Benji Batten wins Northern Phoenix “Flickmas in July” WASPA

(Report by Christos Garagounis)

On a cold and wet winter’s day, a rabble of table football connoisseurs gathered at the Preston Druids Cricket Club to compete in the Northern Phoenix “Flickmas in July” WASPA.

A round robin format saw each player compete against one other in classic FISTF regulated 30 minute encounters.

Anthony Madiona played himself into some nice form throughout the afternoon, notching up plenty of good results and doing his best impersonation of Paul Mercer (by deputising as the Games Logistics Manager – GLM).

Benji showed why he remains one of the country’s leading table football exponents after strolling to five consecutive wins in an assured performance. The highlight was undoubtedly a wonderful display of sportsmanship when deciding to go “Full Commando” in his last match against “The Travelling Wilbury”, scraping over the line in a nail biting and dramatic 12-0 victory.

Beth Eveleigh sent a warning to the Global Woman’s Subbuteo Community with a fine display of patient, well-structured and results driven table football, whilst also managing to score a cracking “Goal on the Run”…..A goal which most certainly deserved to have been followed up with a “C’mon!” (such was its quality) although it never eventuated.

It didn’t take long for Adam Deverell to hit his stride after a noticeable hiatus away from competitive table football. He even managed to score the “Goal of the Day” with a miraculous buzzer beater (with only two seconds remaining on the clock) which saw him take all points in a 1-0 victory over Christos. His addition to the day’s playing roster certainly bolstered the quality of the ensemble cast that had gathered. Hopefully he becomes a more regular feature at coming events.

It was however Kevin Grant who undoubtedly took the honours as the day’s “Best on Ground” performer. A chilled display of nonchalance and a “care free – have fun at all costs attitude” ensured he made the event what it was. I even had the pleasure of receiving a lecture on the history of the Redesdale Bridge. I am definitely looking forward to a first-hand tour of the site at the next “Flicks in the Sticks” event.

Another enjoyable afternoon and needless to say.......

Subbuteo was the Real Winner!

Northern Phoenix link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/780610992079187

June and July 2024: results from around the world

We are always happy to see players flicking the plastic in many different countries. In the last few years, we had of course a lot of WASPA event in England but some other nations are still very active with regular tournaments. Here is a brief summary of recent results from Wales, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Ireland, France and Scotland. Some more news also from Norway!

Drury, Wales, June 16, group format

1. Ruby Matthews
2. Chris Bedford
3. Cayne Matthews
4. Brendan Ashley

Brisbane, Australia, June 16, group format

1. Giuseppe Tardiota
2. Gus Gillespie
3. Gordon Orr
4. Gareth Whalley
5. Wayne Miller

Johannesburg, South Africa, June 16 (group and knock-out games)

Semi-finals: Ian Clarke - Rui Dos Santos 3-0
Gary Downs - Craig Smith 3-1
Final: Ian Clarke - Gary Downs 1-0

Perth, Australia, June 23, group format

1. Hugh Best (Sports TFC of Western Australia)
2. Alan Kimber (Subbuteo Perth)
3. Chris Thorn (Subbuteo Perth)
4. Noel Mani (Subbuteo Perth)
5. Ron Byrne (Subbuteo Perth)

Auckland, New Zealand, June 24, Swiss system

1. Mark Rossi
2. Richard Edeson
3. Conrad Mudge
4. George Miller
5. Andy Miller
6. Craig Wright

Melbourne, Australia, June 27, group format.

1. Peter Thomas (Melbourne TFC)
2. Benji Batten (Melbourne TFC)
3. Adrian Connolly (Western Sydney)
4. Nathan Urbaniak (Melbourne TFC)
5. Anthony Madiona (Northern Phoenix)
6. Beth Eveleigh (Northern Phoenix)

Templeuve, Belgium, June 28, Swiss system (2 categories)

Templeuve United, one of the most active clubs in the circuit, organized a special tournament last month as the club will have to leave their premises in a couple of weeks. The city council decided to rebuilde the local sports center, which means the club will have to find a new venue during the next 2 years before have a great new room is available. 18 players attended the evening and two separate tournaments were organized in Swiss system. Geoffrey marain was unbeaten in the main tournament while returning player Raphael Dhondt, who had not played for more than 30 years, proved the training sessions of the last few weeks were good to win the "promotion" tournament.

Top division with 8 players

1. Geoffrey Marain (AS Hennuyer)
2. Sébastien Rochez (Templeuve)
3. Matthias Averlant (AS Hennuyer)
4. Jann Segers (AS Hennuyer)
5. Vincent Coppenolle (Templeuve)
6. Benjamin Marain (AS Hennuyer)
7. Lucas Père (AS Hennuyer)
8. Michaël Dupret (Tournai)

Promotion group with 10 players

1. Raphael Dhondt (Templeuve)
2. David Sardi de Letto (Wattrelos-SLM)
3. Jordan Bonte (AS Hennuyer)
4. Franck Santer (Templeuve)
5. Eric Caillaux (Templeuve)
6. Sébastien Sorge (Wattrelos-SLM)
7. Thibaut Marville (Wattrelos-SLM)
8. Ursule Dhondt (Templeuve)
9. Mathis Verhelst (Templeuve)
10. Roman Lamiral (Templeuve)

Brisbane, Australia, June 27, group format

1. Chris Burford (England/Andover)
2. Giuseppe Tardiota (Brisbane)
3. Gus Gillespie (Brisbane)
4. Gordon Orr (Brisbane)
5. Gareth Whalley (Brisbane)
6. Wayne Miller (Brisbane)

Johannesburg, South Africa, June 29, group format

Report by Gary Downs: "On Saturday the 29th of June, ETS held a fund raiser fun day.  A 7-a-side football tournament, stalls, food, raffles and of course a Subbuteo tournament were all there. The tournament was a round robin of 6 players. After a tough opening draw between Easterns team mates, Ian and Gary, their days took a different turn. Ian went unbeaten to take the top spot, while Gary battled and went winless to finish 5th. Chris had his best day in a tournament for a long time, picking up two wins and two draws. He was pipped to second spot by Fernando by just one goal. Johan had a mixed bag to take 4th spot while Carl couldn't repeat his good performance in his last outing, and finished in 6th. All players that played and a few that didn't, contributed to the fund raising with donations, that are going to a worthy cause."

1. Ian Clarke (Easterns)
2. Fernando Rodrigues (ETS)
3. Chris Dimmer (Johannesburg TFC)
4. Johan Niewenhuis (Johannesburg TFC)
5. Gary Downs (Easterns)
6. Carl Bolweg (ETS)

Derry, Northern Ireland, June 23, Knock-out games

Lawrence Watson & winner Kenny Beggs

Lawrence Watson and runner-up Marco Bevilacqua

This years Jimmy Watson Memorial Cup was played as the plate competition at the Irish Open FISTF IO. The group was made up from an impressive line up who narrowly missed out on the last 16 from the main comp, so the competition was fierce. Kenny ‘The Legend’ Beggs came out as champion with Derry's own Marco Bevilacqua coming in runnner-up.

Semi-finals: Kenny Beggs - Malcolm Lees 2-1
Paul Lawrenson - Marco Bevilacqua 1-2
Final: Kenny Beggs - Marco Bevilacqua 2-1

Cork, Ireland, July 1, Group format

1. Mario Frittelli (Cork)
2. David Elton (Tralee)
3. Cian Hogan (Tralee)
4. William Magnier (Cork)
5. Timmy Ryan (Cork)
6. Jeff Murphy (Cork)
7. Barry Higgins (Cork)
8. Gerard Heaney (Cork)

Auckland, New Zealand, July 8, Swiss system (2 games each)

1. Mark Rossi
2. Andy Miller
3. George Miller
4. Conrad Mudge
5. Richard Edeson
6. Craig Wright

Edinburgh, Scotland, July 8, Group format

"July's WASPA event in Edinburgh saw 6 players play in a league format. Marco won his opening game against Bruce Henderson which proved to be pivotal, with Marco taking the game 1 - 0 and helping him to achieve top spot. 

Solid performances from Bruce and Peter Morrison saw them finish 2nd and 3rd respectively, with Peter accomplishing a full house of shutouts and conceding 0 goals on the night. 

In the Crammond Derby, Andy Kent and Paul McFadyen played a nail biting affair, with Andy triumphing 1 - 0 . And Lee McMenemy learned the hard way to hold his goalkeeper when getting shots taken against him. All in all, a great night."

1. Marco Bevilacqua (Golazzo SC)
2. Bruce Henderson (Golazzo SC)
3. Peter Morrison (Golazzo SC)
4. Andy Kent (Golazzo SC)
5. Paul McFadyen (Golazzo SC)
6. Lee McMenemy (Golazzo SC)

Wattrelos, France, promotional event, July 3, group format

1. Jordan Bonte (Belgium)
2. David Sardi de Letto
3. Sébastien Sorge
4. Thibaut Marville
5. Nicolas Voet

Norway: Subbuteo project in Terje Ellefsen's school

Terje Ellefsen is still doing an amazing job in his school with many kids involved in a development program. The "Euro 24 tournament" is not a WASPA event but might open doors for future events. The hard work pays as boys and girls are improving week after week and 16 players have been involved in the event. Half-size pitches and teams have been borrowed to kids so they can continue to practice during the summer and Terje is hoping to have tournaments outside school in the future, possibly involving parents, too. "We have a good wave here", reported Terje Ellefsen who has also been very active posting flyers and posters about the beautiful game in the surroundings with some positive answers from former players who will hopefully be back in action soon.

WASPA rankings of June 2024

 The WASPA rankings of June 2024 are out.

Excel file (rankings)

PDF file (results)

A visitor from Hong Kong for the Surrey "old rules" tournament

Chris Short won the Pedmore tournament

Players from 4 nations met in Switzerland

Great turnout of 20 players in Barcelona, Spain

Great fun in Auckland, New Zealand

Young players in Genova, Italy

The last few weeks have been amazing as we have had 39 regional tournaments and 4 events played with the old rules. Events have been held in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some tournaments were organized with very high standards and it's amazing to see how the level is rising! Huge thanks to the organizers for that!

We insist on the fact that it's important to send results, pictures and possibly a report of each tournament so that we can publish articles on the WASPA blog!

With just 2 months to go before the end of the season, we are open to all ideas to improve the circuit. Your feedback is really important!

If you think some results are missing, don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Your in sport,

Vincent Coppenolle, vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com (please use this address to send results)

20 WASPA events in England in June 2024

We often say England is the most active nation in the WASPA circuit but it's always amazing to see how many clubs and players are involved in tournaments.
Here is a summary of results collected all over England in June. 16 "regional" events and 4 tournaments with the old rules have been played under WASPA banner.

Morecambe Bay, June 1 2024 (group format)

1. Luca Lanzani (Morecambe Bay)
2. Stuart Andrews (Morecambe Bay)
3. Rob Wilkinson (Morecambe Bay)
4. Keith Carman (Morecambe Bay)

Link: https://www.facebook.com/themorecambebaysubbuteo

Bristol, June 5 2024 (group format)

1. David Samuel (WAL/Cardiff)
2. Stuart Briffett (Bristol)
3. Steve Wonnacott (Bristol)

Solent, June 5 2024 (knock-out games)

Semi-finals: Dave Cope - Dave Hunter 1-0
Kyle Jamieson - Connor Gregory 1-0
Final: Kyle Jamieson - Dave Cope 1*-1
Plate semi-finals: Tim Hill - Riley Duckworth 0*-0
Malcolm Jamieson - Rob Piggott 3-0
Final: Tim Hill - Malcolm Jamieson 0-3

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2759539824274495

Leicester, June 6 2024 (Swiss format, 5 sessions)

1. Ian Aggett (Milton Keynes)
2. Richard Roper (Pedmore)
3. Rob Paterson (TSPA White Star)
4. Jeremy Bradley (TSPA White Star)
5. Sean Wenlock (Leicester)
6. Graham Harwood (Pedmore)
7. Paul Taylor (Leicester)
8. John Cooper (Milton Keynes)
9. Mark Weaver (Leicester)
10. Alex Ashcroft (Leicester)
11. Andy Henly (Leicester)
12. Scott Hunt (Leicester)

Haverhill, June 1 2024 (Consolation of the FISTF Open)

Main event semi-finals: Miguel Pereira - Adam Douglas 6-3
Nick Pearson - Cayne Matthews 1-4
Final: Miguel Pereira - Cayne Matthews 1-2

Semi-finals of the second tournament: Joe Harrington - Mike Williams 1*-1
Paul Izard - Thomas Lacey 1-0
Final: Joe Harrington - Paul Izard 2-2*

Bristol, June 9 2024 (English Championship, Swiss format)

1. Matt Lampitt (Elstow Lions)
2. Alan Lee (Wobbly Hobby)
3. Richard Badger (Wolverhampton)
4. Rudi Peterschinigg (ITA/Harrow)
5. Mick Hammonds (Wolverhampton)
6. Paul Andreas (CYP/Harrow)
7. Marco Ghigliotti (Harrow)
8. Malcolm Jamieson (SCO/Solent)
9. Adam Douglas (Stanway)
10. Aaron Skinner (Bristol)
11. David Pawsey (Bristol)
12. Justin Scott (Wolverhampton)
13. Darren Barnes (WAL/Cardiff)
14. Simon Goodman (Surrey)
15. Gage Badger (Wolverhampton)
16. Connor Gregory (Solent)
17. Ian Sharp (Yorkshire)
18. Stuart Briffett (Bristol)
19. Richard Roper (Pedmore)
20. Neil Doherty (Harrow)
21. Steve Wonnacott (Bristol)
22. Simon Bodily (Pedmore)
23. Dave Hunter (Solent)
24. Colin Fletcher (Chesterfield)
25. Nigel Morgan (Solent)
26. Dave Cope (Worthing)

Andover, June 10 2024 (Swiss system, 5 sessions)

1. Malcolm Jamieson (SCO/Solent)
2. Steve Wonnacott (Bristol)
3. Chris Burford (Andover)
4. Stuart Briffett (Bristol)
5. Nigel Morgan (Solent)
6. Shaun Ellis (Andover)
7. Riley Duckworth (Solent)
8. Jon Willing (Andover)
9. Roger Duckworth (Solent)

Milton Keynes, June 11 2024 (groups and finals)

Final: Ian Aggett - Mark Green 2-1
Final 3-4: John Cooper - Rob Paterson 2-1
Final 5-6: Scott Hunt - Greg Lickorish 1-1

Pedmore, June 12 2024 (group format)

1. Chris Short (Wolverhampton)
2. Richard Badger (Wolverhampton)
3. Mick Hammonds (Wolverhampton)
4. Justin Scott (Wolverhampton)
5. Rob Paterson (TSPA White Star)
6. Alex Scott (Wolverhampton)

Yorkshire, June 13 2024 (Swiss format)

1. Paul Lawrenson (Yorkshire)
2. Brian Kinrade. (IOM/Chesterfield)
3. Craig Heward (Yorkshire)
4. Ian Sharp (Yorkshire)
5. Kevin Adderley (Yorkshire)
6. Brendan Ashley (WAL/London Road)
7. Ian Smalley (Yorkshire)
8. Max Starkey (Yorkshire)

Tees Valley, June 15 2024 (English Championship, Swiss format)

1. Matt Lampitt (Elstow Lions)
2. Sam Curtis (Yorkshire)
3. Kevin Cordell (Stanway)
4. Aaron Skinner (Bristol)
5. Simon Goodman (Surrey)
6. Mick Hammonds (Wolverhampton)
7. Nick Pearson (Yorkshire)
8. Colin Fletcher (Chesterfield)
9. Jeff Parsons (Darlington)
10. Ian Sharp (Yorkshire)
11. Jamie Samuel Warren (Stanway)
12. Rob Paterson (TSPA White Star)
13. Ben Staples (Yorkshire)
14. Rob Heseltine (North Shields)

Morecambe Bay, June 16 2024 (group format)

1. Dan Nicholls (Morecambe Bay)
2. Luca Lanzani (Morecambe Bay)
3. Stuart Andrews (Morecambe Bay)
4. Rob Wilkinson (Morecambe Bay)
5. Keith Carman (Morecambe Bay)
6. Perry Sinacola (Morecambe Bay)

Haverhill, June 19 2024 (group format)

1. Kevin Cordell (Stanway)
2. Joe Harrington (Haverhill)
3. Jamie Samuel Warren (Stanway)
4. Gerry Harrington (IRL/Haverhill)
5. Peter Holmes (Haverhill)
6. Rob Fitch (Stanway)

Pedmore, June 23 2024 (4 groups of 5 and knock-outs)

Semi-finals: Rudi Peterschinigg - Chris Bedford 3-0
Sam Curtis - Chris Short 0-4
Rudi Peterschinigg - Chris Short 0-2

Plate Malcolm Jamieson - Simon Bodily 3-1
Ian Sharp - Gage Badger 2-0
Final: Malcolm Jamieson - Ian Sharp 2-1

Consolation Semi-finals: Andy Poutney - Richard Roper 1-6
Connor Gregory - Nigel Morgan 2-3
Final: Richard Roper - Nigel Morgan 2-1

Junior final: Alex Scott - Connor Gregory 2-1

Worthing, June 27 2024 (Swiss format)

1. Joe Currey (Worthing)
2. Malcolm Jamieson (SCO/Solent)
3. Steve Taylor (Worthing)
4. Nathan Holley (Worthing)
5. Nigel Pestelle (Worthing)
6. Ian Maskell (Worthing)

Chesterfield, June 30 2024 (Swiss format, 4 sessions)

1. Ian Aggett (Milton Keynes)
2. Rob Paterson (TSPA White Star)
3. Jason Christopher (Solent)
4. Colin Fletcher (Chesterfield)
5. Brian Kinrade (IOM/Chesterfield)
6. Tom Heslop (North Shields)
7. Andy Henly (Leicester)
7. Ian Sharp (Yorkshire)
9. Nigel Morgan (Solent)
9. Jeff Parsons (Derlington)
11. Andrew Forster-Fake (Chesterfield)
12. Paul Taylor (Leicester)
13. Trevor Allen (Chesterfield)

Old rules tournaments

Haverhill, June 1 2024 (flats tournament, league format + final)

1. Simon Goodman (Surrey)
2. Rob Paterson (TSPA White Star)
3. Jos Ceulemans (BEL/Flanders)
4. Steve Wonnacott (Bristol)
5. John Turpin (TSPA White Star)
6. Jason Christopher (Solent)
7. Jonathan Lopez-Real (Couldson)

Final: Simon Goodman - Rob Paterson 2-1

Haverhill, June 2 2024 (groups and knock-out)

Semi-finals: Simon Goodman - Tony Banks 2-0
Miguel Pereira - Valter Baroncini 5-0
Final: Simon Goodman - Miguel Pereira 2-1

Surrey, June 10 2024 (groups and finals)

The whole crew - front left our very special guest from Hong Kong - Leo Tse - playing his first ever Subbuteo (having been a collector for some years). He enjoyed the event very much and played remarkably well for someone who has only learnt from watching videos online.  In the Liverpool shirt the inimitable Jason Christopher - many thanks for Jason for coming all the way from Liverpool - sorry I mean Southampton - to support the event.  And 4th in the back row Richard Myers - a visitor from the recently formed That Retro Place club in Caterham - thank you Richard! (report by Simon goodman)

Semi-finals: Simon Goodman - Gianluca Zucchelli 0*-0
Jason Christopher - Tony Banks 0-1
Final: Simon Goodman - Tony Banks 1-0

Plate Semi-finals: Mark Hammersley - Lee Fenton 1*-1
Richard Myers - Lee Fenton 1-0
Final: Mark Hammersley - Richard Myers 1*-1

London, June 16 2024 (group format)

"On Sunday 16 June we had a fabulous day playing an old rules World Amateur Subbuteo Players Association (WASPA) organised by the London Subbuteo Club at La Pizzica Restaurant - London. Congratulations to the winner Tony Kiely and to the runner up Jason Christopher. Tony Banks performed well with a third place and John Subbuteocollector recorded a respectable 4th place. We played a league with 2 points for a win as it is old. We recorded results on a piece of paper and make the table on a piece of cardboard with adding a  “x” for each point in true old school style but to prevent a headache for the dear Vincent Coppenolle I tidied all up and typed up later! Many happy flicks" (report by Gianluca Zucchelli)

1. Tony Kiely (London SC)
2. Jason Christopher (Solent)
3. Tony Banks (London SC)
4. John Ellis (London SC)
5. Gianluca Zucchelli (London SC)
6. Lindsay Reid (London SC)
7. Troy Cowdrey (London SC)