The ongoing Covid19 pandemic forces the organizers of The Fistball World Tour season 2021 to cancel another full season. The central reasons must be seen in the many different existing national regulations regarding the staging of events and travel restrictions. The safety of all people involved cannot guaranteed world-wide.

“Our aim was to start a Fistball World Tour only under fair circumstances. Currently it is not possible to carry out a World Tour because of national restrictions which are different from country to country. Together with the cancellation of the Major events in South America and most likely also in Europe this spring, we decided to cancel this year’s World Tour season and restart the World Tour in 2022”, says Winfried Kronsteiner, Chairman of IFA Sports Commission. “In many countries Fistball clubs are closed and training is not permitted. So a World Tour under the same circumstances for all teams and hosts is not possible.”

“It’s our obligation to protect the health and safety of our Fistball family and the general public in the face of this global pandemic. We are looking forward to an even stronger World Tour in 2022,” said Winfried Kronsteiner explaining the cancellation of the 2021 season.

Current status of the World Tour Finals 2021

IFA is still working hard to organize the World Tour Finals in the end of September 2021. Currently the Finals organizing team is in negotiations with a host in Austria and partners to finance the event. A final decision if this event can be made possible will be made by 15 April.

The IFA Policy Forum, held for the first time on March 30, focused on the requirements for world sports federations after the COVID-19 crisis, based on the IOC’s recommendations in Agenda 2020+5.

The 30-minute keynote address was given by Prof. Dr. Holger Preuss, member of the IOC Legacy and Sustainability Commission, after a welcome message by AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport) President Stephan Fox. Invited were members of the worldwide fistball family as well as representatives of the AIMS umbrella organisation. IFA President Jörn Verleger welcomed, among others, the Presidents of Sleddog (IFSS), Helen Lundberg and Savate (FISav) Dr Julie Gabriel as well as Powerlifting (IPF) Secretary General Robert Keller.

The forum was conducted within the framework of the annual evaluation of the current Strategic Plan 2019 – 2023, which was approved in 2019, and is to be evaluated annually at the second meeting of the IFA Board of Directors. For this purpose, a public IFA Policy Forum was organized prior to the IFA Board meeting scheduled for April 17, in which all member federations and stakeholders will have the opportunity to participate in the discussion on the future course of the IFA. The current COVID19 pandemic is not included in the 2019 – 2023 Strategic Plan, but will have a profound impact on the implementation of the plan in the coming years. In addition, at its 137th Session in March 2021, the IOC unanimously approved a new IOC Strategic Roadmap to 2025, called Olympic Agenda 2020+5. This will also have an impact on the IOC Recognition Process.

Olympic Agenda 2020.

The Olympic Agenda 2020, which was based on the three pillars of credibility, sustainability and youth, had been adopted by the 127th IOC Session in Monaco in December 2014. The aim of the agenda has been to highlight Olympic values and strengthen the role of sport in society. The biggest advances have been in the Olympic Games, athletes and their protection, good federation governance, solidarity within the Olympic Movement, creating long-term financial stability for the Olympic Movement, the role of sport in society, sustainability and gender equality. The creation of the Olympic Channel is also among them.

Olympic Agenda 2020+5.

The Olympic Agenda 2020+5 consists of 15 recommendations and follows the Olympic Agenda 2020, the 2014 reform program. The new strategic roadmap will guide the work of the IOC and the Olympic Movement into 2025.

While the world is currently dealing with the global health crisis with the COVID 19 pandemic and its consequences, the IOC is also focusing on further change, building on the success of the Olympic Agenda 2020.
The 15 recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 are based on feedback from the Olympic Movement and five key trends that will be important in the post-Corona world. This is where sport and Olympic values can play a key role in turning challenges into opportunities.

The key trends on which the Olympic Agenda 2020+5 is based are:
– more solidarity within and between societies,
– the growing digitalization, without losing sight of the lack of digital infrastructure in some parts of the world,
– the urgency for sustainable development,
– the need to strengthen credibility of organizations and situations, and the need to achieve stability in the face of the financial and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. These financial and economic consequences will shape the priorities of governments and businesses in the coming years.

The 15 recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 are based on these five trends and include concrete approaches. The IOC and the Olympic Movement should:
– Strengthen the uniqueness and the universality of the Olympic Games
– Foster sustainable Olympic Games
– Reinforce athletes’ rights and responsibilities
– Continue to attract best athletes
– Further strengthen safe sport and the protection of clean athletes
– Enhance and promote the Road to the Olympic Games
– Coordinate the harmonisation of the sports calendar
– Grow digital engagement with people
– Encourage the development of virtual sports and further engage with video gaming communities
– Strengthen the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals
– Strengthen the support to refugees and populations affected by displacement
– Reach out beyond the Olympic community
– Continue to lead by example in corporate citizenship
– Strengthen the Olympic Movement through good governance
– Innovate revenue generation models

Adaptation for IFA.

“The COVID-19 crisis has changed our world,” said IFA President Joern Verleger. “We are therefore well advised to adapt our Strategic Plan and prepare for the new normal. In doing so, we want to involve all member federations and stakeholders in the discussion.”

Of the 15 IOC proposals, the following 11 are of particular importance for the work of the IFA:
– Forster sustainable sporting events
– Reinforce athletes’ rights and responsibilities
– Continue to attract best athletes
– Further strengthen safe sport and the protection of clean athletes
– Harmonisation of the sports calendar
– Grow digital engagement with people
– Strengthening the role of sport as an enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals
– Supporting refugees and populations affected by displacement
– Promoting corporate citizenship
– Good governance
– Innovative revenue generation models

Principles of Good Association Governance.

The IFA admits the principles of a free democratic basic order and safeguards the sport of Fist-ball against all forms of violence, discrimination and illegal betting and match fixing.
To this end, the IFA Board of Directors has adopted a comprehensive set of rules that is regularly evaluated and revised. Therefore, updates of the following regulations will also be discussed during the forum:
– IFA Code of Ethics (approved 20 June 2015)
– IFA Conflict of Interest – Policy (approved 20 June 2015)
– IFA Code of Conduct on Sports Betting Integrity (approved 15 January 2016)
– IFA Rules against illegal and irregular betting and match-fixing (approved 15 January 2016)
– IFA Guidelines for the Conduct of the Athletes’ Entourage (approved 20 June 2015)
– IFA Athletes’ Commission Election Procedure 2019 (approved 4 April 2019)
– IFA World Games selection and qualification criteria (approved 4 November 2018)

An overview of all rulebooks can be found at: https://www.ifa-fistball.com/governance/

The 7th CSIT World Sports Games 2021 including the IFA CSIT 2021 FISTBALL AMATEURS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, scheduled to take place in Cervia (Italy) from 1 to 6 June, have been postponed to 12 to 17 October 2021.

The CSIT Executive Committee made this decision in its meeting on Friday March, 26.

Due to the still very tense COVID-19 situation, this decision was irrevocable wrote CSIT after the meeting. “The CSIT ExCom has analysed the current status quo in great detail and has come to the conclusion that under the current circumstances, the deteriorating situation and considering the health of the WSG participants, it would be irresponsible to hold WSG2021 in two months”, so CSIT.

“In view of the cancellation of the Men’s Fistball European Championships in June in Italy, we would like to emphasize once again that the Women’s World Championships in July in Switzerland and the U18 World Champs in Austria will be held regardless of whether spectators are allowed on site or not,” emphasized IFA Secretary General Christoph Oberlehner. “Regarding a possible quarantine for the athletes, we are already assuming entry facilitations for all participating teams for the U18 World Championships due to the special commitment of Faustball Austria,” said Oberlehner. Thus, the entry will be possible upon presentation of a negative COVID-19 test due to the top sport status of Fistball in Austria. “We are currently working on an analogous confirmation for Switzerland.”

“From the beginning we have planned for the World Championship in several scenarios and will make it an optimal experience for our fans even without spectators through an improved TV offer,” said IFA President Jörn Verleger. It is not up to the world federation to criticize a decision of the Local Organizing Committee in Kaltern and/or the European association, in view of numerous inquiries after the publication of the decision IFA is not really enthusiastic about the communication strategy, since a final decision for the European championship, which are also a qualifying competition for the World Games Birmingham 2022, was not made so far. In the run-up, IFA had suggested a joint communication of the final decision for early/mid-April, as it would then also be clear whether or not the last September weekend on which the annual World Tour Finals for club teams had previously been scheduled would be fixed as an alternative date for the EURO.

“The winner of the European Championships qualifies directly for the World Games, provided the European Championships are held in 2021,” said Oberlehner, who is on duty at the World Games as competition manager for Fistball. “This should be taken into consideration in case of a possible postponement of the European Championship to 2022,” Oberlehner added.

“We have deliberately chosen this publication of a statement to send a positive signal together with our friends in Jona in Grieskirchen, who are preparing the World Championships with great optimism and commitment,” emphasized IFA President Verleger. Currently, the local organizing committees in Jona and Grieskirchen hope and assume that they will be able to hold events with at least a reduced number of spectators and appropriate protective measures.

Kristof Lerch is elected as new President of the Fistball Association of Namibia. On the eve of the first match day of the 2021 Bank Windhoek Fistball League season in Cohen the Fistball Association of Namibia elected 28-year-old from Windhoek as its new President.

IFA President Jörn Verleger said in a congratulation message “I am happy to learn that the new generation in Namibia has overtaken responsibilities and warmly welcome Kristof. I am looking forward to work together with him and his team and we have agree a virtual meeting in the nearby future” he said.

Boosted by home turf advantage, Cohen Fistball Club (CFC 1) kicked off its 2021 Bank Windhoek Fistball League season on a high note when it defeated Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) 3:1 in Windhoek over the weekend.

The Bank Windhoek Fistball League’s opening fixtures saw seven teams divided into two groups compete for top honours.

Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) faced Swakopmund Fistball Club (SFC) and SFC Old Boys in Group A. SKW 1 started the group well and overpowered SFC 2 with a 2:0 win. However, SFC 1 was better than SKW 1 in the first set and won 11:5. In the second set, SKW’s Michael Baas, who played in defence, was forced to play as an attacking player, and this tactic paid off as SKW 1 ended up winning the second set 11:8. As a result, SKW 1 took first place with a better ball difference followed by SFC 1 and SFC 2.

Group B, which comprised two teams from CFC 1, and a team from SFC 2 and SKW 2, was dominated by CFC 1, who won all its fixtures with a 2:0 score line. CFC 2 beat SFC 3 and SKW 2, to join their club mates CFC 1 into the semi-finals. SFC 3 lost against SKW 2, and both teams slipped into fifth and seventh place, respectively.

In the semi-finals stages, SKW 1 easily set aside CFC 2 in a one-sided affair to make it to the finals. In the first set of the second semi-final, CFC 1 left SFC 1, with no chance to cause an upset. However, SFC 1 came back with a strong performance that saw it defeat CFC 1 in the second set, but this was not enough as CFC 1 returned and won the decisive set. As a result, SFC 1 and CFC 2 played for the third spot, which SFC 1 narrowly won 3:2.

In the final, CFC 1 played better from the beginning and could defend its early lead until the end of the first set. In the second set, SKW 1 stabilised its build-up and won the second set. CFC 1 picked up their game and won the following two sets with 11:8 and 12:10 winning the final 3:1, placing themselves at the top of the table.

In the youth category, the second selection from SFC took first place. SFC 1, who were equal on points with their teammates, had an inferior ball difference of three points and were relegated to second place. SKW came third. Defender Florian Mosich from SFC 1 was named Player of the Day.

Below is the current Log Standings after the first match day:
Place Points
1. CFC 1 12
2. SKW 1 10
3. SFC 1 8
4. CFC 2 6
5. SFC 3 4
6. SFC 2 2
7. SKW 2 1

The next league match day will take place on Saturday, 17 April 2021, at SKW in Windhoek.

On Saturday 10 April at 2:00 (CET) the postponed 2nd IFA Athletes Forum on the main topic “Women in Fistball” will take place in virtual form. The forum will be live streamed on Fistball.tv. The forum will be very interactive, and viewers will have the opportunity to ask their questions.

The IFA Athletes´ Commission under the leadership of chairwomen Katharina Lackinger prepared the 2nd IFA Athletes´ Forum. Main topic will be “Women in Fistball”. The forum will be covered on www.fistball.tv as well as the IFA social media channels.

The main question of this year´s forum is how we can make Fistball more attractive especially for girls/women. Several members of the IFA Athletes´ Commission agreed to make a point of statement on the questions raised during the forum.

IFA Secretary General Christoph Oberlehner will present a short comparison between women’s and men’s world championships as a fact check. In addition, athletes Celina Traxler, Tanja Bognar, Eric Kindler, Karin Kempinger, Hinrike Seitz or Nick Trinemeier, among others, will give a speech.

Via www.slido.com as well as on several IFA social media channels and an “advocate of the audience” the viewers can comment on the topics.

Ways to Fistball
More than 25,000 girls and women train and play Fistball – how did they get into their favorite sport?
We asked some of them. In addition, we wanted to know what they expect from the 2021 Women’s World Championship in Jona, Switzerland.

The questions:
1. How did you get into Fistball?
2. Why am I looking forward to the 2021 Fistball World Championships in Jona?

1) I practically grew up at the fistball court – after mom and dad both played or still play I very soon started to emulate. So it was quite clear that my brothers and sisters and I also want to join the Fistball family.

2) A world championship is of course something very special – the atmosphere and the mood are always really nice to experience. I think this year it will be even more intense, because we all miss it very much to stand together – in a halfway normal form – on the court and have fun!

Hinrike Seitz (national player from Germay)

1) My mother played Fistball back then and took me to the sports field as a little baby. It’s inevitable that you follow your mother’s example and go to practice yourself as soon as you can hold onto a ball.

2) A world championship is always a special event that you want to take part in. When you can’t practice the sport you’ve loved and lived for years for months, you look forward to such an event even more. Also, Jona is known for its excellent hosting of events. If the situation allows it, I am convinced that it will be an unforgettable World Championship.

Silke Eber (National coach Germany)

1) I came to Fistball at the age of 7. My primary school teacher at the time was a local fistball coach and was able to inspire me for this sport.

2) I am really looking forward to the World Championships in Switzerland, especially in the current difficult situation, we all feel a lot of desire and anticipation to finally be able to play Fistball again. I’m also sure that the people in charge in Jona will put on a great event despite the difficult conditions.

Dr. Giana Hexsel (IFA Vice President, BRA)

1) My father was a Faustball player. Since i was a little child, I was on Faustball fields, watching him playing. When I was 8 years old I started playing in Sociedade Ginástica Novo Hamburgo, and played for many years (now as a Master).

2) I am really looking forward to be at the World Championship in Jona, because I have already played there (it will be nice to visit this beautiful place), also i want to watch the games and assist as a doctor – if necessary.

Wioleta Franczyk (Chairwomen IFA Women in Sport Commission, POL)

1) A few years ago I volunteered at the World Games in Wroclaw and I learned about the game. Later we constructed as volunteers the national Fistball team of Poland and played the World Championship in Linz. That´s how I got into Fistball.

2) I suppose that we should show that Fistball is an important sport also for women. And secondly that we could show that the virus is not a problem to organize such an event – that we are stronger.

“It is time to build an equal future. I call for more women to run for leadership in Fistball” quoted IFA President Jörn Verleger on the eve of the International Women´s Day on Monday 8 March.

“I agree with those who say the pandemic is worsening already deep inequalities facing women and girls, erasing years of progress towards gender equality. Volunteerism could help to redress this power imbalance, strengthening women’s voices in all spheres and decisions affecting their lives”, he says.

#InternationalWomensDay #IWD2021 #ChooseToChallenge #WomenInSport.

It is with greatest sadness that the International Fistball Association (IFA) has learnt that Ernesto Dohnalek, IFA Honorary President, passed away at the age of 70.

Ernesto, born on May 13, 1950 was elected on August 27, 1995 in Windhoek (Namibia) as the fourth President of IFV (Internationale Faustballverband). He took over the office from Dr. Hans Christian Kollmann of Austria. According to his own words, highlights of his term of office were the World Games 2005 in Duisburg and 2009 in Taiwan, as well as the World Championships 2007 in Oldenburg and the establishment of U18 World Championships since 2003.

In Namibia, the Board of Directors decided that from now on the Fistball World Championships would take place every four years and thus always in two-year alternation with the World Games.

The International Faustballverband (as the federation was then called) celebrated a premiere in Dohnalek’s home country Argentina in 1994. The first Women’s Fistball World Championship was held in Buenos Aires. Eight nations competed. At the 1999 IFA Congress in Olten, it was decided to reduce the line height to 1.90 m for women’s, junior and female youth games.

In 2003, the boys’ U18 teams from eight nations met for the first time for the first Fistball World Championship of the U18 national teams. This was followed in 2006 by the first World Championship for the female U18s in Llanquihue, Chile.

At the 2003 Men’s World Championship in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the Congress decided to rename the federation in International Fistball Association (IFA).

At the 2007 World Championship in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany, with twelve nations participating for the first time, the congress decided to change the rules of the game to a set length of up to eleven points.

At the 2011 Men’s World Championship in Pasching, Austria’s Karl Weiß succeeded Ernesto Dohnalek as IFA President. After founding president Erich Petschnek, who led the federation for 22 years, Dohnalek conducted the second longest term of an IFA president at the helm of the federation with 16 years. In 2011, he was named IFA Honorary President for his contributions to the sport of Fistball.

“Ernesto had a real passion for the sport of Fistball and dedicated many years to the development of our sport. Under his leadership, broader changes to the sport of Fistball were enacted,” said IFA Honorary President Karl Weiss. “Although he was already in poor health, I am happy that we could still welcome Ernesto in the last years together with his wife Andrea at the World Games 2017 in Wroclaw and the World Championship 2019 in Winterthur. Those were very emotional moments for all of us,” said IFA President Jörn Verleger. “Ernesto will be dearly missed”.

José Perurena, President of the International World Games Association said of Ernesto Dohnalek: “We have lost someone who has been a close friend for many years. His commitment to our multi-sport event was exemplary. At the same time, he won many friends with his open and down-to-earth nature. This cheerful nature made Ernesto an outstanding and influential ambassador for his sport as well. In our thoughts, we are with Ernesto’s wife Andrea and their children. The World Games family will always remember him as one of the strongest supporters of our event. Our farewell words are simply expressed: Thank you, Ernesto.”

AIMS President Stephan Fox said: “On behalf of the AIMS family, we would like to send our deepest condolences to the IFA family and certainly to Ernesto’s family and to Andrea. Ernesto was a very special person and I was very much emotionally touched when I met him again at the World Games final in Poland. His strength to be there with the sport and the family he loved so much, putting his own challenges aside is an inspiration for all of us.”

Our sympathy goes to his family and the relatives!

In the shadow of the athletes
They are the busy little bees in the background: 1400 volunteers ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible at the Nordic World Ski Championships.

Very close to the athletes at the Nordic World Ski Championships is IFA President Jörn Verleger. As anti-doping chaperone he becomes the shadow of the cross-country skiers as soon as they cross the finish line. The French word translates as supervisor, or as Verleger puts it, “I am one of the nearby 40 shadow.”

The 48-year-old is on duty as a volunteer in the cross-country stadium during the first week of the World Championships and accompanies the athletes until the doping control. “In the process, I first inform the athlete about the upcoming control and do not let him out of my sight afterwards,” says Verleger. This is to guarantee that the “chosen ones” – the top three finishers and other athletes drawn by lot – go for a doping test without delay. “We all want the sport to stay clean,” he says. The fight against doping is not just about the tests, he says; prevention and education are at the forefront of the volunteer’s mind. “These aspects actually count for me even more than the pure controls,” says the 48-year-old, who has taken holiday for his volunteer job. For Verleger, who was already on duty at the last Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf in 2005, there is no better task.

Fistball and winter sports – for Verleger this is not a contradiction. “Sport defines my life,” says Verleger. With a view to the two IFA Fistball World Championships coming up this year in Austria and Switzerland, the hygiene concept of the World Ski Championships is also interesting to him.

“There’s always a lot you can learn and adapt from these kinds of major events,” says Verleger. In general, he does not find the circumstances burdensome. “Tests and the procedure are part of the new normal,” Verleger says. “At the end of the day, I’m glad the event is happening at all.”

Articel based on a report from Tobias Giegerich of the Allgäuer Zeitung.
Photo credit: Ralf Lienert, Allgäuer Zeitung

The women’s fistball national league in Austria will be decided this weekend. After the last preliminary round matches on Saturday, the indoor state championship title will be awarded on Sunday. The defending champions from Nußbach, who were undefeated on the first weekend of competition, are already in the semi-finals. Behind them, Wels, Seekirchen, Laakirchen and Arnreit still have a chance of making it into the top four. For the so far winless teams of Wolkersdorf/Neusiedl and Froschberg it goes around a conciliatory conclusion of the shortened indoor season.

Top favorite is once again the reigning champion Nußbach. With the maximum of eight points and especially with impressive performances on the first two days of the preliminary round, the Kremstal girls have set the bar high for the competition. However, they will do everything in their power to prevent the successful defense of their title. The game mode could help in this respect. The preliminary rounds and the semifinals will be played on two winning sets, which could cause one or the other surprise. Only in the third-place match and the final will the usual “best-of-five” system be used again.

With six points each, Wels and runner-up Seekirchen go into the last day of the preliminary round as the first pursuers of Nußbach. Laakirchen and Arnreit also have legitimate hopes of reaching the semifinals with four points. After all, there are still four direct duels between the top 5 teams in the final round that could shake up the standings once again.

For the stragglers from Wolkersdorf/Neusiedl, the main thing after the botched opening weekend is to get back to their usual game and bring this year’s championship to a conciliatory conclusion. In its first season in the Bundesliga, newcomer Froschberg wants to gain as much experience as possible for next year and surprise the favorites with light-hearted performances.

As in the previous week, the Bundesliga will be held in a “bubble” at the Bundesport- und Freizeitzentrum Faaker See. On Saturday, each team will play two matches on the third day of the preliminary round. On Sunday, all seven places will be played out.

No fans are allowed in Faak, but Faustball Austria will broadcast all matches via www.fistball.tv in a livestream.