Congratulation to all winners and nominees!

We are looking back on another year with great Fistball sport, plenty of activities and great initiatives from the Fistball family.

10 nominations from 9 countries are on the short list for the IFA 2023 ACTIVITY AWARD:

– Fistball Federation of Australia: 2023 was a major milestone year for the Fistball Federation of Australia – celebrating 10 years of Australian Fistball, in July Australia competed in their 3rd IFA Men’s Fistball World Championship and in December, the first Australian National Championships were held. And its only 10 years since the start.
– FBC ASKÖ Linz-Urfahr: A very interesting exhibition was designed about the clubs successes and acting players 1971 – 2023 presented at the Austrian Final 3 in February 2023.
– CLUBE DUQUE DE CAXIAS: 2nd World Tour Final host in row
– Fistball Denmark: short-term host for European U19 champs and European Youth Cup 2023
– Faustball Deutschland: initiative “Fistball can do more” and renaming Faustball Deutschland
– Fabian Mondl: mini documentary “The pitch for the SAP Arena”. Turf master Thomas Büchner explains how the turf gets into the arena. “A task that we don’t have every day”.
– Dominik Mondl, the Institute for Sport and Sports Science (ISSW) Heidelberg and the World Championship 2023 Organizing Committee of Faustball² e.V.: Schools Day Fistball at MWC 2023 with almost 2.000 people
– Fistball Association of Hong Kong China: Eleven teams from six primary schools participated in the inaugural Faustball Primary School Championship 2023, a championship not just about competition but also about building strong friendship and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
– Fistball Federation of India: 10th sub-junior inter district Fistball championship.
– The Kempf Family from Timaru New Zealand: The sport of Fistball in New Zealand has been firmly associated with the name Kempf for a number of years. As players, Jesse and Samuel Kempf are pillars of the national team, their father René Kempf is coach of the men’s NZ team and the driving force behind the “South Canterbury Social Fistball League” together with Samuel. And last but not least, Bronwyn, wife and mother, who acts as a good spirit in the background and is responsible for press relations. A true example for “Fistball that’s Family”.

Who do you think should win the award?

See IFA AWARD ceremony on World Fistball Day 30th of January at 8.00 p.m. (European Time) on www.youtube.com/@IFAFistballChannel

International Fistball Association (IFA) has the honour to invite all IFA members, Fistball clubs or individuals to submit nominations for the IFA 2023 AWARDS.

The awards will be presented in the following three categories:
• IFA BEST FISTBALL PICTURE OF THE YEAR (public voting)
• IFA ACTIVITY AWARD
• IFA LIFETIME AWARD

The proposals should be sent by www.tinyurl.com/IFAawards2023 latest until 18th of January 2024.

The Awards Ceremony will be held virtually on the World Fistball Day Tuesday 30th January 2024.

Welcoming the best teams in the world – whether it’s the best club teams at the annual World Tour Finals, male and female talent at the 2026 U18 World Championship or the stars of the fistball scene at the 2027 Men’s World Championship: the International Fistball Association (IFA) is currently giving interested organizers the opportunity to apply to host international events in the years 2025 to 2027.

Sönke Spille, who as IFA Head of Events has been responsible for the organization of IFA events since the summer, is in charge of this. In this interview, he talks about the bidding events, criteria and the application process.

After the Men’s World Championships in Mannheim and the World Tour Final in Curitiba, the focus for events is already looking further into the future. At the beginning of December, the IFA announced the bidding process for the events from 2025 to 2027. What is the current status?

The first interested candidates have come forward, with whom we held a kick-off meeting and answered questions in specific. I think we have a very diverse range of events in the advertised period: Whether it’s offering the best young international talent a great stage or the World Tour Finals, which have thrilled me in recent years with their great atmosphere among the participating teams. Then there is the Men’s World Championships, which will certainly be another highlight event for our sport. I am convinced that these will all be great events. We have further developed the bidding process and created the greatest possible transparency.

What is different than in the past?

We have put together a brochure with all the important information for each event. These are available on a dedicated website, which is also used to submit the expression of interest. Our aim is to give as good an impression as possible of the individual events on the website and in the brochure and at the same time provide all the important facts that are important for an organizer.

Who can apply to be an organizer and where is this possible?

Clubs, associations and cooperations such as a city with a local club can submit their intentions to host an IFA event. There is a form for this purpose, which only serves to make initial contact. By registering here, you do not enter into any obligations. The expression of interest is possible until 15 January. I will then contact the interested applicant directly.

What requirements do applicants have to meet?

I believe it is important that the potential organizers come with an initial vision of how they can imagine the event. It is primarily about exchanging initial ideas and plans. The IFA clearly sees itself as a contact and supporter on the way to the official application and then later during the implementation.

How does the awarding process work?

All interested applicants will be asked to complete a detailed questionnaire. Among other things, this covers the infrastructure requirements, which volunteer concept is being considered and what the plans are in terms of media impact. We also want to take a closer look at the plans for teams and spectators as well as ideas for sustainability. We are available to all interested applicants with help and advice.

The information must be submitted by 20 March 2024, after which a jury will evaluate the concepts and the event will be awarded by the IFA Executive Board. Ideally, this process could be completed for all events as early as spring. We see this as a transparent process with equal conditions for all applicants. And: We want to offer better planning security for everyone by awarding contracts as early as possible!

Events International Fistball Association

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has published the 2024 List of Prohibited Substances and Methods (List), which was approved by WADA’s Executive Committee (ExCo) during its meeting on 22 September 2023 and enters into force from the 1 January 2024.

The 2024 Prohibited List also contains:

– The 2024 Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes as compared to the 2023 List; and
– The 2024 Monitoring Program, which includes substances that are not on the List, but that WADA wishes to monitor in order to detect potential patterns of misuse in sport.
For a substance or method to be added to the List, it must be determined that it meets at least two of the following three criteria:

1. It has the potential to enhance or enhances sport performance.
2. It represents an actual or potential health risk to the athletes.
3. It violates the spirit of sport.

Major modifications for 2024

All Major Modifications for 2024 are outlined in the 2024 Summary of Major Modifications and Explanatory Notes, including the following particular information regarding tramadol:

On 23 September 2022, the ExCo endorsed the recommendation by WADA’s List Expert Advisory Group to prohibit the narcotic TRAMADOL in competition, effective 1 January 2024.

The Therapeutic Use Exemption Program

It should be noted that for athletes who have a legitimate medical reason for using a prohibited substance or method that is on the List, they can apply for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) to determine whether they meet the criteria outlined in the International Standard for Therapeutic Use Exemptions (ISTUE).

Languages and Formats

The 2024 Prohibited List; the 2024 Summary of Modifications and Explanatory Notes; and the 2024 Monitoring Program are available for download on WADA’s website in English, French and Turkish with other languages to follow in the coming weeks.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas with your loved ones. May this festive season be filled with love, peace and joy. A heartfelt thank you for your support, your trust and the moments we shared together in the past year.

Joern & Chris

The IFA Board of Directors meeting confirmed the IFA meetings 2024 and approved an updated IFA Honorary Order.

10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

The Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 and sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.

An IFA Policy on Human Rights will be discussed in today IFA Board of Directors meeting.

The topic of “sport and human rights” has moved to the center of social attention. Values such as respect, transparency and independence as well as the three areas of sustainability are practiced by the fistball family and are firmly anchored in the rules and regulations, such as the IFA statutes. The children’s and human rights from the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN Guiding Principles) provide a framework for the values of sport.

In doing so, we are following the example of international sport, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which adopted its strategic framework for human rights in 2022. In addition, as civil society organizations, we are committed to the implementation of human and children’s rights within the opportunities that sport offers.

With the help of this policy, we would also like to highlight and raise awareness of the opportunities that sport offers in terms of respecting human rights.

Thank you for your support and your friendship in 2023!
IFA is looking forward to all Fistball activities all around the world with many highlights, especially the U18 World Championships in Chile and the Women’s World Championship in Argentina!

Our office will close on Friday 22 December 2023 at 1pm and will reopen on Monday 8 January 2024 at 9am.

On behalf of the IFA Board of Directors we’re sending best regards and we wish you Merry Christmas and a good start into a healthy, active and happy new year 2024.

The annual International Federations Forum (IF Forum) took place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne at the beginning of this week.

The event kicked off with the AIMS General Assembly at the Olympic House.

Stephan Fox, the President of AIMS, opened the General Assembly by emphasizing the continuous collaboration between AIMS and the IOC since 2016. This partnership has been pivotal in advancing sports not yet acknowledged by the IOC. Mr. Fox expressed gratitude to the IOC for their unwavering support.

Mr. Kit McConnell, the IOC Sport Director, conveyed a welcoming message on behalf of the IOC, underlining the close cooperation between the two entities. McConnell highlighted that in 2021, six AIMS members gained full recognition from the IOC, and three former AIMS members were incorporated into the 2026 Winter and 2028 Summer Olympic programs.

Mr. Ivo Ferriani, the President of SportAccord, extended congratulations to AIMS for their remarkable contributions to grassroots development and fostering a family spirit. He commended the seamless cooperation between AIMS and the IOC.

The agenda covered various crucial topics, including discussions on the dissolution of GAISF and the reinforced position of AIMS within the Olympic family.

A special highlight for the AIMS family was an exclusive tour of the Olympic House, providing a unique and enriching experience for all participants.