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Day 1 – The World Games 2022

19:30

Brazil wins in a thrilling match
Surprising match from USA as they win a set against favorite Brazil. Even though the home team had a strong second set victory, they weren’t able to carry the momentum for the rest of the match.
Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

18:15

Switzerland outlasts Argentina
After a slow start for the Swiss men the team was able to pull off a 3:0 victory in their first match. Argentina capitalized on early Swiss mistakes but was unable to shut the door in the first set.
Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

16:45

Team Brazil enters The World Games with a victory
A sovereign start into The World Games for the Brazilian equipe. The south americans tested various different line ups. New Zealand also showed a great team spirit in their second match of the day. With a small number of unforced errors the kiwis improved over the durance of the match.
Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

15:30

Austria defeats the home team USA 
The US team showed some strong moments against Austria but throughout the game Austria obtained control. After about 30 minutes the Europeans left the steaming hot court victoriously.
Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

14:00

Austria beats Italy in European show off

With the temperature getting hotter by the minute the Austrians start into the tournament with a solid performance. Italy couldn’t quite get on Austria’s level over the whole durance of the set.

Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

12:45

Germany defeats Chile after close first set

After Chile had a good start Germany increased their pace. So the reigning World Games champions start the tournament with a victory.
During the game the sky is clearing up and it gets hotter and hotter in Birmingham.
Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

11:15

Germany beats New Zealand in the preliminary round
The reigning World Champions from Germany start strong in the tournament against the underdogs from New Zealand. The kiwis played a great match and showed off their skills to the international fistball fans as well.

Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

10:00

Switzerland sweeps USA 3:0 in the first match of the Games in Birmingham
A historic moment. For the first time in history a women’s match is played at The World Games.
The home team from the US is playing Switzerland. The stands are already really packed for this very first match of the day. A crowd of more than 400 fans cheers for their teams. In the end Switzerland defeats the US by 3:0.

Foto: Moritz Kaufmann / IFA

Birmingham ready to host The World Games 2022

Fistball players from all over the world are gathering in Birmingham, Alabama in the USA to play The World Games 2022. The matches are taking place on the soccer fields at Birmingham Southern College from July 10-14. For the first time in fistball history women and men are participating at The World Games. Even though fistball was introduced to The World Games in 1985 at The World Games in London, female fistball has never been part of the games so far.
6 women’s teams and 8 men’s teams fight for the fiercely contested medals on 2 courts. In the women’s competition Austria, Brazil, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the host nation USA participate. In the men’s competition Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and USA play for gold.
The German men’s team is the reigning World Games champion. They defeated Switzerland in a thrilling final in Wroclaw, Poland in 2017. As the current World Champion the German women’s team is the top favourite for the women’s competition.

The preliminary round is played in two groups – A and B – as best of 5 sets for women and men. After the preliminary round on July 12th the women’s semi-finals are held where each group winner plays the second of the other group and the teams that take the third place play for the 5th rank (all matches best of 5 as well). Men’s preliminary round lasts until July 12th, so the semifinals are played one day later as well as the ranking game for the 7th rank.
The final day of the women’s competition is July 13 (Final+P3), for men it’s July 14th (Finals + P5). The medals are awarded right after the finals for both women and men.

Spectators from all over the world can expect tight matches at very hot temperatures in Birmingham (around 35°C/95°F – humidity 51% –> feels like over 40°C/104°F). The matches will be livestreamed on fistball.tv, be aware of the time shift! The tournament kicks off on July 10 at 10am Birmingham time (GMT-5), which means a time shift of f.e. 7 hours to Berlin (CEST/MESZ) where it’s 5pm when the matches start.

The Organisation Committee is looking forward to the upcoming games and hopes for a tournament free of injuries!

The World Games 2022 officially declared as open

In Birmingham, Alabama (USA) the 40th edition of The World Games was officially declared as open on July 7th in front of 27,000 spectators. Altogether 3,600 athletes from over 100 countries will compete in more than 30 sports disciplines, one of them being fistball. For the first time in history also women’s fistball is part of The World Games so overall over 140 fistball players are competing in Birmingham.

At the big opening ceremony the fistball players marched into the Protective Stadium in Birmingham aside their home country fellow athletes from other disciplines. 27,000 spectators watched the athletes enter the stadium and the show acts entertaining the athletes and the crowd. Birmingham’s Mayor Randall Woodfin declared The World Games 2022 as open in his speech. One of the highlights of the evening was an impressive drone show.

The INTERACT Website is Live!

Discover the INTERACT project at www.interact-sport.com/

The INTERACT (International and European Sport Organisations Activate Citizens) Project Team is proud to announce the publication of the INTERACT online platform at www.interact-sport.com. This launch comes with the release of many exciting outputs including:

• The Online Directory of International and European Sports Organisations (ISOs)
• A study report on ISOs challenges, opportunities, needs and expectations in the development of Sport for All
• An INTERACT Video
• The INTERACT fact sheet
• The start of the INTERACT “ISO of the Month Campaign”, to start in January 2022

Over the next 8 weeks, we will release and provide more information about those outputs. Stay tuned, as we will also announce the opening INTERACT conference, scheduled at the beginning of 2022! More about the project’s vision, mission, objectives and activities at www.interact-sport.com.

The INTERACT Project is co-funded by the Erasmus + Programme of the European Union.

Project Partners:
• International Fistball Association (IFA)
• TAFISA
• International Table Tennis Federation Foundation (ITTF Foundation)
• World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF)
• International Dance Organisation (IDO)
• Confederazione Boccistica Internazionale (CBI)
• Italian Federation of Traditional Games and Sports (FIGEST)
• Sports Union of Slovenia (SUS)
• Deutsche Frisbeesport-Verband (DFV)

Fistball in Western Australia – A Boulder Man and His Hopes

Benny Giles is 36 years old and works as a fitter/machinist in the mining industry in his Western Australian hometown of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, approximately 600 kilometers east of Perth. In his free time, he is a passionate fistball player and assistant coach of the Australian men’s team – with hopes to win the next Trans-Tasman Fistball Championship in 2022. A feat that the Aussies have already accomplished twice – winning the Trans-Tasman title in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

From fan to player
A few years earlier, Giles first got in touch with fistball – through his cousin, Australian pioneer Malcolm Donnellon. He was immediately a fan of the game, and after some time following the sport, the former amateur Australian football and field hockey player tried it for himself, “I started playing fistball in September 2018, for the Westside Wombats in the Victorian Fisball League (VFL). I mainly play in defense – left or right.” Giles quickly showed promise and hopes to make his debut for the Australian national team next year – which is even more remarkable when one considers that Giles lives around 2,500 kilometers away from his Melbourne-based VFL team, meaning he needs to make weekend roundtrips by plane to be able to train and play with his squad.

Establishing fistball in Boulder
Before Covid-19, Giles tried to make the trip to Melbourne at least once a month. Currently things are more complicated due to the pandemic, “For some time, there were no flights, and Covid also stopped VFL temporarily from happening in Melbourne – which has pushed me more to try get something going back home.” Back home – that is again Kalgoorlie-Boulder, where Giles serves as president of the Boulder Fistball Association, and coach and player of the Boulder Bungarras, currently the only team in town. “Fistball in Boulder is in its infancy. At the moment we are just trying to lay down the basic rules and skills. We only have a handful of players”, says Giles, who nevertheless is hopeful that things will pick up. “A constant level of players would be nice. A 4-6 team competition, hopefully. If we can have a strong enough team one day that can travel to Melbourne for a weekend, I’d love to have the Bungarras play at least one round in the VFL.”

Coaching career
Giles joined the Australian men’s national team as coaching staff under head coach Tommy Helber in early 2019, and travelled with the squad to Winterthur, Switzerland, for the World Championship that year. “The World Champs were awesome! My first ever trip overseas. I got to see a small slice of the world with some great mates, and meet some equally great people. We never felt out of place, always welcome”, remembers Giles.
He now is the team’s assistant coach. As mentioned, the next goal for the Australians is to win again the Trans-Tasman Championship. And, in the long run, establish a strong squad for the future, “Getting more junior players is definitely our main goal at this time. The current group of players are not getting any younger. Fingers crossed.”

Benny Giles, Malcolm Donnellon (Benny’s cousin, Australian fistball pioneer), Peter Giles (Benny’s father) and Jess Lyon (Malcolm’s partner).

Story contributed by Peter Schierl-Montfort

Fistball Venue Announced for The World Games 2022

Birmingham Southern, Sloss Furnaces and Avondale announced as next set of competition venues

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (March 19, 2021) – The Birmingham Organizing Committee today announced the next three competition venues for The Games; Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham-Southern College, and Avondale Park. The World Games 2022 signage has been installed at all three venues.
The World Games 2022 (TWG2022) is a multi-sport event that will take place in Birmingham from July 7-17, 2022. An anticipated 3,600 athletes will participate in more than 30 different sports throughout The Games.

“We’re excited to announce this next round of venues for The Games,” The World Games 2022 chief executive officer Nick Sellers said. “As we move closer and closer to the beginning of The Games, the announcement of venues where these world-class athletes will compete, and where fans from all over will congregate to watch, drives the anticipation. All of our venues offer athletes and fans a unique sporting experience they can’t get anywhere else.”

At the historic Sloss Furnaces, spectators will watch athletes compete in adrenaline inducing Sport Climbing, Breaking, Parkour and Beach Handball.
Originally operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971, Sloss Furnaces became one of the first industrial sites (and the only blast furnace) in the U.S. to be preserved and restored for public use. In 1981, the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.
“Sloss Furnaces is more than a landmark or museum, it represents the spirit and character of the South’s rich industrial heritage—and of the people that made Birmingham the Magic City,” said Karen Utz, interim executive director/curator of Sloss Furnace. “In that same vein, we’re excited to help show the rest of the world that spirit with our involvement in The World Games. This global event will mark yet another historical chapter in the history of the Sloss Furnaces.”

Several competitions will take place across the campus of Birmingham-Southern College. Goldfarb Field at Berylson Soccer Park, the home of Birmingham Southern Soccer, will play host to Fistball. Bill Battle Coliseum, the home of Birmingham-Southern Basketball and Volleyball, will host a variety competitions including Orienteering, Karate, Wushu and Ju-Jitsu. Birmingham-Southern residence halls will also be the accommodation for several athletes competing at The Games in their dormitories.

Founded in 1856, Birmingham-Southern is home to more than 1,100 students from 29 states and 11 countries. The college currently offers five bachelor’s degrees in more than 50 programs of study, as well as interdisciplinary and individualized majors and dual degree programs.
“Promoting the community that surrounds us is a key part of our mission at Birmingham-Southern College, and we see that same vision in The World Games 2022,” said BSC President Daniel B. Coleman. “We look forward to welcoming fans and athletes from all over the world to the Hilltop.”
At Avondale Park, the natural beauty of Birmingham will be on full display for Target Archery and Field Archery competitions.

Avondale Park is a 40-acre wooded park on the slopes of Red Mountain that sits directly across from one of the most popular neighborhoods in Birmingham. The park re-opened after $2.88 million in city-funded renovations in November of 2013 and offers Birmingham residents plenty of opportunity for outdoor recreation.
“Avondale Park is one of the best recreational areas our community has to offer, making it a perfect venue for the World Games 2022,” said Shonae Eddis-Bennett, director of the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Director. “We are excited to have the opportunity to show off Avondale Park to fans and athletes from all over the world.”

ABOUT THE WORLD GAMES 2022
The World Games 2022 Birmingham will be an extraordinary Olympic-style sports experience where elite athletes from all over the world compete for gold in 34 unique, multi-disciplinary sports. Featuring 3,600 athletes from more than 100 countries, the international event will unite global fans with the Birmingham community in 25+ unique venues around the greater metropolitan area. The World Games 2022 Birmingham, which marks the 40th anniversary of the event, will take place from July 7-17, 2022 and will generate an estimated $256 million in economic impact. The World Games was established by the International World Games Association, an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Read more: https://twg2022.com/2021/three-more-venues/

2020 IFA Awards – Call for nominations ends 30 December 2020

Here are the first nominees for the 2020 IFA MEDIA AWARD:
– DFBL – Deutsche Faustball-Liga and XinCast for the TV production “Faustball Gold”
– Fistball Federation of Australia for “The Fist, The Whole Fist And Nothing But The Fist, So Help Me Pod – The Fistball Australia Podcast”
– Faustball Austria and envenMo for the TV production of the Final3 Austria

Further nominations also for other awards like the

– IFA CLIMATE ACTION AWARD
– IFA SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT AWARD
– IFA WOMEN IN SPORTS AWARD
– IFA ACTIVITY AWARD
– IFA SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD
– IFA MEDIA AWARD
– IFA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

could be send by email to office@ifa-fistball.com latest until tomorrow, 30 December 2020.

A jury appointed by the IFA Board of Directors will decide about the winners.

The Awards Ceremony will be held virtually within the 2nd IFA Athletes Forum with the main topic “Women in Fistball” on Saturday 9 January 2021, 13:30 – 15:00 (European time) on www.fistball.tv

Original post from 21 December:

International Fistball Association (IFA) has the honour to invite all IFA members to submit nominations for the IFA 2020 AWARDS. As IFA had no competition event in 2020 the IFA Board of Directors has decided to invite all member federations to nominate for the following 2020 awards:
– IFA CLIMATE ACTION AWARD
– IFA SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT AWARD
– IFA WOMEN IN SPORTS AWARD
– IFA ACTIVITY AWARD
– IFA SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD
– IFA MEDIA AWARD
– IFA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The proposals should be sent by email to office@ifa-fistball.com latest until 30 December 2020.

We are sure that there have been especially in this challenging year 2020 some small or larger initiatives within the Fistball family on local, regional or national to support the community and which are in line with our strategic goals of making the world a better place through sport. We warmly invited all levels submit proposal to honour special initiatives within the Fistball family.

The Awards Ceremony will be held virtually within the 2nd IFA Athletes Forum with the main topic “Women in Fistball” on Saturday 9 January 2021, 13:30 – 15:00 (European time)

Furthermore, we would like to invite and pre-inform you to support the planned activities on 30 January 2021. IFA was founded on 30 January 1960. The date of the foundation of IFA will be celebrated as “World Fistball Day” in the future. In 2021 this will include e.g. a virtual “Ask the IFA President” online session, a virtual IFA Entourage workshop as well as new and more Fistball history content on www.fistball.tv.

IFA invites all member federations to develop further activities on the new established World Fistball Day.

IFA postpones Fistball Women’s World Championship to 2021

In its video-conference the Board of the International Fistball Association (IFA) decided in an unanimous decision to postpone the Women’s Fistball World Championship in Chile, scheduled for November 2020, to 2021. IFA is currently negotiating with substitute organizers.

 Chile is currently confronted with a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and a second lock-down. At the moment it is not predictable whether a carefree World Championship can be guaranteed for all participants in November and when or if intercontinental travel will be possible again. “Fistball has always been a sport that lives for and with our fans. Therefore it is beyond all questions for us to only let the athletes travel. With a heavy heart, we decided to postpone this year’s World Championship because we have to assume that it must be carried out without spectators, additional officials, fans and family members,” said IFA General Secretary Christoph Oberlehner. This postponement also entails that the World Championship will not take place in Chile. The current situation in Chile is not only a health crisis, but also an economic one. These negative conditions made it impossible for the Chilean Fistball Federation to organize the World Championship next year.

“Health is the first priority in our decisions. We were in regular contact with the organisers and the national Fistball association in Chile and discussed the situation in detail. Thanks to our friends in South America for their intensive efforts to find a solution in Chile. Unfortunately the efforts were not rewarded”, says IFA President Jörn Verleger. “The new situation poses a huge challenge and we are forced to look for a new organizer. But we are currently in very good negotiations with possible substitute hosts.”

IFA plans to announce the exact dates and venues of the 2021 Women’s World Championship and the 2021 World Tour Finals in July.

All 2020 international Fistball events postponed or cancelled

The corona virus has caused a major upheaval in the international Fistball calendar. This year all international Fistball events had to be postponed or cancelled due to the worldwide pandemic. In addition, The World Games in Birmingham were also rescheduled to 2022, which has an impact on the Fistball calendar. IFA postponed the U18 World Championship to July 2021, and the World Tour Final will not take place this year. The World Tour season 2020 had to be cancelled and will not be counted.

The European Fistball Association EFA postponed the Men’s European Championship in Kaltern to 24-26 June 2021. The EFA U21 Men’s European Championship planned for Grieskirchen will be cancelled in 2020, the next U21 European Championship will be held together with the U18 World Championship in Grieskirchen. EFA’s club competitions – the Champions Cup for men and women – also had to be cancelled for this year.

The Pan-American Continental Association PAFA also postponed the Pan-American Championship which was planned for October 2020 in Novo Hamburgo (BRA). The Championship will take place in 2021. The U16 South American Championships also had to be postponed to 2021.

IFA President Jörn Verleger – Question & Answer

Question & Answer – IFA president Jörn Verleger 🎙

Thank you for all the questions you sent us. Here are the video anwers by Jörn:

• Q1 (0:06): Why there is no decision about the Women’s World Champs by now?
• Q2 (0:37): Why is the U21 Euro 2021 not in Grieskirchen?
• Q3 (1:06): Why is the host city for the World Tour Final 2021 not fixed yet?
• Q4 (1:56) Why is the change in the key date for the eligibility of players at the U21 EURO not the same as for the U18 World Championships?
• Q5 (2:56): What is going to happen with the U18 EURO 2021?
• Q6 (3:56): Tell us about the progress of the IOC Recognition.
• Q7 (4:56) Why are The World Games 2021 postponed by one year? Why are they not moved a few weeks prior to the Olympics?
• Q8 (5:56): How does the current situation affect the U18 World Champs in New Zealand scheduled for 2022?
• Q9 (6:30): Can tournaments still take place as the World Tour Season 2020 is cancelled?
• (7:13): Closing statement (Visit Fistball at Home 💪)

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