All posts by Sönke Spille

2nd Youth Congress in Roxbury

Within the framework of the successful IFA 2018 Fistball U18 World Championships in Roxbury / USA the IFA Youth Congress took place for the second time. R epresentatives of all present federations participated in the 2nd Youth Congress by invitation of the IFA Youth Commission. Key subjects of the congress in Roxbury were the the information of the current IFA activities and developments as well as the presentation of the new founded Fistball Academy.

With his welcome FA President Karl Weiss emphasised again the importance of the cooperation with the umbrella associations in view of the targeted IOC Recognition. Followed by this Christoph Oberlehner as the IFA Administrative Director informed about the the current IFA developments. In sports terms the implementation of a fistball women’s tournament for the first time within the framework of the coming World Games in Birmingham / Alabama / USA is a very great success. The increasing of the media coverage of fistball through the different channels as well as the intensification of the cooperation with the umbrella associations were main subjects of the IFA activities. Above that the IFA commissions worked together on new projects and the development of sustainable and forward-looking concepts with the target to promote and spread fistball.

One of these projects is the development of the new founded Fistball Academy. Uwe Schneider as the chair of the IFA Youth and Sport Commission presented the contents, the targets and the scheduled structure of the Fistball Academy. The foundation of the Fistball Academy is embedded in many changes and new structures of the IFA. The traget of the Fistball Academy is to foster the exchange of knowledge, education and communication in cooperation with the member federations of the IFA and to provide and to support new ideas for the prospective and worldwide development of fistball. For this purpose offers of knowledge, information and education will be provided to all stakeholders in a clear structure. Knowledge and information should be collected, should be new developed and should be exchanged to provide these contents on an online platform. Further on the education of players, coaches, teachers, referees, sport scientists or officials should be supported by the development of schooling modules and will be improved by practically oriented events. In addition to that the communication should be increased by the medium of the Fistball Academy between the member federations and the dialogue should be led to a cooperation and to synergies. The presentation you will find here: https://www.ifa-fistball.com/en/praesentationen/

All participants and member federations have been asked to communicate their ideas and concepts concerning the development of fistball in the youth sector and to support the setup of the Fistball Academy. Finally the proposal of reduction of the ball weights for U 14 and U 16 was discussed again. The result of the re-asking of the member federations will be integrated in the final decision.

Also within the framework of the coming IFA U 18 World Championships the next Youth Congress will take place, to which the IFA Youth and Sport Commission already invites.

IFA Youth Congress 2018 Minutes

Presentation of the IFA Fistball Academy in Adelmamnsfelden

In the framework of the European Men´s Fistball Championships in Adelmannsfelden for the first time the International Fistball Association suggested the concept of the new founded IFA „Fistball Academy“.
Uwe Schneider as the chair of the IFA Youth and Sport Commission presented the contents, the targets and the scheduled structure of the Fistball Academy to representatives of many federations.

The task of the International Fistball Association (IFA) is to lead fistball into the future.
By the development of sustainable and forward-looking concepts, the requirements should be created.
One component will be the new formate and network of the Fistball Academy.

The traget of the Fistball Academy is to foster the exchange of knowledge, education and communication in cooperation with the member federations of the IFA and to provide and to support new ideas for the prospective and worldwide development of fistball. For this purpose offers of knowledge, information and education will be provided to all stakeholders in a clear structure. Knowledge and information should be collected, should be new developed and should be exchanged to provide these contents on an online platform. Further on the education of players, coaches, teachers, referees, sport scientists or officials should be supported by the development of schooling modules and will be improved by practically oriented events. In addition to that the communication should be increased by the medium of the Fistball Academy between the member federations and the dialogue should be led to a cooperation and to synergies. Uwe Schneider reported that already in the framework of the Youth World Championships in Roxbury and the Women’s World Championships in Linz the first projects of the Fistball Academy were successfully implemented.

In the following weeks the task forces should be casted to start the upcoming projects and the necessary structures should be created.
Further information about the Fistball Academy are to be found: Academy Presentations

The foundation of the Fistball Academy is embedded in many changes and new structures of the IFA. For that reason the presentation was accompanied by Jörn Verleger as the IFA Secretary General who in addition to that informed about the cur rent and prospective developments of the IFA. Here he emphasised the importance of the structural changes within the IFA association and the co-operations with other umbrella sports associations in view of the targeted IOC recognition. The IOC recognition of fistball offers the requirement for financial support and promotion by by national sports associations or other governmental institutions. In that case the IOC recognition is very important for a further development and spread of Fistball in all countries.

After a short discussion and the appeal to support the development and to collaborate in the different task forces of the Fistball Academy an informative evening came to an end.

IFA Fistball Academy with training in Linz

On the occasion of the IFA 2018 Fistball Women’s World Championship, the newly established IFA Fistball Academy offered a training session for the new fistball nations. All four World Championship newcomers – New Zealand, Serbia, Belgium and Poland – took up the offer.

Following a meeting with the players and coaches, which discussed the respective wishes and expectations, the teams started the practice. With the support of Ernst Almhofer, school sports coordinator of the Austrian Fistball Association, the training taught basic techniques with a variety of exercises. At the end of the two-hour session, the teams played a training tournament at a smaller field.

The training was a big success for all participants and an excellent preparation for the players ahead of the World Championship. The teams enjoyed the event and took up the offer with enthusiasm. The Belgian team even took a second training session during the World Championship. The newcomers played a strong tournament – with New Zealand winning the President’s Cup and thus securing ninth place, Serbia finishing eight, and Poland drove home a sensational sixth place.

We hope that these teams, and others, will continue to take up IFA Fistball Academy offers at World Championships and other occasions in the future. Stay tuned for updates on the IFA Fistball Academy!

IFA Fistball Academy with training in Roxbury

Xavier is the No. 1 jersey of the American national fistball team still far too big.
No wonder – Xavier is only 6 years old.
But since he first saw fistball and played it himself, he now wants to learn this sport.
During the U18 World Championships in Roxbury, the newly founded IFA Fistball Academy established a fun court.
Under the motto “Fun with Fistball” the possibility should be offered especially for children under 10 years to get to know the sport of fistball with its basic rules and techniques and to gain first experiences.
Xavier was one of the small participants of this academy measure, had never seen fistball before.
He was there immediately with zeal and can’t get enough training since then.
Now he has been training at the Swim and Sports Club in Flanders for 2 weeks under the leadership of the President of the US Fistball Association, Bob Feid.
Who knows, maybe we’ll see Xavier again in a few years – if the American national team jersey suits him then…

Germany Defends Title with Win against Switzerland

Germany has defended its title at the IFA 2018 Fistball Women’s World Championship. The team of coach Silke Eber won the final on Saturday evening with 4:1 against Switzerland. Brazil secured the Bronze medal with a 4:0 victory over host country Austria.

The first two sets in the final were a tight matter. In the first set both teams were tied until 9:9 when the German attackers Sonja Pfrommer and Stephanie Dannecker scored and secured the set for their team. Switzerland started strongly into the second set and pulled ahead until 9:3. Germany bounced back and was able to defend three set points. However, the Swiss team stayed calm and equalized to 1:1 in sets. Over the next sets, both teams showed a strong performance in their defenses. Germany was more often able to score the decisive points, and secured its sixth World Championship title, the third in a row. “It feels incredible to have won the title again. I can’t believe it! I think, I’ll need a week, a month or more to realize it. I’ll have to go over it again and again, then, maybe, I’ll realize it”, said Anna-Lisa Aldinger who was already a member of the German team at the last World Championship in 2016. “I think, if you get to the finals, you wanna win it. We wanted to. The first two sets were great. Of course, we are disappointed, we wanted to beat the World Champion. We haven’t been to the finals since 2002, that’s something we can be proud of“, said Swiss attacker Tanja Bognar who played a great tournament.

Brazil scored a clear 4:0 victory against host country Austria in the match for the third place. It is the seventh medal for the Seleção at a World Championship. After a close match in the first set, the Brazilians gradually took control of the game and established a 2:0 lead in sets. In the third set the Austrian squad had the chance to turn the tide, but was not able to seal the deal – following a 9:7 lead, the match went until 14:14. Brazil converted the set point and expanded the lead to 3:0 in sets. The Brazilians also won the fourth set, attacker Tatiane Schneider scored the match point. The Brazilian team thus won the Bronze medal, while host Austria had to settle for the fourth place. “We are happy and satisfied with our performance”, said Brazil’s Isabella Lucchin who played a great tournament along with Tatiane Schneider, her partner in the Brazilian attack. “However, we wanted more”, Lucchin added in reference to her team’s narrowly lost semi-final game against Germany. “It was great to play in front of our fans. We are still a young team, and I am sure one will have to count on us in the future”, said Austria’s captain Karin Kempinger.

Argentina secured the fifth place in the tournament with a 3:0 win over newcomer Poland. Italy finished seventh, and Serbia eight at their first World Championship. Another newcomer – New Zealand – won the inaugural President’s Cup with a 3:0 victory against the Czech Republic, thus taking the ninth place. Belgium, who also played its first World Championship, finished eleventh.

Switzerland and Germany Advance to the Final of the WWC

Switzerland and defending champion Germany have advanced to the final of the IFA 2018 Fistball Women’s World Championship. In two exciting semi-final matches over five sets, the Swiss squad beat host Austria 3:2, and defending champion Germany won against Brazil.

Switzerland Beats Austria in Semi-Final Thriller

In front of their home crowd, host Austria aimed to reach the World Championship final for the third time in their semi-final match against Switzerland. The spectators witnessed a highly exciting game in which the Swiss team took the lead in sets twice. The game stayed open until mid of the fifth set when the Swiss team pulled ahead and sealed the deal with an 11:6 set win. Switzerland has thus qualified for tomorrow’s final, it is their third participation in a final after 1998 and 2002, respectively. “The atmosphere here is simply fantastic. It goes without saying that the majority of the audience rooted for Austria, but here are, however, many Swiss fans who came especially for us. Their cheering helped us a lot. The matches are tough and we are over the moon right now”, said Swiss defender Katrin Lüchinger. Austria’s Jana Pinsker analyzed the loss of her team, “We fought our way back numerous times, but made many unforced mistakes. We didn’t manage to be as consequent as we usually are.”

Result Austria – Switzerland 2:3 (09:11, 11:07, 07:11, 11:03, 06:11)

Germany Wins Re-Match of 2016 Final

In a re-match of the 2016 final, defending champion Germany and Brazil played for the second final spot in the 2018 Women’s World Championship. The fans in the ÖBV arena, on TV and livestream witnessed again a fantastic fistball match at the highest level with long rallies and great saves. Both teams were evenly matched with Germany taking the lead in sets twice. Each time Brazil bounced back and equalized. The game thus went into the fifth set in which the German team eventually narrowly kept the upper hand. “It was an unbelievable game and we are very happy to have again qualified for the final. We now need to regenerate so that we can go fully fit into the final against Switzerland”, said German attacker Stephanie Dannecker after the game. “We discussed tactics beforehand, but could not stick to it for the entire match. I am really proud of my defense, they played really good. Our key player was, of course, Tatiane [Schneider], who, unfortunately, did not have her best day. That happens. We are looking forward to tomorrow. Congratulations to Germany”, said Sergio Muller, Brazil’s assistant coach. His team will play for the Bronze medal in tomorrow’s match against host Austria.

Result Germany – Brazil 3:2 (12:10, 05:11, 12:10, 08:11, 11:07)

In addition to the two semi-final games, we also witnessed the match for the seventh place in the tournament between Italy and Serbia. While the newcomers from Serbia kept in reach in all three sets, the more experienced Italian side kept the upper hand and took the seventh place. In the last set, the Serbian team was on the brink of winning the set, and thus demonstrated again their potential for the future.

Argentina and Poland lost their quarter-final matches against Switzerland and Brazil, respectively. They are thus playing for the fifth place in the tournament tomorrow.

Furthermore, three matches of the President’s Cup took place featuring the teams of the Czech Republic, Belgium and New Zealand who all played against each other in a round-robin format. The Czech Republic won both its games and thus faces New Zealand, who won against Belgium, again in tomorrow’s final of the President’s Cup.

The final-day matches start tomorrow at 1 pm (CEST). The final between Germany and Switzerland will be played at 6 pm. ORF Sport + will already broadcast from 3:50 pm the Bronze medal match between Austria and Brazil.

Austria and Germany Qualify for the Semi Finals at the WWC

Host team Austria has qualified for the semi-final following an exciting match against the Brazilian squad. After the Austrians pulled ahead with a 2:0 lead, the Seleção bounced back and took the third set. The fourth set was a tight affair until the very last point: at 14:14 the Brazilian team is not able to defend a perfectly played ball by Austria’s attacker Ines Mayer. The hosts thus secured a 3:1 victory in sets, and now face the winner of the match Argentina versus Switzerland in the semi-final. “Before this game today we analyzed the Brazilian team and adjusted our line-up. We found a way to get control of the attacks. Our heads were in the game for the entire match and we played extremely concentrated. Everything worked out great for us and we are just so incredibly happy right now”, said Austria’s Teresa Pichler after the game.

Defending champion Germany has also advanced to the round of the last four by winning against Switzerland with 3:0. “This win against the Swiss team was very, very important for us so we can save our strength tomorrow. It was also important for our self-esteem, because it was the first team who put up a good fight”, said Germany’s defender Annika Bösch. The German team now faces the winner of the game Poland versus Brazil in the semi-final.

The surprise of the day was newcomer Poland who beat the experienced Italian side in a nail-biter and thus secured at least the sixth place in the tournament. The Argentinian team also advanced with a win over Serbia. The losers of these two matches – Italy and Serbia – now play against each other for the seventh place in the tournament.

As a novelty, this year’s World Championship features the President’s Cup. The two losing teams of the qualifiers for the double elimination – Belgium and New Zealand – and the Czech Republic who had finished sixth in Group B at the preliminary round will all play each other in a round-robin format. The two winners of these duels will then face each other again in the final of the President’s Cup – the winner of that match will both win the President’s Cup trophy and take the ninth place in the tournament.

The IFA 2018 Fistball Women’s World Championship continues tomorrow with eight games.

Brazil and Germany Win Their Groups

The two top contenders for the title, Brazil and Germany, have emerged as winners of their respective groups in the preliminary round of the IFA Fistball Women’s World Championship in Linz.

Brazil scored a 2:0 victory over the Swiss team to secure winning their group in an impressive manner. So far, the Seleção has not lost a single set in the tournament. The second place in the group went to the Swiss team who beat hosts Austria in the last match of the day. New Zealand finished the group stage on place four, ahead of their fellow newcomers from Belgium. In their direct duel, the New Zealanders prevailed against the Belgian team, scoring their first win in a World Championship. “It’s very exciting to have won our first match and we got a lot of good combos which is exciting. It was such a good opportunity and we are looking forward to the next though competition”, said New Zealand’s Melanie Vannoort after the match.

Defending champion Germany did not lose a set either, winning their group after a showdown against the Argentinian team who had won its first four matches in the group. Italy finished third, and the newcomers from Serbia and Poland on the fourth and fifth places, respectively. The Polish team won against the Czech Republic and thus scored their first victory at a World Championship. “We started really nervous in the first set and made many mistakes. I’d say it was our worst performance in this tournament. Fortunately, we eventually won the first set and managed to make quick points in the second set. We won 11:4 and it was a great game. We are really looking forward to tomorrow”, said Polish attacker Dominika Frydrych.

The IFA Fistball Women’s World Championship continues tomorrow with ten games, featuring the double elimination matches as well as the first two quarter finals.

Favorites start with victories in WWC

The title contenders have started strongly into the tournament at the IFA 2018 Women’s World Championship in Linz, winning their respective matches.

Defending champion Germany showed excellent performances in its two games in Group B against the Czech Republic and Italy, respectively, losing altogether only eight points. The Argentinian team also drove home two victories against the Czech Republic and Serbia, respectively – the Argentinians are thus currently on the second place in the group.
Switzerland is ahead in Group A, winning its two matches confidently against the newcomers from Belgium and New Zealand. Tomorrow the Swiss squad will face both Brazil and Austria who already met today – in an exciting match the Brazilians eventually kept the upper hand over the host team. “It was a great match and we really showed our strength in the first set”, said Katharina Lackinger from Austrian team. “It was close and both attackers kept the defense rather busy. In the end the spark was missing and, unfortunately, we lost the game. A loss in the preliminary round is not so bad. If we play against Brazil again, we will beat them.”

The newcomers from Serbia, Poland and New Zealand impressed with strong matches. New Zealand’s defense delivered a strong performance against 2016 vice world champion Brazil, preventing several Brazilian points in a spectacular manner. Poland came out well of the starting block, winning a set against Italy. In particular impressive was the Serbian team – the team of coach Ivan Milenkovic was able to win a set against the experienced Argentinian team. In their match against Poland, the Serbian squad scored its first victory in an international tournament. The other newcomers – Poland, New Zealand and Belgium – will try to emulate the Serbian success tomorrow when the tournament continues with 14 matches, starting at 1 pm.

U18 World Championships a great success

[wr_row][wr_column]From July 11-15, the IFA 2018 U 18 World Championships took place in Roxbury, New Jersey, USA with 14 teams from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the USA. This was the first time that a Fistball World Championship was awarded to the USA.

To anticipate – the event was a complete success for the young participants and the spectators, both in sporting and above all in organisational terms. The event was excellently prepared and conducted by the U.S. Fistball Association in collaboration with the Roxbury Township Council and the local Swim and Sports Club of Flanders. From all sides they were full of praise for an all-round successful event, which will certainly remain in the memory of many for a long time to come.

The venue was the extensive municipal recreation area of the city of Roxbury, located at Horseshoe Lake and thus also in a public park for the first time. At the press conference on Monday with representatives of the local press and the city of Roxbury, Werner Adam, Northeast Region Director of the USFA, emphasized that a public facility had been deliberately chosen to take the opportunity to present fistball to the public and to promote fistball in the region and the USA with the support of the city of Roxbury.

Before the games started, the 2nd Youth Congress took place on Tuesday evening on the event grounds to which the IFA Youth and Sports Commission had invited all representatives of the member nations. The main topics were the presentation of current developments at IFA and the newly founded IFA Fistball Academy.

On Wednesday the preliminary round games started in bright sunshine and 30 degrees. 8 teams with the men and 6 teams with the women fought for the placings for the first double-elemination round on Friday. Unfortunately the schedule had to be changed shortly before the games started. The Indian teams had to cancel their participation at short notice because the delegations had not received the visas for entry in time.

After the official opening of the World Cup on Wednesday evening after the first matches, the city of Roxbury invited all teams and supervisors to a buffet dinner on the event grounds. On the following days, the Swim and Sports Club of Flanders organised a joint dinner for all teams, coaches and referees on the club’s own and beautifully situated grounds, where the young people in particular could get to know each other outside the course. This, too, certainly contributed to a great atmosphere around the World Cup.

If the sun was still shining until Saturday, the final day on Sunday started with rain. But just in time for the matches for the medals the usual 30 degrees were reached again. For the first time, the USA won a match against Italy at the men’s World Cup as part of the placement matches, and there were no limits for the team. Furthermore, after more than 6 years in the South American duel, the Chilean team beat Argentina for 5th place among the men. Chile clearly won against the USA team in the women’s competition and finished 5th, followed by the first medals for Team Austria in the two games for bronze. The women’s final between Germany and Brazil was certainly the highlight of the entire event in a playful way and could hardly be surpassed in tension, and found Germany a lucky winner. In the men’s final that followed, Brazil clearly beat Team Germany and became world champion.

All games on the Center-Court will be broadcasted in Livestaem. With 20,000 visitors to the live stream, the World Cup was also very well received by the media. The local press also reported continuously about the World Cup.

This unforgettable event and adventure in the USA came to a worthy end after the medal ceremony with the joint evening banquet at the Swim and Sports Club of Flanders. All teams and coaches, referees and officials as well as the representatives of the city of Roxbury and the spectators were invited. With the selection of the best players and the big party that followed, this fantastic event experienced its final highlights.

Many will remember this World Cup for a long time to come.

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Uwe Schneider
Chair of IFA Youth Commission