the events with named dates and direct chinlone or caneball wording: the Chin National Day sports tournament in Washington state, the Asian Sepaktakraw Championship in Nagoya where the results page lists chinlone, the Perth Myanmar Caneball Tournament, the Thihoshin Pagoda chinlone programme in Pakokku, the Pathein traditional chinlone listing, the Maryland Chinlone Tournament, and the Karenni caneball tournament in Saint Paul. The Waso or Warso Chinlone Festival at Mahamuni Pagoda remains an important annual anchor, but the exact 2026 dates are less secure in public sources; older festival guides describe the pattern as beginning in the Myanmar month of Nayone and running toward the Waso full moon period, commonly around June and July.
Complete 2026 event table
| Date or season window | Event | Location | Format | Men/Women status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jan, 24 Jan, 31 Jan, 7 Feb 2026 | 2026 CND Sports Tournament - Chin National Day Celebration | Washington state, United States | Community multi-sport tournament with chinlone listed | Open/community listing; soccer is explicitly men and women, chinlone gender split not publicly stated |
| 30 Jan-2 Feb 2026 | Asian Sepaktakraw Championship 2026 - Nagoya | Nagoya, Japan | Elite international sepak takraw event with chinlone listed in results context | Men's and women's sepak takraw programme; chinlone category details should be verified by event documentation |
| Early Feb 2026, exact public date unclear | Rohingya Chinlone Tournament 2025-26 | Rohingya camp context, Cox's Bazar area, Bangladesh | Community chinlone tournament | Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions |
| 11-15 Feb 2026 context | Myanmar-China Spring Festival cultural programme with caneball demonstration | National Indoor Stadium 1, Thuwunna, Yangon, Myanmar | Cultural demonstration, not a tournament | Not division-based |
| 28 Feb 2026 | Perth Myanmar Caneball Tournament | Perth, Australia | Caneball tournament | Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions |
| 28 Mar-1 Apr 2026 | Traditional Myanmar Chinlone at Thihoshin Pagoda | Pakokku, Myanmar | Festival competition and performance programme | Includes national athletes, regional selected players, and local teams; public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions |
| 30 Mar 2026 | Traditional Chinlone | Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar | Traditional chinlone event listing | Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions |
| Through 20 Apr 2026 | Rohingya Camp-4 Extension chinlone, locally known as Sallun/Sillun | Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar area, Bangladesh | Community and protection-oriented cultural sport activity | Not presented as a formal men's/women's tournament |
| 23 Apr 2026 | Museum or cultural event mentioning chinlone as Myanmar's national sport | Public snippet did not expose complete venue details | Likely lecture, cultural programme, or demonstration | Not division-based |
| 2 May 2026 | Maryland Chinlone Tournament | Maryland, United States | Chinlone tournament | Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions |
| 6 Jun 2026 listed; branded as Karenni 4th of July Tournament | Karenni 4th of July Tournament 2026 - Caneball | Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | Diaspora caneball tournament | Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions |
| Expected June-July 2026, exact 2026 dates not confirmed | Waso or Warso Chinlone Festival at Mahamuni Pagoda | Mandalay, Myanmar | Annual traditional chinlone festival and cane-ball tournament window | Historically team and individual displays; 2026 public division details not confirmed |
| 19 Sep-4 Oct 2026 | 20th Asian Games - Sepaktakraw | Aichi-Nagoya, Japan | Related elite sepak takraw event; not confirmed as a separate chinlone medal event | Men's and women's sepak takraw events listed by international bodies; chinlone inclusion not confirmed |
17 Jan-7 Feb 20262026 CND Sports Tournament
- Event
- 2026 CND Sports Tournament - Chin National Day Celebration
- Location
- Washington state, United States
- Format
- Community multi-sport tournament with chinlone listed alongside soccer, volleyball, and tennis
- Men/Women status
- Open/community listing; soccer is explicitly men and women, chinlone gender split is not publicly stated
- Planning note
- This is one of the earliest dated 2026 chinlone entries and a useful marker for North American Chin community sport programming.
30 Jan-2 Feb 2026Asian Sepaktakraw Championship 2026
- Event
- Asian Sepaktakraw Championship 2026 - Nagoya
- Location
- Nagoya, Japan
- Format
- Elite international sepak takraw event with chinlone listed in the results context
- Men/Women status
- Men's and women's sepak takraw programme; chinlone category details should be verified by event documentation
- Planning note
- Use this as a related elite rattan-ball fixture rather than a purely traditional festival event.
Early Feb 2026Rohingya Chinlone Tournament 2025-26
- Event
- Rohingya Chinlone Tournament 2025-26
- Location
- Rohingya camp context, Cox's Bazar area, Bangladesh
- Format
- Community chinlone tournament
- Men/Women status
- Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions
- Planning note
- This entry is important culturally but needs local confirmation before travel planning because public date formatting is ambiguous.
11-15 Feb 2026 contextMyanmar-China Spring Festival Caneball Demonstration
- Event
- Myanmar-China Spring Festival cultural programme with caneball demonstration
- Location
- National Indoor Stadium 1, Thuwunna, Yangon, Myanmar
- Format
- Cultural demonstration rather than tournament
- Men/Women status
- Not division-based
- Planning note
- This belongs in the calendar because it shows chinlone's ceremonial visibility during 2026 cultural diplomacy programming.
28 Feb 2026Perth Myanmar Caneball Tournament
- Event
- Perth Myanmar Caneball Tournament
- Location
- Perth, Australia
- Format
- Caneball tournament
- Men/Women status
- Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions
- Planning note
- A clear dated diaspora event and one of the strongest 2026 public listings outside Myanmar.
28 Mar-1 Apr 2026Traditional Myanmar Chinlone at Thihoshin Pagoda
- Event
- Traditional Myanmar Chinlone at Thihoshin Pagoda
- Location
- Pakokku, Myanmar
- Format
- Festival competition and performance programme
- Men/Women status
- Includes national athletes, regional selected players, and local teams; public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions
- Planning note
- This is the strongest Myanmar-based dated chinlone festival entry found for 2026.
30 Mar 2026Traditional Chinlone - Pathein
- Event
- Traditional Chinlone
- Location
- Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar
- Format
- Traditional chinlone event listing
- Men/Women status
- Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions
- Planning note
- A same-week regional listing that complements the Pakokku festival window.
Through 20 Apr 2026Camp-4 Extension Sallun/Sillun Activity
- Event
- Rohingya Camp-4 Extension chinlone, locally known as Sallun/Sillun
- Location
- Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar area, Bangladesh
- Format
- Community and protection-oriented cultural sport activity
- Men/Women status
- Not presented as a formal men's/women's tournament
- Planning note
- This is better treated as a cultural sport programme than as a spectator tournament.
23 Apr 2026Museum or Cultural Event Mentioning Chinlone
- Event
- Museum or cultural event mentioning chinlone as Myanmar's national sport
- Location
- Public snippet did not expose complete venue details
- Format
- Likely lecture, cultural programme, or demonstration
- Men/Women status
- Not division-based
- Planning note
- Keep this as a weak lead unless the host page confirms venue and programme details.
2 May 2026Maryland Chinlone Tournament
- Event
- Maryland Chinlone Tournament
- Location
- Maryland, United States
- Format
- Chinlone tournament
- Men/Women status
- Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions
- Planning note
- A clear 2026 tournament lead for the U.S. East Coast chinlone calendar.
6 Jun 2026 listedKarenni 4th of July Tournament - Caneball
- Event
- Karenni 4th of July Tournament 2026 - Caneball
- Location
- Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
- Format
- Diaspora caneball tournament
- Men/Women status
- Public listing does not separate men's and women's divisions
- Planning note
- The tournament branding and listed June date should be confirmed with the organizer before publication as a travel listing.
Expected June-July 2026Waso or Warso Chinlone Festival
- Event
- Waso or Warso Chinlone Festival at Mahamuni Pagoda
- Location
- Mandalay, Myanmar
- Format
- Annual traditional chinlone festival and cane-ball tournament window
- Men/Women status
- Historically team and individual displays; 2026 public division details not confirmed
- Planning note
- Do not publish exact dates without local verification because public sources describe the annual pattern more clearly than the specific 2026 schedule.
19 Sep-4 Oct 202620th Asian Games - Sepaktakraw
- Event
- 20th Asian Games - Sepaktakraw
- Location
- Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
- Format
- Related elite sepak takraw event; not confirmed as a separate chinlone medal event
- Men/Women status
- Men's and women's sepak takraw events listed by international bodies; chinlone inclusion not confirmed
- Planning note
- Include as related only, not as a confirmed chinlone event.
What makes 2026 unusual for chinlone
The 2026 year is unusually visible for chinlone because Myanmar's federation work around cultural heritage recognition brings the sport into wider public discussion. That does not automatically create a league calendar, but it increases the number of public articles, cultural demonstrations, and festival references that mention chinlone or caneball. The challenge for event tracking is that some pages use chinlone, cane ball, caneball, wicker ball, or sepak takraw almost interchangeably, while specialists may treat them as related but distinct forms. A reliable listing therefore needs to record the wording used by the organizer and the format of the event.
The clearest competitive events outside Myanmar appear in diaspora communities. The Washington state Chin National Day tournament, Perth Myanmar Caneball Tournament, Maryland Chinlone Tournament, and Karenni Saint Paul caneball listing are all examples of how the sport travels through community organizations rather than through a single international commercial circuit. These events are usually practical, compact, and community-led, which means they can be announced through social media rather than through a federation database. For EventGavel-style coverage, that makes source confidence and date confirmation especially important.
Myanmar-based chinlone remains strongly tied to pagoda festivals and cultural occasions. The Thihoshin Pagoda programme in Pakokku is the strongest fully dated 2026 example found, with a late-March to early-April window and a format that includes national athletes, selected regional players, and local teams. The Mahamuni Pagoda Waso or Warso Chinlone Festival in Mandalay is the most famous annual anchor, but the public web mainly provides recurring festival descriptions rather than a fully verified 2026 schedule. This page therefore includes it as an expected annual window, not as a fixed-date entry.
Men's and women's coverage
Public 2026 chinlone listings rarely publish division structures in the way that global football, tennis, basketball, or athletics events do. Where a source explicitly states men's and women's participation, the table records that. Where the listing simply says chinlone or caneball, it is treated as open, community, cultural, or not publicly divided. The Asian sepak takraw listings are the only 2026 items in this research set with a clearly international men's and women's frame, but they should be presented as related elite rattan-ball events unless a source confirms a standalone chinlone medal category.
No verified professional season
No verified 2026 professional chinlone season was found. That means there is no regular-season start date, end date, playoff start date, or playoff end date to place into a season row. The best calendar model is an event ledger: dated tournaments, cultural programmes, annual festival windows, and related elite multi-sport fixtures. If a professional or semi-professional caneball league publishes a 2026 schedule later, it should be added as a separate season table with regular-season and playoff fields.