Today the IFA Board of Directors met for it´s monthly meeting. The Board approved the Financial Report 2018 and the ball licenses valid 1 April 2019. 4 new additional balls from HAWE (Sport Schmitz) have been added to the list which also confirms the approval of the new edition of the Sportastic 2019 World Championship ball. Furthermore, the Board approved a new IFA Honorary Order. The member federations are asked to submit proposals for the new established IFA Awards for Social Engagement, Women in Sports and special activities latest 24 April. The inaugural awarding takes place within the framework of the IFA United by Sports Conference which was confirmed for Friday 16 August 2019 in Winterthur.
IFA Development Director Roger Willen presented the draft of a new IFA Development Program. To prepare the upcoming IFA 2019 Athletes´ Commission election the procedure was approved by the Board after discussions with the athletes´ representation. The elections will be conducted from 11 to 13 August. The elected candidates will be announced within the IFA 2019 Congress on 14 August. The nomination from the member federations should be latest until 11 July (1 month prior to the elections). Every member federation should nominate only one candidates. All nominated players are invited to a meeting with the new elected Board of Directors on Thursday 15 August at 8:00 a.m. for a Joint IFA/EFA/PAFA/Athletes´ Commission Breakfast.

Today the IFA 2019 Fistball World Tour starts in Curitiba (Brazil) with the fourth edition of the Copa Baica Mercês de Punhobol. The tournament with the best club teams is listed as IFA 250 in the female division and as IFA 500 in the men´s division. Alltogether the IFA 2019 Fistball World has a new record of 29 World Tour stations on 5 continents. The new IFA Fistball World Tour Ranking will be presented by the Munich based company CINT Technical Advisors. The company, which specializes in technical management consulting, particularly in the turbine sector, was already official partner at the IFA Women’s World Championship in Linz last year.

115 teams from five continents have registered to participate in the third season of the new club series, which has been established to enhance the value of the club tournaments worldwide. Five of these will be major events, in which the winners will gain 1,000 points at both, the men’s and the women’s category.

At least the two best women’s and men’s teams of the IFA Fistball World Tour Ranking presented by CINT Technical Advisors will get wild cards for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. “The World Tour is a world-wide series of fistball tournaments in various categories through which teams can secure wild cards for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. In 2019 eleven teams got a wild card for the final event of the World Tour in Salzburg from 13 to 15 September. The World Tour also boosts the value of global fistball tournaments for club teams“, said Winfried Kronsteiner, chair of the International Fistball Association’s (IFA) sports commission and initiator of the World Tour. IFA will regularly publish the current World Tour rankings on their website www.fistball-worldtour.com.

CINT Technical Advisors secures naming right on World Tour Ranking

“I am particularly pleased that we were able to secure CINT Technical Advisors as additional sponsor of the World Tour. We thank our partner Sportastic, who will continue to support the World Tour also as official ball manufacturer of the IFA Fistball World Tour Final”, said Jörn Verleger, IFA Secretary General.

“We are very pleased to be partner of the IFA Fistball World Tour after our involvment in the IFA 2018 Fistball Women´s World Championship in Linz. The concept and the success of the still new series have convinced us. The tour as a worldwide series is an optimal platform for us as a worldwide operating company and fits perfectly with its values and locations”, said CINT Technical Advisors CEO Nadine Aufermann. The IFA Fistball World Tour Ranking presented by CINT Technical Advisors will be published after every weekend with tournaments. Altogether between February and December 20 rankings will be presented.

10 tournaments take place in South America, 16 in Europe and one tournament each in India, the USA and Australia. Of the highest ranking category, the so-called major tournaments, two are each organized in Brazil and Switzerland and one in Germany.
Eight tournaments more than last year are in the new season of the IFA Fistball World Tour on the tour calendar. This year, 29 tournaments will take place on five continents. The tournament series begins this year on 23 February in Merces in Brazil and ends on 1 December in Manquehue in Chile. For the first time, an indoor tournament with the IFA500 tournament in Leipzig is part of the tour. The courts in Leipzig have outdoor dimensions, which is why the tournament was added as a World Tour station.

IFA President Weiss: “Tournament hosts and teams are looking forward to the start of the season”

“We have slightly adopted the requirements for the new World Tour season and have integrated the feedback from the clubs and hosts. We didn’t expect 29 hosts in the third year of the World Tour. It shows us that we are on the right path. I am glad to see how the tournament organizers and teams are supporting this enthusiastically, and looking forward to the start the new IFA Fistball World Tour season,” said IFA President Karl Weiß.

At the IFA 2019 Fistball World Tour Final, from Friday, 13 September to Sunday, 15 September, the best eight teams of men and women compete against each other in Salzburg (Austria). Teams from six countries from three continents will be represented. In addition to the continental champions from Europe, South and North America, five respective six teams have qualified via the IFA 2018 Fistball World Tour. CCAA Rosario (Argentina) and SG Novo Hamburgo (Brazil) each qualified with a women’s and men’s team for the final.

The drawing for the World Tour Finals took place on 15 February and brought the following matches:

In the first round of the men’s competition there will be a reissue of last year’s final between cupholder SG Novo Hamburgo (Brasil) and STV Wigoltingen (SUI). The local team from Tigers Vöcklabruck (Austria) will be in action for the first time on Friday, 13 September around 1:00 p.m. The games are played best of five in the system “Double Elimination”, which means that in case of defeat, a team can qualify for the final via the consolation round. Each team thus has at least two games.
The matches starts on Friday at 10 a.m., on Saturday at 11 a.m. and on Sunday at 12 a.m.

The 2019 World Tour Finals take place at the Sportzentrum Nord in Salzburg. 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.

A total of more than 85 women’s and men’s teams from 9 countries and five continents participated in the IFA 2018 Fistball World Tour, which qualified in 21 tournaments on all continents.

The third edition of IFA Fistball World Tour is just a few weeks ahead. 115 teams from five continents have registered to participate in the third season of the new club series, which has been established to enhance the value of the club tournaments worldwide.

At least the two best women’s and men’s teams will get wild cards for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. “The World Tour is a world-wide series of fistball tournaments in various categories through which teams can secure wild cards for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. In 2019 eleven teams got a wild card for the final event of the World Tour in Salzburg from 13 to 15 September“, said Winfried Kronsteiner, chair of the International Fistball Association’s (IFA) sports commission and initiator of the World Tour. IFA will regularly publish the current World Tour rankings on their website www.fistball-worldtour.com.

Overall, 115 teams from nine nations and five continents will participate in the 2019 IFA Fistball World Tour. They fight for points in four tournament categories world-wide. In total, there will be 29 venues in eight countries on five continents.
Five of these will be major events, in which the winners will gain 1,000 points at both, the men’s and the women’s category. Find an updated list below:

It’s an important day for the International Fistball Association (IFA) and the Fistball Family: in its latest Board meeting, IFA awarded the IFA 2020 U18 Men’s and Women’s World Championships to Austria. The Youth event is carried out for the first time ever in Austria. The U18 competition will be held together with the U21 Men’s European Championship and will take place from 22 to 26 July 2020 in Grieskirchen.

The International Fistball Association (IFA) is pleased to announce the hosts for the major youth event. Sportunion Grieskirchen in Austria will be hosting the U18 World Championships for men and women in 2020. Furthermore, Grieskirchen hosts the U21 Men’s European Championship within the framework of the U18 World Championships. Grieskirchen is a highly experienced host and gets strong support from its local government and regions, respectively. For Austria, it’s the first time in history to carry out a Fistball Youth World Championship.

U18 World Championships and U21 European Championship take place in Grieskirchen (AUT)

Grieskirchen carried out the 2016 Men’s European Championship and set new standards in our sport. This time, it will be Grieskirchen’s premiere to host a worldwide Fistball Youth event. “We are very happy to host the next U18 World Championships in Grieskirchen. Up to five players from our city have the chance to participate. That’s why we will put a lot of energy and commitment into the organization of the event to set another milestone for fistball and our region”, says Peter Oberlehner, President of the local organizing team UFG Grieskirchen/Pötting.

“Grieskirchen will host great World Championships for our youth players with a special concept to focus on the players. Furthermore, they have many young people in the organizing team who know the needs and wishes of the young players. Up to 20 male and female U18 teams from all over the world are expected to participate in Austria. We are looking forward to this competition in 2020”, says IFA President Karl Weiß.

The organizing team decided for the Faustballzentrum Grieskirchen as location. At the Faustballzentrum, they will set up two center courts and present a unique fistball youth festival.

„The simultaneous U21 European Men’s Championship offers the European fistball family and especially the young European national players the opportunity to compete and to present themselves for the leap into the highest national team. The European Fistball Association is pleased to be able to stage this competition together with IFA and the local organizer in Grieskirchen at the same time as the U18 World Championships”, says Franco Giori, President of the European Fistball Association.

With the new record of 29 World Tour stations on 5 continents, the new season of the still young IFA Fistball World Tour starts at the end of February. 10 tournaments take place in South America, 16 in Europe and one tournament each in India, the USA and Australia. Of the highest ranking category, the so-called major tournaments, two are each organized in Brazil and Switzerland and one in Germany. The registration deadline for club teams to participate in the World Tour runs until 4 February.

Eight tournaments more than last year are in the new season of the IFA Fistball World Tour on the tour calendar. This year, 29 tournaments will take place on five continents. The tournament series begins this year on 23 February in Merces in Brazil and ends on 1 December in Manquehue in Chile. “We are very glad about how the World Tour has developed and that the tour is well received by the organizers and clubs. It is particularly pleasing to have another World Tour Station in USA, Asia and Australia in addition to the proven World Tour stations and major tournaments in South America and Europe. In addition, there are some new tournaments, especially in Europe,” says Winfried Kronsteiner, chairman of the IFA Sports Commission and initiator of the World Tour. For the first time, an indoor tournament with the IFA500 tournament in Leipzig is part of the tour. The courts in Leipzig have outdoor dimensions, which is why the tournament was added as a World Tour station.

“Tournament hosts and teams are looking forward to the start of the season”

“We have slightly adopted the requirements for the new World Tour season and have integrated the feedback from the clubs and hosts. We didn’t expect 29 hosts in the thrid year of the World Tour. It shows us that we are on the right path. I am glad to see how the tournament organizers and teams are supporting this enthusiastically, and looking forward to the start the new IFA Fistball World Tour season,” said IFA President Karl Weiß. Interested clubs can register for the World Tour for free until 4 February. CLUB TEAM REGISTRATION.

IFA 2019 Fistball World Tour with 5 Major tournaments

Five tournaments take place in the highest category, the Major category, in which 1000 points are awarded. Fie further tournaments are held in the second tour category with 750 points each. The World Tour is a worldwide series of fistball tournaments in four different categories through which teams can secure a wildcard for the World Tour Finals, the former World Cup. In addition to the six continental winners from Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa and Asia, the two best-placed teams in the World Tour qualify for the World Tour Final. The 2019 World Tour Final won the women Clube Duque de Caxias (BRA) and the men Sociedade Ginástica Novo Hamburgo (BRA).

Photo: Rouven Schönwandt

IFA 2019 Fistball World Tour Schedule:

Photo: Rouven Schönwandt

More than 85 registered club teams and 21 hosts from 3 continents prove that the IFA Fistball World Tour was a success story. To extend that success story we offer again a slightly adopted version to the Fistball community for 2019. The biggest modification is the new tournament category “IFA 500” and we terminated the category “IFA 100”.

HOST REGISTRATION:
Hosts can register their tournaments from now on until 20 January 2019 by using the following link: REGISTRATION HOSTING IFA WORLD TOUR TOURNAMENT.
The slightly adopted quality criteria for the tournament categories in 2019 can also be found there or here: TOURNAMENT CRITERIA 2019.

Right after this process a full list of tournaments will be published in the end of January.

CLUB TEAM REGISTRATION:
Club teams can register for this year’s edition of the Fistball World Tour as well by using the following link: CLUB TEAM REGISTRATION.
The application procedure will be closed at 4 February 2019, 00:00 GMT.

We are really glad that our World Tour encountered that much worldwide interest within the fistball community.
We are looking forward to a further development in 2019.

In just eight months the IFA 2019 Fistball World Tour Finals in Salzburg, Austria will start. The International Fistball Association today published the Official Bulletin 1 of the World Tour Finals.

The bulletin contains information about the event itself, the planned schedule and accommodation.

The IFA 2019 Fistball World Tour Finals take place in Salzburg, Austria from 13-15 September.