Birmingham Southern, Sloss Furnaces and Avondale announced as next set of competition venues

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (March 19, 2021) – The Birmingham Organizing Committee today announced the next three competition venues for The Games; Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham-Southern College, and Avondale Park. The World Games 2022 signage has been installed at all three venues.
The World Games 2022 (TWG2022) is a multi-sport event that will take place in Birmingham from July 7-17, 2022. An anticipated 3,600 athletes will participate in more than 30 different sports throughout The Games.

“We’re excited to announce this next round of venues for The Games,” The World Games 2022 chief executive officer Nick Sellers said. “As we move closer and closer to the beginning of The Games, the announcement of venues where these world-class athletes will compete, and where fans from all over will congregate to watch, drives the anticipation. All of our venues offer athletes and fans a unique sporting experience they can’t get anywhere else.”

At the historic Sloss Furnaces, spectators will watch athletes compete in adrenaline inducing Sport Climbing, Breaking, Parkour and Beach Handball.
Originally operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971, Sloss Furnaces became one of the first industrial sites (and the only blast furnace) in the U.S. to be preserved and restored for public use. In 1981, the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.
“Sloss Furnaces is more than a landmark or museum, it represents the spirit and character of the South’s rich industrial heritage—and of the people that made Birmingham the Magic City,” said Karen Utz, interim executive director/curator of Sloss Furnace. “In that same vein, we’re excited to help show the rest of the world that spirit with our involvement in The World Games. This global event will mark yet another historical chapter in the history of the Sloss Furnaces.”

Several competitions will take place across the campus of Birmingham-Southern College. Goldfarb Field at Berylson Soccer Park, the home of Birmingham Southern Soccer, will play host to Fistball. Bill Battle Coliseum, the home of Birmingham-Southern Basketball and Volleyball, will host a variety competitions including Orienteering, Karate, Wushu and Ju-Jitsu. Birmingham-Southern residence halls will also be the accommodation for several athletes competing at The Games in their dormitories.

Founded in 1856, Birmingham-Southern is home to more than 1,100 students from 29 states and 11 countries. The college currently offers five bachelor’s degrees in more than 50 programs of study, as well as interdisciplinary and individualized majors and dual degree programs.
“Promoting the community that surrounds us is a key part of our mission at Birmingham-Southern College, and we see that same vision in The World Games 2022,” said BSC President Daniel B. Coleman. “We look forward to welcoming fans and athletes from all over the world to the Hilltop.”
At Avondale Park, the natural beauty of Birmingham will be on full display for Target Archery and Field Archery competitions.

Avondale Park is a 40-acre wooded park on the slopes of Red Mountain that sits directly across from one of the most popular neighborhoods in Birmingham. The park re-opened after $2.88 million in city-funded renovations in November of 2013 and offers Birmingham residents plenty of opportunity for outdoor recreation.
“Avondale Park is one of the best recreational areas our community has to offer, making it a perfect venue for the World Games 2022,” said Shonae Eddis-Bennett, director of the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Director. “We are excited to have the opportunity to show off Avondale Park to fans and athletes from all over the world.”

ABOUT THE WORLD GAMES 2022
The World Games 2022 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 25+ unique venues around the greater metropolitan area. The World Games 2022 Birmingham, which marks the 40th anniversary of the event, will take place from July 7-17, 2022 and will generate an estimated $256 million in economic impact. The World Games was established by the International World Games Association, an organization recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Read more: https://twg2022.com/2021/three-more-venues/

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.

The today´s IFA Board of Directors meeting heard reports on upcoming Fistball events, the inaugural World Fistball Day and approved several guidelines and regulations concerning Anti-Doping and financial matters. Furthermore, the board approved the 2020 Annual report of the President as well as the Financial Report 2020 and welcomed Morocco as 67th member federation.

Morocco as 67th member federation

The IFA is pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has approved Morocco as its newest member associations, increasing IFA’s membership to 67 national member associations.

“IFA is proud to welcome the new member association, which already plans to participate in the upcoming Fistball event at the CSIT World Sport Games in Italy,” said IFA President Jörn Verleger. “I am pretty sure that with the proactive work of our Development Director Roger Willen and the 2018 established IFA Ambassador´s Program we will reached our development goal to have a total of more than 70 member federations latest until mid of 2021,” he said.

Furthermore, the board established a commission to decide about the winners of the IFA awards according to the IFA Honorary Order that is composed by:
• Karl Weiss, IFA Honoray President
• Gastao Engler, IFA Olympic Education Director and
• Wioleta Franczyk, chairwomen of the IFA Women in Sport Commission.

Finally the board announced an IFA Athletes Forum (virtual) on Saturday 6th of March on the eve of the International Women´s Day as the topic is Women in Fistball. The latest IFA Athletes´ Forum had to be cancelled due to technical problems.

This month’s International Testing Agency (ITA) webinar will focus on the doping control process. IFA is working together with ITA in anti-doping issues.

ITA will cover a variety of scenarios that can occur during sample collection – from delays to partial and diluted samples to modifications to the process. All these and other questions will be answered by experienced Doping Control Officers – and they will leave plenty of time for questions from participants.

This is the second webinar of the 2021 monthly series delivered by the International Testing Agency (ITA) in collaboration with Informed Sport & Informed Choice.

Each month, anti-doping experts are joined by an athlete guest to discuss key anti-doping topic relevant to athletes and athlete support personnel.

All webinars are free and accessible to any interested member of the global sports community.

Speakers include: Jasmina Glad-Schrever, International DCO & Trainer Taja Petric International DCO Janice Lyn Professional Muaythai Athlete Olya Abasolo, OLY, ITA Education Manager

Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Jn6XbxiXQxedfr4Vdd8akg

In Austria and Namibia Fistball returned back last weekend.

Austria: Nussbach already in the semi-finals – Wels first in line

In the women’s fistball Bundesliga, the defending champions from Nussbach kept their clean slate after four games and can plan ahead for the semifinals with 8 points.
Behind them, Wels and Seekirchen also have a good starting position with 6 points, but Laakirchen and Arnreit also still have a chance of making it into the final four. For the still winless teams of Wolkersdorf/Neusiedl and Froschberg, the semi-final train has left the station.

Champion Nußbach remains a power in the indoor league and with four wins is the only unbeaten team so far. The surprise of the round was delivered by Wels. With an unexpectedly clear 2:0 against Seekirchen, they overtook the runners-up with equal points in the table and are the first chaser of Nußbach before the last two preliminary round matches.

Laakirchen and Arnreit also still have a chance of reaching the semi-finals. Laakirchen won the direct duel, but was beaten by Nußbach 1:2 in the second game. Arnreit stayed in the race with a victory over Froschberg.
Wolkersdorf/Neusiedl remained winless in the 2nd round. The higher rated Lower Austrians did not really find their way into the game on the first championship weekend. Up-and-coming Froschberg showed good games in phases and surprised with a set win against champion Nußbach, but had to pay tribute to the lack of experience in the decisive phases. Both of them have no chance to reach the semifinals.
The third preliminary round of the women’s fistball Bundesliga will take place on Saturday, Feb. 20. The finals and placement matches will follow on Sunday.

High acceptance for strict prevention concept

The safety regulations in the “Fistball Bubble” are strict. Arrival is only possible with a negative COV test, before each match day there is another test. 263 tests – all negative – were carried out in Faak on the first championship weekend alone.
“Whether players, coaches, Faustball Austria staff or employees of the BSFZ Faak – everyone adheres to safety distances and mask requirements with exemplary naturalness. We have not yet had to remind anyone of the regulations,” said Faustball Austria Secretary General Hannes Dinböck, pleased with the safe and smooth running of the event.

Namibia: Re-start following a three-month break

The 2021 Bank Windhoek Fistball League in Namibia returned back last weekend at the Swakopmund Fistball Club (SFC) following a three-month break.

Based on the rankings after the previous national tournament, the cup tournament saw eight teams divided into two groups fighting for honours. Participating teams comprise three from Cohen Fistball Club (CFC), a team each from Deutscher Turn und Sportverein (DTS), two from Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW), and two sides from SFC.

Last Saturday the Bank Windhoek opening fistball tournament took place at the SFC. SKW 1 won in the A category while the old boys from SFC took the crown in the B category.

In Group A, the defending champions CFC 1, SFC 1, SFC 2 and SKW 2 played against each other. CFC 1 won without any problems in all games and qualified for the A-category semi-finals. SFC 1 won the matches against club rivals SFC 2 and SKW 2 and followed CFC 1 into the semi-finals. SKW 2 and the host SFC 2 then played for the title in the B category.

SKW 1 defeated CFC 2 and SFC Old Boys in group B. The SFC old boys lost against the capital city club CFC 2 and had to fight for the B-category title while SKW 1 and CFC 2 made it to the semi-finals of the A-category.
In the B category, SFC 2, SFC old boys and SKW 2 played for the title in a ’round robin’ mode. Contrary to all expectations, the aged men from the coast won both encounters and deservedly secured the opening cup while SFC 2 and SKW 2 took second and third place in the B category, respectively

In the semi-finals, CFC 1 and CFC 2 faced each other. After some initial difficulties, CFC 1 played focused and advanced into the final. SKW also qualified for the A-category final after the green and whites beat SFC 1.
SFC 1 lost in an exciting match against CFC 2 in the game for third place, hence they had to settle for fourth place.

In the final, SKW 1 quickly took a 3-0 lead. Without Rico-Kühnle Kreitz, who was absent due to work commitments, the Coheners never really got grip in the match. Michael Baas always kept the blue-whites at a distance with his serves and was able to secure a 3 point lead at halftime. CFC 1 came close to 2 points in the second half, but could not turn the game. CFC 1 made too many mistakes in the defence and build up and coupled with the effective attack of the record champions ultimately sealed the first defeat after 26 games won in a row by Cohen. Final score 24:20.

In the youth division, SFC 1 and SFC 2 shared first place as both teams won 3 games. The SKW youth team took 2nd place. The fistball community enjoyed the improved performances of all teams.

The annual general meeting will take place on March 12th while the 1st league round will be played one day later at the CFC grounds. The Fistball Association of Namibia is still looking for a chairman after Michael Baas resigned from office in November 2019.

A category results:
1. Sport Klub Windhoek 1
2. Cohen Fistball Club 1
3. CFC 2
4. SFC 1

B category results:
1. SFC Old Boys
2. SFC 2
3. SKW 2