The International World Games Association (IWGA) announced the winners of The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024, as determined by thousands of passionate fans from around the globe.

The final standings of the competition are as follows:
The World Games Athlete of the Year 2024:
Veddriq Leonardo (Indonesia) – Sport Climbing – 77,045 votes on the final round
1st runner-up: Kristin Lätt (Estonia) – Flying Disc – 51,338
2nd runner-up: Xin Tong (China) – Wushu – 26,181

Congratulation Fistball star Isabella Lucchin from Brazil for a strong performance in 2024 and a very good result with 13’419 votes. Isabella finished on 7th place of 18 candidates.

The International World Games Association says: “To all ten finalists, you are all champions in the eyes of the IWGA and your supporters. Your performances, passion, and hard work have elevated your sports and inspired millions. We applaud your incredible contributions to The World Games. Your stories inspire all of us!”

This year’s IFA LIFETIME AWARD goes to Victor Mödinger.

He is certainly still known to the older fistball players as a player of his home club Club Gimnástico Alemán Llanquihue and the Chilean national team.

Victor Mödinger is a person who has not always been in the spotlight, but has achieved great things behind the scenes.

For many years, he was an important promoter and patron of Chilean fistball.

His support was not only financial, but also of inestimable value due to his personal commitment and numerous contacts in Europe.

Thanks to Victor Mödinger, many important connections have been made and projects have been realized that have had a lasting impact on fistball in Chile.

His generosity and his open ear for the concerns of the sport have contributed significantly to the fact that Chilean fistball is now on a solid foundation and can continue to grow.
Victor has more than earned this award.

His tireless commitment and passion for fistball should be an example to us all.

We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for everything he has done for Chilean and international fistball, and we are delighted to present him with the IFA 2024 Lifetime Award today.

Congratulations, Victor Mödinger!

The winner of the IFA 2024 ACTIVITY AWARD is the Female Fistball Future project an initiative of Faustball Austria that aims to increase the participation and presence of women in Fistball.

Five specific sub-groups have been created under the Female Fistball Future slogan, focusing on different aspects:
young female players,
female coaches,
female referees,
female officials
and top female athletes.

Each subgroup is supervised by an experienced mentor who provides insights into her work throughout the year and acts as a role model.

Two action days will be held for each subgroup, during which special workshops, training sessions or events are taking place.

In addition, each mentor will present her work twice via a social media takeover to generate even more attention.

The project started at the Final3 event in June 2024 and ends with the U21 European Championships in 2025.

And the IFA 2024 BEST PICTURE AWARD goes to Moritz Kaufmann.

What a wonderful picture which captures the great dynamic of the sport of Fistball.

Moritz has already won the award in 2022.

He is our first double decorated award winner in IFA history.

Congratulation Moritz and thanks for your dedication.

The International Fistball Association (IFA) was founded on January 30, 1960 and has had six presidents since then, each of whom has made significant contributions to the development of Fistball:

Erich Petschnek (Austria, 1960-1982): As the first IFA President Petschnek laid the foundation for the international organization of Fistball. Under his leadership, the first Men’s World Championships were held in Austria in 1968.

Hans Beutler (Switzerland, 1982-1986): Beutler took over the office in 1982 and continued the internationalization of the sport. During his term of office, Fistball was included in The World Games for the first time in 1985.

Dr. Hans Kollmann (Austria, 1986-1995): Kollmann led the IFA through a period of growth. In 1990, the federation celebrated its 30th anniversary, and the number of nations participating in world championships reached a new record of 11.

Ernesto Dohnalek (Argentina, 1995-2011): As the first president from South America, Dohnalek promoted the global spread of Fistball. In 1994, the first Women’s World Championship was held in Buenos Aires, a milestone for women’s Fistball.

Karl Weiß (Austria, 2011–2019): Weiß advocated for the recognition of the IFA by the IOC and expanded the IFA’s membership from 27 to 61 nations.

Jörn Verleger (Germany, since 2019): Verleger promotes the global presence of Fistball and is committed to sustainability in sports. Under his leadership, the 2023 Men’s World Championship was awarded to Mannheim, where Gold Medal matches was held in an indoor arena on natural grass for the first time.

Each of these presidents has contributed significantly to the development and internationalization of Fistball.

Time and again, there are doping incidents in sport. Although we have not had a positive doping case in Fistball so far, our athletes are subject to the World Anti-Doping Code of WADA.

IFA President Jörn Verleger, who is also the chair of the IWGA Anti-Doping Panel, answered fundamental questions about doping and anti-doping work in Fistball.

Why is it important to deal intensively with the topic of anti-doping?
Verleger: It is of crucial importance to ensure the integrity and fairness of the sport. Through clear guidelines and measures, we want to protect clean athletes and promote a fair competitive environment. Doping undermines these values and endangers trust in the sport.

What exactly is doping?
Verleger: Doping refers to the use of substances that produce a non-training-related increase in performance. A comprehensive list of these prohibited substances can be found in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List. This list is updated annually and applies to all international and national sports federations worldwide.

How are athletes divided into test pools?
Verleger: The IFA has created two testing pools, although there are currently no players in the RTP.
1. ONTP (Other National Team Pool): The associations must provide information on training locations and dates for national team activities. Upon separate request, the associations must also provide regular training activities of the club teams (one regular training session per week during the season) of the league clubs of their country with current national players of their country.
Due to their success at the last championships, the associations of Germany (women & men), Austria (men) and Brazil (women) are in the ONTP in 2025.
2. RTP (Registered Testpool): Each athlete in a RTP must report his or her whereabouts via a special WADA online tool (ADAMS), providing his or her daily whereabouts and overnight accommodation, as well as his or her training and competition schedule.
The IFA can assign athletes to the RTP at any time, especially if there are any suspicions. The athletes will be notified in advance.

How are doping controls carried out?
Verleger: Unannounced controls with urine or blood samples are carried out on the test pool athletes during training and during a tournament. The IFA commissions specialized companies to carry out the controls. The blood and urine samples are analyzed at WADA-recognized institutes in Germany, such as the Institute of Biochemistry at the German Sport University Cologne and the Institute for Doping Analytics and Sports Biochemistry in Dresden. A doping sample costs about €500-1000.

What are the most common doping offenses?
Verleger: The most common doping offenses include, in general, the use of prohibited drugs and substances, such as certain hormones, asthma medications, stimulants and muscle-building hormones such as anabolics and EPO.
This also includes measures to improve endurance, such as the administration of blood products before competitions.
In addition, a repeated reporting violation is considered a doping offense and is sanctioned accordingly.
In Fistball, all controls have so far been without positive findings. We explain this by the fact that there are no professional athletes competing in Fistball or that there are no cash prizes. However, we cannot be sure that banned substances are not used in Fistball either. The best way for us to counter this is to raise awareness of integrity and fairness in sport.

What responsibility does an athlete have with regard to doping controls?
Verleger: Every athlete is responsible for what is found in a doping sample. It is important that the WADA’s list of banned substances is also known in the athlete’s environment – including partners, trainers, doctors and physiotherapists – in order to avoid positive test results due to ignorance. If a prohibited substance is necessary for medical reasons, a so-called TUE must be applied for in advance.

Watch the IFA Anti-Doping Session re-live!

As we gear up for the **2024 IFA Award Ceremony**, here’s a look back at the past winners and what to expect this year.

### **A Look Back: Past IFA Award Winners**
Over the years, the IFA Awards have recognized outstanding performances and contributions to the world of Fistball.

### **2024 IFA Award Ceremony**
The highly anticipated **2024 IFA Awards** will take place on **World Fistball Day**, Thursday, **30th January, at 20:00 (European Time)**. Fans and participants can tune in live on the following platforms:
– 🌍 [IFA Fistball on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/IFA.Fistball)
– 📺 [IFA Fistball Channel on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@IFAFistballChannel)

Make sure to mark your calendars and join the live stream to witness the announcement of this year’s winners. Share your predictions in the comments—who do you think will take home the honors?
Stay tuned for more updates and celebrate the spirit of Fistball with us!

Here are some hashtags you can use to boost engagement for your post:
#ifaawards2024

We invite all Fistball enthusiasts to wear their club or national team jerseys, tracksuits, or sports attire throughout the day—whether at work, shopping, university, or school—to showcase and promote the sport we love.

To participate, just put on your Fistball gear on January 30 and share a photo of yourself on social media using the hashtag #WorldFistballDay. Let’s flood the internet with diverse images of people proudly wearing their Fistball outfits, bringing our sport into the spotlight!
This year is particularly special as we gear up for The World Games 2025, set to take place in Chengdu, China, from August 7 to 17, 2025. Your participation in World Fistball Day helps build excitement and visibility for Fistball on the global stage.

Let’s unite and make World Fistball Day 2025 a memorable celebration of our sport!

There will also be two workshops on The World Games 2025 in Chengdu (tinyurl.com/chengdu2025) and the IFA Anti-Doping Testing Pool 2025 (tinyurl.com/antidoping2025), and the IFA Youtube channel will broadcast re-live the Gold Medal Match of The World Games 2005. 20 years ago, Austria and Brazil faced each other in the final in Duisburg.

IFA President Jörn Verleger participated in the SandSI—Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI) 2024 General Assembly. Congrats to re-elected SandSI President Julia Pallé and her team including Vincent Gaillard and Orsolya Tolnay to the excellent work. IFA is a proud member of SandSi.

SandSI, a not-for-profit international organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, leverages the power of sport to encourage mind and behaviour changes towards more responsible conduct, aligning with the Paris Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030. The mission is to accelerate sustainability in and through sport.

SandSI’s and its members goals for the sport sector are to become Carbon Neutral and Zero Waste by 2030, and to contribute to a 15% reduction in physical inactivity by the same year.

#SandSI #sustainability

📆 7-17 August 2025
🌍 Over 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries
🏅 35 sports, 61 disciplines and 254 medal events

The following countries will be invited to participate in the women’s events at The World Games in China: Brazil, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Namibia. The Italian team has qualified in the men’s competition instead of Namibia. The World Games will take place from August 7 to 17, 2025, with the Fistball event scheduled for August 9 to 13, 2025.

Learn more: https://www.theworldgames.org/editions/Chengdu-CHN-2025-14

The IFA will continue its successful partnership with the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic (FICS) in 2025. FICS partnered with The World Games (TWG) since the 2005 Games in Duisburg Germany, providing onsite sports chiropractic care to help athletes prevent injuries and achieve optional performance.

IFA signed a direct contract with FICS for the first time in 2017. This allowed the services to be offered free of charge to all teams, as was recently the case at the IFA 2024 World Tour Final in Mannheim. The contract has now been put on a new footing and approved by the IFA Board of Directors.

“We are delighted that our top athletes can continue to benefit from the outstanding work of FICS in the future,” said IFA President Jörn Verleger.

Isabella Lucchin, Brazilian attacker, has been nominated as one of 22 athletes competing for the prestigious title of World Games Athlete of the Year 2024. This nomination recognizes her incredible performances over the past year, including her role in securing the Women’s World Championship title in November in Monte Carlo (Argentina).

Information:
The year 2024 could hardly have gone better for Isabella Lucchin: First she won bronze with her home club SOGIPA/Cargo Way at the IFA World Tour Finals in Mannheim, then she led her club team to first place in the IFA World Tour rankings over several months with numerous top tournament results. However, the 28-year-old’s biggest coup came in Montecarlo (Argentina) in November. She won the title at the Fistball World Championship with the Brazilian women’s national team. In the final, Lucchin and Co. played a great game against defending champions Germany – and triumphed with an impressive 4:0 victory. Isabella Lucchin’s versatility was particularly impressive. The Brazilian not only played in her usual position in attack, but also in defense and set pieces, impressively demonstrating her versatility. Isabella Lucchin’s nomination for “World Games Athlete of the Year 2024” is therefore more than deserved.

Voting Details:
The voting period kicks off on Thursday, 9 January 2025, at 12:00 GMT, giving sports enthusiasts worldwide the chance to vote for their favorite athlete.

Voting will remain open until 31 January 2025 at 12:00 GMT, but there’s a twist! A halfway elimination round will take place on 22 January 2025 at 12:00 GMT, where only the top 10 ranked athletes will move forward.

Voting Rules: 

• Votes can be cast on The World Games website. Each voting session must include votes for two candidates: 2 votes for your first choice and 1 vote for your second choice. Votes cast for only one candidate will not be counted.
• Voting is limited to one session every 24 hours per person.
• On 22 January 2025 at 12:00 GMT, the 10 highest-ranked candidates will proceed to the final stage of voting. At this point, all vote counts will reset to zero, making the competition more exciting as it approaches its conclusion.
• The vote tallies will be displayed in real time throughout the campaign.

VOTING