WINTERTHUR. The 15th Fistball Men’s World Championship has begun with some excellent Fistball played in front of 3100 spectators. Germany and Switzerland both won their opening matches with Namibia and The Czech Republic also winning both their preliminary games today. New Zealand had a nail biting win against Serbia and are definitely a team to watch.
Chile loses to Switzerland but show promise
While the game was a 3-0 win to the Swiss it was not as clear cut as the result suggests. Chile had some great attacking and defensive plays and were dominant in the first half of the third set. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make it count against a stronger Swiss side who consistently placed the ball in the midcourt which Chile found hard to defend. Switzerland showed their experience playing an intelligent game against the determined Chileans.
New Zealand with nail biting victory against Serbia
The Serbians won their first game this morning against Belgium but found tougher competition in the Kiwi team. The game was a close one with the match having to go to a fifth set and ending 12-10 to team New Zealand. The Kiwi captain Blase Dowell said “we came up against a very good Serbian side today and our team take a lot of confidence away from it. We feel like we didn’t play our best and will hopefully show that in upcoming games”.
Denmark beats Australia
Both teams played well with a five set game that saw Denmark win in the end. The older Australian team showed surprising energy and were lively against the younger Danish side. For reference the average age of Australia is 35 and Denmark 32. The second oldest team in the championship is Poland with an average age of 34.
WINTERTHUR. Two days before the start of the Fistball World Championship on the Schützenwiese in Winterthur, Swiss Coach Oliver Lang announces that top performer Ueli Rebsamen has become fit in time for the World Championship. Switzerland wants to move into the finals and reach the title for the first time in history.
Large Voluntary contingent at Stadium Schützenwiese
The 15th Fistball World Cup is already the biggest of all time. 18 nations from 5 continents will be playing from 11-17 August in Switzerland to fight for the world title. 11.000 tickets have already been sold in advance. Over 4,000 operational actions of volunteers are announced by OC President Toni Meier. “Around 17,000 working hours are provided during the seven World Championship days, not included the construction work of the countless civil service helpers. We are fully on schedule and ahead of schedule with building the infrastructure. Even the heavy rain during the last days could not stop the helpers from their work”, Meier is enthusiastic about how the planning of the past four years is now executed in practice.
Swiss team on fire for the event
From a sporting point of view, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Brazil are the top seeds for the Gold Medal. Swiss national coach Oliver Lang also expects outsider chances for Chile, Argentina and Italy. With Belgium, New Zealand, Poland and the Netherlands are 4 World Cup newcomers. “I think the title is awarded between Germany, Brazil, Austria and our team,” said the Nati coach, “anything can happen and with the home crowd behind us we can achieve a lot.” Behind the deployment of Switzerland captain Ueli Rebsamen stood for a long time a big question mark. The fans can now breathe a sigh of relief, as Lang announces: “I can confirm that he is fit enough to take part in the World Cup, it may not be in action with every game but it will hold its knee!”
Mascot as ambassador of the Fistball World Championship
The mascot “Üle” (Swiss for owl) has a strong connection to the Swiss national team. Not only has the daughter of the Swiss national coach Oliver Lang delivered the idea. Adela refers the mascot’s name to the nickname of Ueli Rebsamen. The life-size owl figure will be recognized by the fans as a sympathetic face of the World Championship on all days of the event.
SRF is broadcasting the matches of the Swiss national team live from Winterthur on 16 and 17 August. Further information and tickets: www.fistballmwc.com
Photos from the press conference (Valentin Weber / IFA) –LINK
WINTERTHUR. Every four years the Men’s Fistball world championships take place. This year they are being held in Winterthur, Switzerland. From 11 to 17 August, 18 of the world’s best men’s fistball teams are playing for the coveted World Championship title.
New standards on the Schützenwiese
The main games are being held in a fistball stadium that has been built within the football stadium Schützenwiese. The stadium has a seating capacity of 7,500. For the semi-finals and finals, the stadium should be a sell out and pre-sales have sold 11,000 tickets. The national teams from Germany, Brazil, Austria and Switzerland are the main contenders for the Gold Medal. The entire field of participants covers five continents and teams from New Zealand, Japan and Argentina will also be playing in Winterthur.
All teams want to overthrow top seed Germany
With eleven titles won out of the previous 14 World Championships, Germany is the favourite at the upcoming event. The team of national coach Olaf Neuenfeld currently holds all the titles up for grabs on the international stage. “We want to win the title again, not just defend it. We attach great importance to this subtle difference, because there is nothing for us to defend, it will be a new world championship, ” says Neuenfeld. Host nation Switzerland is likely to be a tough contender for the title, having beaten the current world champions 3: 2 in a friendly match in June. Given this result, the Swiss set themselves the goal of becoming 2019’s world champions. “Obviously, the World Championship title is a very high goal and everything has to be perfect for it to work. But if we do not set the title as our goal, we do not even have to compete, ” says Swiss captain Ueli Rebsamen.
The final is being held on 17 August at 18:00 and will show whether Germany can live up to expectations or whether we will see another nation holding the title.
At the 2018 Asia-Pacific Fistball Championships (APFC) in Australia last year there were many storylines of interest, but arguably the most intriguing was the inaugural international appearance of the newly founded member of the International Fistball Association (IFA) – the Samoan Fistball Association (SFA).
Formed with the help of their friends at the New Zealand Fistball Association (NZFA), the Samoans began their fistball journey by first getting involved in local matches within the Canterbury Fistball League in Christchurch. After quickly getting a taste for the game, the decided they wanted to push forward with the formation of the national association of their homeland, registering the Samoan Fistball Association and installing Jonny Lene as the inaugural SFA President.
With the second Asia-Pacific Fistball Championships fast approaching, the Samoans set about putting together their first men’s national team, filling the squad with highly experienced sportsmen across various sporting backgrounds, including volleyball and rugby. The latter sporting influence was clearly noticeable, as the final selected squad formed a physically intimidating outfit; their impressive bicep circumferences atypical for what you would generally see on a fistball field!
Despite putting forward an incredibly competitive effort and adding many moments to the APFC highlight-reel, the Samoans had to settle for a winless result at their first international tournament. After taking sets off New Zealand and India and engaging in a deceptively tough battle against Australia, their final defeat at the hands of the Indian team put an end to their bid for third position at the tournament. Not to be discouraged however, the Samoan team were both happy and encouraged by their first performances on the international stage and were delighted to be a part of such an integral fistball tournament for the region, while forming tight bonds with players and supporters from the various international teams.
Thankfully, they will not have to wait for long to once again test their fists against international opponents, with the New Zealand Fistball Association recently announcing to host the 2019 Oceania Fistball Championships in Christchurch as part of the lead up to the 2019 Men’s World Fistball Championships in Winterthur, Switzerland. Taking place over the May 25-26 weekend, the Samoans will once again be putting forward a men’s team, while the debut of a Samoan women’s team also looking likely.
As for the mantra of the Samoan Fistball Association, President Jonny Lene outlines it clearly – “the Samoan Fistball team embodies the traditional Samoan values of family and honour, both on the field and in everyday life. These values are evidenced in our identity as a brotherhood and pride in our culture; and our endeavour to play with honour for each other, our families, and homeland of Samoa.”
Expect to hear more from Samoa in the years to come, as they’re definitely here to stay.
Brazilian defender Bianca Suffert has had a strong year: as a 15-year-old she won the Bronze medal with the Seleção at the IFA 2018 Fistball Women’s World Championship. Two weeks earlier, Suffert was a member of the team that took the second place at the U18 World Championship in the USA.
IFA 2018 U18 World Championships – Roxbury, USA – pic: Sönke Spille
The success of the student from Porto Alegre does not come as a surprise – Suffert has been playing for the Brazilian national team since 2017; in 2014, she gave her debut for the U16 squad. Since then, Bianca has achieved numerous successes – both with the Seleção (seven South American Championships, among others) and with her club SOGIPA Porto Alegre (five continental titles, among others).
Suffert started playing fistball as a 7-year-old. Given that no less than eleven Suffert’s – including Bianca’s mother Michelle and father Gerson – had played for Brazilian national teams, this was also no coincidence. Fistball has been a key component of Bianca’s life ever since she can remember; already as a small child she attended tournaments to cheer for her parents. “The sport gave me the opportunity to travel the world, meet amazing people, opening more doors than I could imagine”, she says.
IFA 2018 Women’s World Championship – Linz, Austria – pic: Wolfgang Benedik
One of her journeys led her to Vaihingen, Germany, for the World Tour Finals where she finished fourth with SOGIPA Porto Alegre. Suffert shares an anecdote from that tournament, “The funniest memory that I have is from Germany in 2018. Our team was in the dormitory, and as always we hung our jerseys on different places in the room. One of the girls hung her jersey above a lamp (the lamp was off). We did not think about this until another girl asked if we could smell it burning (someone had apparently in the meantime switched on the lamp) – luckily we still detected it in time to prevent a fire. However, the jersey was damaged, so we needed to get another jersey for her. We asked all those who were still in Brazil, and a friend from Novo Hamburgo then brought the new jersey just in time.”
pics: Christian Kadgien and Wolfgang Benedik
As mentioned, Bianca Suffert has already achieved a lot in her young career. But she does not want to rest on her laurels – quite the contrary, she has identified two major goals. “I would like to win the World Championship with Brazil, and the Club World Championship with SOGIPA.”
Bianca is also optimistic in terms of the future development of fistball, “I think the sport will grow and reach more countries, and maybe in the near future, become an Olympic sport.”
It’s an important day for the International Fistball Association (IFA) and the Fistball Family: in its latest Board meeting, IFA awarded the IFA 2020 U18 Men’s and Women’s World Championships to Austria. The Youth event is carried out for the first time ever in Austria. The U18 competition will be held together with the U21 Men’s European Championship and will take place from 22 to 26 July 2020 in Grieskirchen.
The International Fistball Association (IFA) is pleased to announce the hosts for the major youth event. Sportunion Grieskirchen in Austria will be hosting the U18 World Championships for men and women in 2020. Furthermore, Grieskirchen hosts the U21 Men’s European Championship within the framework of the U18 World Championships. Grieskirchen is a highly experienced host and gets strong support from its local government and regions, respectively. For Austria, it’s the first time in history to carry out a Fistball Youth World Championship.
U18 World Championships and U21 European Championship take place in Grieskirchen (AUT)
Grieskirchen carried out the 2016 Men’s European Championship and set new standards in our sport. This time, it will be Grieskirchen’s premiere to host a worldwide Fistball Youth event. “We are very happy to host the next U18 World Championships in Grieskirchen. Up to five players from our city have the chance to participate. That’s why we will put a lot of energy and commitment into the organization of the event to set another milestone for fistball and our region”, says Peter Oberlehner, President of the local organizing team UFG Grieskirchen/Pötting.
“Grieskirchen will host great World Championships for our youth players with a special concept to focus on the players. Furthermore, they have many young people in the organizing team who know the needs and wishes of the young players. Up to 20 male and female U18 teams from all over the world are expected to participate in Austria. We are looking forward to this competition in 2020”, says IFA President Karl Weiß.
The organizing team decided for the Faustballzentrum Grieskirchen as location. At the Faustballzentrum, they will set up two center courts and present a unique fistball youth festival.
„The simultaneous U21 European Men’s Championship offers the European fistball family and especially the young European national players the opportunity to compete and to present themselves for the leap into the highest national team. The European Fistball Association is pleased to be able to stage this competition together with IFA and the local organizer in Grieskirchen at the same time as the U18 World Championships”, says Franco Giori, President of the European Fistball Association.
IFA followed the invitation of IWGA and Olympic Channel to attend their Media Workshop at the Olympic Channel headquarters in Madrid, Spain. Exchange of knowledge, best practice examples and current available technologies were subject of this two-day workshop. Within the event we had the opportunity to discuss and evaluate our ongoing cooperation with the Olympic Channel and talk about our strategy and major fistball events in 2019. We have high interest in using their services in our federations media work and take the Fistball media experience to another level.
IFA delegation with John Palfrey, Director of Stakeholder Relations at Olympic Channel
The Serbian Women’s National Team Will Participate in its First World Championships
Among the 11 nations playing at this year’s Women’s World Championship in Linz, Austria (July 24 – 28) will be the Serbian team – giving its debut at the international fistball stage. The squad was just formed a few months ago by coaches Ivan Milenkovic and Edi Hagen. “The team is very young and may have a good future. Let’s wait and see how they will cope on their first tournament”, says Torsten Hilscher, the “father” of Serbian fistball who brought the sport to the country more than a decade earlier.
Head coach Ivan Milenkovic is also cautiously optimistic, “We have no expectations regarding results. We want to give our best and I hope the girls will enjoy playing in the biggest fistball competition.”
Serbia will play in the preliminary round in Group B together with Germany, Chile, Argentina, Poland, Italy, and Czech Republic.
Ivan Milenkovic – Head Coach Women’s Team
How it all began: a glimpse at the history of fistball in Serbia
As already stated, fistball in Serbia was introduced by Torsten Hilscher – a German diplomat and former fistball player (first German league and member of the Under-18 national team), who initiated the sport in the country in 2007. “Between 1992 and 2003 I didn’t play any fistball at all while living abroad in three different countries. I always missed the game and its special familiar atmosphere. So I didn’t want this to happen again and therefore had the idea to introduce fistball in Serbia when I moved there.“
Things developed quickly. The first two teams were founded – FK Beograd and FK Dunav – and soon after the Serbian Fistball Federation. Early support was provided by fistball enthusiasts from Austria, as Torsten Hilscher recalls, “Our friends from Grieskirchen led by Johann “Sihdi” Einsiedler visited Belgrade in early spring on their mission to introduce fistball. The delegation included national players such as Dietmar Weiss, Stefan Einsiedler, Karl Rick and so on. Before that we had prepared intensively for our very first fistball game against the team FG Grieskirchen which was reigning European Cup champion at that time. It was an unforgettable weekend which created eternal friendships.”
Entering the international arena
The newly formed Serbian men’s team – which comprised mainly active and former volleyball players – then cut its teeth in a series of international matches, playing in a tournament in Linz, Austria.
A year later, in 2008, Serbia participated for the first time in a European Championship – in Stammheim, Germany. The newcomers under coach Torsten Hilscher surprised everyone and drove home an impressive fifth place, defeating more experienced sides such as Czech Republic and Spain. “No one knew us, we had trained very hard. And in the deciding game to reach the semi finals against Italy we took the first set. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to shock Italy and thus didn’t advance to the next round. But it has nevertheless been our biggest success up to now”, remembers coach Hilscher.
The Serbian team was able to confirm this result two years later, and placed again fifth – this time in Ermattingen, Switzerland. At that time the team came in contact with Edi Hagen – a former fistball player from the first Swiss league, and coach who is married to a Serbian. Since then Edi has been active with the Serbian Fistball Federation – currently as assistant coach of both the men’s and women’s national teams.
Serbia’s first experience at World Championships came in 2011 in Austria where the team landed the tenth place. The Serbian squad has since been a regular participant at international competitions, last time in 2016 at the European Championships in Grieskirchen, Austria, where the team finished sixth – with a new head coach at the helm: Markus Kraft from Austria.
The Serbian men’s team is as committed to play fistball at the highest level as it was on day one – the next goal is the World Championship next year in Switzerland. However, the players are not the youngest anymore, and in the long run the federation is looking for a new generation of players.
As mentioned, the women’s team does not have this worry – the team that will represent Serbia at the upcoming World Championships in Linz is very young with an average age of 20 years. The Serbian Fistball Federation thus hopes that the momentum can be utilized and fistball further established in the country.
The Fistball World Championships 2018 is coming. For the first time in history the polish women’s national team participates at the World Championship.
We, the women of the polish team, are already training hard and preparing for the WWC. Unfortunately we have not found a coach yet and still are looking for someone, who will train and coach us through the World Championship. Maybe the person will accompany us for a few years to set up and develop polish Fistball, but that not a requirement.
We are looking for a professional Fistball player, who played in the highest league and has some experience in coaching and training teams. Our headcoach is responsible for planning training sessions, nominate the final team
and coach us at the championships from July 24th to 28th in Linz.
In return we offer you accommodation and catering at the WWC and the official polish team equipment.
Interested Fistball players shall contact Alwin Oberkersch (service@ifa-fistball.com) for further information.
Fistball tradition north of the German-Danish border
Fistball had in Denmark’s most southern part – Sønderjylland (or Nordschleswig in German, respectively North Schleswig in English) – a long tradition, in particular among the German minority.
Since 1920, North Schleswig is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Today, the German minority in North Schleswig includes about 15,000 people among a total population of 250,000, and runs kindergarten’s, schools and libraries, as well as church and social work. It publishes a newspaper and offers sports and cultural activities. The minority is represented by the Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger. Part of the minority’s identity is to contribute to a good and trustful relationship with the Danish majority and to build bridges between Germans and Danes.
WC 2007 – the Danish national team from North Schleswig
Fistball was highly popular in the 1950s, and was played in almost every village as well as in the sports clubs of the German minority. By the end of the 1960s, Handball took increasingly over. While some clubs would sporadically participate in tournaments in Schleswig-Holstein, the quality did not reach anymore the same level as in the 1950s.
In May 1987, fistball in North Schleswig was revived, among others due to the initiative of Günter Haagensen from Tondern/Tønder as well as of some clubs, which were supported by teams from North Frisia (in particular TSV Rot-Weiß Niebüll). A year later, North Schleswig championships could again be organized, and fistball was also played at the two big summer festivals of the German minority – the Pfingstturnier and the Knivsbergfest. Furthermore, teams from North Schleswig participated from 1988 until 2007 in the league in Schleswig-Holstein (winter and summer rounds). The development of fistball in Denmark was often supported and promoted by individuals from North Schleswig, for example Hans Peter Asmussen, as well as coach Uwe Jörck and the publisher of the magazine “Faustball-Sport”, Heino Kreye (both have unfortunately died). Mr. Kreye was championing Denmark’s participation at the World Championship 1990 in Austria, which was followed by participations in 1992, 1995, 1999, 2003 and in 2007. In the latter years, coach Olaf Neuenfeld significantly contributed to an increased quality of the team. But, as in the 1960s, fistball in North Schleswig/Denmark came once again to a halt due to a lack of investment in youth.
WC 2007 – positive spirits at the end of the match, despite loss against Austria
A new start
Interest in sports is shifting, also in North Schleswig, in particular among young people – individual sports are becoming more popular at the expense of traditional team sports. In response to this, the German minority in North Schleswig has, in addition to the sports activities in clubs, initiated the concept “Team Nordschleswig – Æ Mannschaft”.
Since 2016, Team Nordschleswig – Æ Mannschaft has evolved as a success story. Having started as a sheer football selection of the German minority in Denmark, the team participated in the EUROPEADA 2016 (football European cup for minorities). While the participation was no success in sports terms, the concept proved to be successful and the enthusiasm around the concept Æ Mannschaft is planned to be expanded to two additional sports – handball and fistball. Each of the three sports would have their own strategies and sports objectives. Team Nordschleswig – Æ Mannschaft is being organized by Bund Deutscher Nordschleswiger (association of the German minority – www.bdn.dk) and Deutscher Jugendverband für Nordschleswig (sports and leisure association of the German minority – www.djfn.dk).
The number one goal in the fistball division is to sustainably build a men’s team, which would participate for Denmark in international championships within a few years. In contrast to earlier fistball initiatives, the endeavor is this time fostered in multiple ways – in terms of sports, structures and marketing, including the support of fulltime employees.
Furthermore, Team Nordschleswig – Æ Mannschaft depends on the support of enthusiastic volunteers who contribute their knowledge and experience for a sustainable revival of fistball. Hence, former national team players Kurt Asmussen and Günter Haagensen have recently met with three representatives of Team Nordschleswig to discuss the possibilities of a new start. The discussants agreed on the following:
– First would be establishment of a men’s fistball team (primarily comprised of members of the German minority)
– Support from Asmussen und Haagensen, including with the identification of a coach
– A first training camp, from September 8 to 10, 2017, at the Bildungsstätte Knivsberg, Denmark
– Participation in international championships for Denmark with the World Championship 2019 in Winterthur, Switzerland, as goal
The collaboration with the two former national team players is already ongoing, and Kurt Asmussen was able to recruit German coach Roland Schubert for the training camp in September. After this, further discussions will be held if a firm collaboration can be established. “He (i.e. Roland Schubert) will look at everything and then decide to what extent things should continue”, says Kurt Asmussen.
WC 2007 – Kurt Asmussen in form
Team Nordschleswig – Æ Mannschaft faces a difficult legacy and knows about the expectations for this revival. These expectations have to be met to allow bringing North Schleswig and Denmark again back on the radar of international fistball.
Author: Uffe Iwersen, Team Nordschleswig – Æ Mannschaft
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