Within yesterday´s Board meeting IFA approved new IFA Competition Rules, which are now also applicable for events of the Regional Associations. Furthermore, the Board discussed the Selection and Qualification Criteria for The World Games 2021 as well as new IFA Masters Regulations and new IFA Standing Orders.

IFA is happy to announce Board member Roger Willen from Switzerland as new IFA Development Director and Gastao Englert from Brazil as inaugural IFA Olympic Education Director to promote the Olympic Day each year on 23 June as well as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) on 6 April.

The first Olympic Day was celebrated on 23 June 1948 celebrating the foundation of the International Olympic Committee at the Sorbonne, Paris, on 23 June 1894, where Pierre de Coubertin obtained the revival of the Olympic Games. Olympic Day is much more than just a sports event, it is a day for the world to get active, learn about Olympic values and discover new sports. Based on the three pillars move, learn and discover, Interna-tional Sports Federations and NOCs are organising sports, cultural and educational activities through-out the world.

At the UN headquarters in New York, on 23 August 2013, the UN General Assembly declared 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) – a decision that represented a historic step in recognizing the transformative power of sport and its great potential in advancing pos-itive social change. This day is commemorated globally each year by international, regional, national sport and develop-ment organizations to honor the role that sport plays in society, whether by encouraging healthier life-styles, making sport more widely accessible or using it as a vehicle for development in areas made vulnerable by conflict, poverty and inequality.

Furthermore, the Board discussed the preparation of the upcoming IFA 2019 events including the IFA 2019 Congress dated 14 August 2019 in Winterthur, Switzerland and confirmed a schedule of its meetings for 2019. The next Board meeting is dated 12 December.

IFA confirms the registration of 18 teams for the IFA 2019 Fistball Men’s World Championships Switzerland dated 11 to 17 August 2019 in Winterthur.

– Argentina
– Australia
– Austria
– Belgium
– Brazil
– Chile
– Czech Republic
– Danmark
– Germany
– Italy
– Japan
– Namibia
– Netherlands
– New Zealand
– Poland
– Serbia
– Switzerland
– USA

See also Bulletin 1.

The IFA Fistball World Tour Finals will be carried out in Salzburg, Austria from Friday, 13 September to Sunday, 15 September. For the second time after 2018, these IFA Fistball World Tour Finals replace and restructure the former IFA Fistball World Cup.
The winners of the continental club championships and the best two teams in the World Tour Ranking powered by Sportastic play against each other in a men’s and women’s competition.

Just before the end of this year’s World Tour the International Fistball Association (IFA) is pleased to announce that Salzburg has been chosen as highly qualified host of the second edition of the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals in 2019.
The city of Salzburg and the venue, Sportzentrum Nord, offer perfect infrastructure to host our Fistball World Tour Finals.
Apart from the world-wide known sights, such as the Salzburg Fortress, the city and the federal state of Salzburg provided great support right from the beginning of the bidding process.
IFA is sure the participating teams can look forward to a great final event, which will be carried out for 3 competition days for the first time.

Winfried Kronsteiner, chair of the International Fistball Association’s (IFA) Sports Commission and initiator of the World Tour: “We will see the best eight men’s and women’s teams qualified as Continental Champions or through the World Tour as a worldwide series of fistball tournaments in various categories. Each of the participating 100 teams had the chance to qualify for this event. It is obvious that our sport keeps growing, evolving and exploring new territories. Our very young World Tour develops permanently. I am sure we create a great stage for all players to deliver their best performance and to excite the fans”.
Furthermore the World Tour Finals in Salzburg should bring a new motivation to the local fistball clubs to their further development. The finals will be organized together with local clubs and with Fistball Austria so to put the organization on a broad basis.
Winfried Kronsteiner: “There was a wide evaluation of the first edition of the tournament. We are sure the second will be another milestone for this event.”

Clube Duque de Caxias (BRA) currently head the table of both, the men’s and the women’s competition of the IFA 2018 Fistball World Tour ranking presented by Sportastic.
Overall, more than 90 women’s and men’s teams from 11 nations and 5 continents participated in the IFA Fistball World Tour. In total, there will be 20 tournaments on five continents.

Chile would like to host the next Women’s World Championship in 2 years, Club Gimnastico Aleman de Llanquihue applied to host it. At a first 2-day visit of the venue and the host city, IFA had several meetings with the Organizing team and the major of Llanquihue to discuss the concept and get a better understanding of the plans.

Club Gimnastico Aleman de Llaquihue (CHI) applied to host the IFA 2020 Fistball Women’s World Championship with a very good structured and modern concept. Within its trip to the USA for the 1st competition manager meeting and to Buenos Aires to the Panamerican Championship, IFA Administrative Director Christoph Oberlehner visited the city of Llanquihue (CHI) to inspect the venue and the infrastructure of Llanquihue. Oberlehner was also able to convince himself of some important city’s projects (new town hall, lakeside promenade, revitalization park), which will be ready in time for the World Championship.

In a meeting with the mayor of Llanquihue, Victor Angulo, Pablo Flores (Administrator of the City) and Luciano Belmar (Coordinator of the City), Hernán Mödinger from the Organizing Team and Christoph Oberlehner (IFA) talked about the upcoming event and the support of the city for the host club. In a further meeting with the Organizing Team different topics were discussed. On a visit of the venue and its infrastructure as well of some hotels IFA got a very good impression how the presented concept will work and planned the next steps with the Organizing Team. Also the local press is very interested in the Women’s World Championship and did a live broadcast within the meeting with the major. Furthermore a camera team of a TV station was part of the pre-event visit and afterwards Mödinger and Oberlehner were guests in a talk round at the TV studio. “I’m very excited of the venue and the strong support of the city and also within the club to host the next Women’s World Championship. Llanquihue offers a unique place for that championship and presented a modern concept. Club Llanquihue and Fistball Chile would be very well prepared to host the Championship”, said Christoph Oberlehner.

A final decision who will host the next Women’s World Championship is made probably in the beginning of November at the next board meeting of IFA.

Team Brazil has won the female and the male team event at the 2nd Pan-American Fistball Championships which happened within the framework of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires at the SAG Club of Punta Chica of Buenos Aires in Villa Ballester. The three days club competition was won by the female and male teams of Duque de Caxias (Brazil).

Runner up of the female national team division were Chile and Argentina whilst Argentina reached second position in the men´s event and Chile finished third. The runner up of the female club competition were Sogipa (BRA) and Manquehue (CHI) as well as Condor (BRA) and CCAA Rosario (BRA) in the men´s division.

On Friday the PAFA 2018 Congress under the strong leadership of the confirmed female President Christiane Süffert (BRA) took place. The IFA member federations from North and South America met to discuss the new PAFA Statutes and elected the board. With Silvana Nerys taking over the position of the Financial Director and Patricia Stopp elected as new Secretary now female representation is 3 out of 5 PAFA Board members. As Vice-President Bob Feid was reelected. The new Sports Commission is now chaired by Gastao Englert. The congress discussed the IFA Qualification system for the IFA World Championships and The World Games 2021 – Birmingham as the next IFA female championships in 2020 will also serve as qualifiers. IFA promoted the recently established Fistball Academy for the fistball development worldwide.

Christiane Süffert will stay as representative of PAFA on the IFA Board of Directors. IFA was represented at the congress by IFA President Karl Weiss, IFA Secretary General Jörn Verleger and IFA Administrative Director Christoph Oberlehner as well as the chairwomen of IFA Medical and Anti-Doping Commission Giana Daniela Hexsel.

Weiss, Verleger and Oberlehner not only attending the continental championship but also the IOC Olympism in Action Forum (together with Gastao Englert), the IOC Session, the AIMS Council meeting and many more meetings with sports leaders as well as all parks of the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires for several sport events.

Verleger and Oberlehner also used the chance to visit Chile, likely to become host of the IFA 2020 Fistball Women´s World Championships as well as IFA President Weiss attended with great sadness the memorial for former IOC Member and GAISF President Patrick Baumann at the Urban Park. Furthermore, IFA attended the IFMA “Sport is Your Gang” Charity Event under the leadership of AIMS President Stephan Fox.

“IFA thanks the IOC for the opportunity to attend the meetings and sessions in Buenos Aires. It was a great experience to participate e.g. at the IOC Olympism in Action Forum and visiting the Youth Olympic Games. It was a great shock, which hit us all very hard, when we learned the death of Patrick Baumann, President of GAISF, whom we all called a friend,” said IFA President Karl Weiss.

It is with the greatest shock that the International Fistball Association has learned of the death of Patrick Baumann, President of GAISF, the umbrella Organisation of all international sports federations, in Buenos Aires today.

IFA President Karl Weiss said: “This is a great shock, which has hit us all very hard. We lose a sympathic sports leader and friend, who was also a friend of fistball and the future of all sports. Our last meeting happened only 6 days ago. Our thoughts are with his wife, his children and his family.”

Patrick Baumann was elected as President of the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) in 2016; and as President of SportAccord in 2017.

The IFA expresses its deepest sympathies to Patrick Baumann’s family.

In the beginning of October IFA Administrative Director Christoph Oberlehner and US Fistball President Bob Feid spent three days at the 1st Competition Manager’s Meeting for The World Games 2021 in Birmingham, Alabama (USA). Fistball will be the first time part of the World Games with a men’s and a women’s competition. In total 14 national teams will take part in nearly 3 years.

Together with 33 other sports they get a first impression of the plans and strategy of the Organizing Committee for the next World Games which takes place in the USA from 15-25 July 2021. The International World Games Association and the Birmingham Organizing Committee informed about Transport Service, Accommodation, schedules of the sports, TV production, technical details and needs. Furthermore the Competition Manager had the chance to do a venue tour and visit the planned venues for their sport.

The fistball competition will be probably held at the Campus of the Birmingham Southern College (BSC), where we find perfect conditions for our sport. The venue is just a few minutes outside of the city centre and offers very good possibilities for our sport. “We are very impressed of the work of the Organizing Committee and the venue. We are looking forward to hold a great competition here and we can already feel the spirit of The World Games – more than 1000 days before the start of The World Games. Of course there is still a lot of work to do, but the organizers and we are right on target. Fans can look forward to an amazing World Games in 2,5 years in the beautiful city of Birmingham”, says IFA Administrative Director Christoph Oberlehner. “Furthermore we plan a pre-event in 2020 together with the Organizing Committee to test the conditions and facilities to get more knowledge for 2021.”

About The World Games
The World Games 2021 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 more than 20 unique venues around the greater metropolitan area. The World Games 2021 Birmingham, which marks the 40th anniversary of the event, will take place from 15-25 July 2021. The World Games was established by the International World Games Association, an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee. For more information, visit theworldgames2021.com.

The International Fistball Association (IFA) Board of Directors in cooperation with the local organizing team has approved the registrations of the following member federations for the IFA 2019 Fistball Men´s World Championship Switzerland, which will take place in Winterthur, Switzerland, from 11 – 17 August 2019.

– Argentina (ARG)
– Australia (AUS)
– Austria(AUT)
– Belgium (BEL)
– Brasilia (BRA)
– Chile (CHI)
– Czech Republic (CZE)
– Denmark (DEN)
– Germany (GER)
– Italy (ITA)
– Japan (JAP)
– Kenya (KEN)
– Namibia (NAM)
– New Zealand (NZL)
– Poland (POL)
– Serbia (SRB)
– Switzerland (SUI)
– USA

The event is a qualification tournament for The 2021 World Games Birmingham, USA.

IFA President Karl Weiss signed an Agreement of Cooperation with the International Workers & Amateurs in Sports Confederation (CSIT) to host the inaugural CSIT IFA 2019 Fistball Amateurs World Cup within the framework of the CSIT World Sports Games 2019 in Tortosa (Catalonia/Spain).

Necessary preregistration deadline for this event is latest 15 October 2018 by email to office@ifa-fistball.com

The CSIT – founded 1913 is the global umbrella organization of National Workers- and Amateur Sports Federations and Regional Sports for All Organizations. The promotion of Fair Play is considered as an important contribution for peace and understanding.

The main highlights of the CSIT are the “World Sports Games”, a unique major sports event for a couple of thousand workers and amateurs every two years, where the incomparable “Spirit of CSIT” can be experienced.

IFA invites all individuals and clubs of the Fistball Family to participate at the inaugural CSIT IFA 2019 Fistball Amateurs World Cup. At the beginning of September IFA will be sent out officially the official invitation of the CSIT World Sports Games 2019 including the age divisions and participation fee.

The 16th Century City Tortosa is located in South Catalonia and is the capital of the region of Terres de l’Ebre half way between Barcelona and Valencia. Tortosa has about 35.000 inhabitants.

The last edition of the CSIT World Sports Games took place in Riga in 2017 including a spectacular opening ceremony, several demonstration sports and a cultural program.
The CSIT and the IFA will try to establish and to co-ordinate common activities in matters of fair-play, tolerance, peace and understanding through and in sports. Furthermore, CSIT and IFA will deepen the cooperation to sensitize its members for the importance of the ethical and cultural values of sport.

Details see: www.csit.tv/en/world-sports-games/vi.-csit-world-sports-games-2019

#csit #wearefistball

An essential activity of the International Fistball Assocciation (IFA) is the development of sustainable and forward-looking concepts concerning the promotion and dissemination of fistball. In addition one to this one main aim is the improvement of cooperation of all member federations and the promotion of communication and the exchange of ideas.

Therefore the International Fistball Association (IFA) invites in cooperation with the European Fistball Association (EFA) all interested trainers, sportsmen etc. to participate in the Presentation of the “Fistball Academy”, on 25th August 2018, 7:30 pm, Adelmannsfelden (GER).

Key subjects will be the presentation of the new formate “IFA Fistball Academy” as a a platform to promote knowledge exchange, learning, and the flow of information and communication in the international fistball family.

Find the invitation with further information as a download here: Invitation Presentation IFA Fistball Academy