For a long time in Taiwan, baseball was the most popular sport, but with the urbanization of many areas, a baseball field just takes up too much space. Basketball quickly became the most popular sport in Taiwan, with courts everywhere. I'm always surprised that every school no matter how small, has a basketball court. Taiwan has it's own professional basketball league (as well it's own professional baseball league) but they also televise high school basketball games. And of course NBA games are shown live every morning here, and repeated in the evening.
With all this though, I would venture that most played sport in Taiwan is volleyball. This is because much like youth soccer in america, volleyball seems to be the one sport that everybody in taiwan has played on an organized team at some point in their lives. yes there are pick up games of basketball all around town, and kids play in PE class. but most people have played on an organized volleyball team or in a tournament.
It's also the one sport that seems to always come up when i ask people what sports do they or did they ever play. Especially with women. It's the one sport that seems all inclusive. To truly play on a basketball team you have to be pretty good, but anybody and everybody is welcome in volleyball.
On top of this there are many leagues for adults to play in. These teams can range from those consisting of a group of friends, to school alumni teams, to the many company's that have their own team for their workers to join. I guess in that sense it's also similar to softball in the states.
Another distinctive advantage it has is that there are many indoor courts. For as popular as basketball is, the vast majority of courts in Taiwan are outside, I have seen a few public gyms that have indoor courts, but not all of them do. While every gym seems to have indoor volleyball courts. In fact an elementary school near my house has a huge indoor basketball court, but each evening it is open to the public and converted into volleyball courts.
Finally, volleyball seems to be the one sport that is played by people of all ages, even at the same time. It's common to walk by a court (more specifically an indoor one) and see old and young playing together. By contrast, I hardly ever see anybody playing basketball who is not a male between the ages of 15 and 35.
Have I ever played in Taiwan? actually no. I played for many years growing up as my schools always had a big volleyball tournament at the end of the year, and i always enjoyed it. But with my limited chinese ability, I always feel that i will be a bit frustrated if i'm unable to communicate with my teammates. It's ok though, just another thing on my long list of things to do after my Chinese ability becomes more respectable.
