Monthly report of the WASPA circuit - January 2017

Dear Subbuteo players and fans, here are the updated WASPA rankings and statistics.

Golden Book
Excel file

January has been another great month for the WASPA circuit. We had 32 tournaments (29 regional, 2 old rules, 1 advanced rules) and a lot of great facts to report:
- we had the chance to see growing activity in California with events in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas;
- in Germany the first tournament in Burgdorf took place and was hosted by Frank Stiller;
- Singapore had three tournaments organized by three different hosts and it's fantastic to see the enthusiasm of the current top nation in Asia;
- Australia is still doing great. We had WASPA tournaments in Melbourne (2), Parramatta, Brisbane and Perth. This week-end Sydney will be the center of attention in the Subbuteo world with the FISTF Grand Prix. Good luck to all players taking part;
- The club of Firenze is the most active Subbuteo club in Italy in the WASPA circuit. Their latest event attracted 16 players, which is great;
- During the FISTF Grand Prix of Belgium, the club of Rochefort TS organized two WASPA tournaments with amazing fields of 32 and 22 players, which is brilliant;
- In the Netherlands, the club of GSV de Hyacinth held another WASPA event in Hoogezand with 17 players. Hopefully the Netherlands will become a more active nation in the circuit;
- In Northern Ireland our friends from Derry keep on doing great with another tournament with 10 players. Here again, it seems there will be monthly tournaments, which is fantastic;
- The recent FISTF Satellite in Harrow (England) also had a WASPA consolation event. Thanks to Jeremy Bradley for his efforts;
- After a hiatus of several months Cyprus is back in action and the last 2 tournaments counting for last season finally took place in January;
- Peter Alegi keeps doing well by organizing and winning tournaments in Michigan;
- Our regular hosts in Scotland, South Africa, Malta and Belgium keep on doing great with nice tournaments;
- London Road Subbuteo Club, based in Drury (Wales) had another good event with 10 players last Sunday;
- Things are moving in Greece. The Pireas Lions held two tournaments (one of them was played with the old rules) while the new club of OSC Kallithea Flame also held a first tournament with the old rules;
- Wolverhampton SFC held a first tournament under WASPA banner, using the advanced rules. Hopefully there will be more action in the West Midlands in the future. Huge thanks to Justin Scott for making things happen.

Subbuteo in Michigan

To be noted the club of NETFA Brigantes is now a WASPA top club. Since they don't have accommodations to run big tournaments but host series small events with 3 players, a special agreement had been decided so that they can be included in the WASPA circuit.

We have now 1626 players from 46 nations in the rankings. Thanks to everyone for making it possible!

Jurong players in Singapore

Well, that's all for now. I hope you will love the statistics, results and rankings.

Please remember you only need 3 players to register your tournament. Don't be scared to join. It's free and tournament requests can be sent by e-mail to vincent.cop@rsca.com

Keep an eye on the WASPA blog at http://waspa-circuit.blogspot.com as there are updates almost every day.
The FISTF website can be found here: http://www.fistf.com

Subbuteo in Australia under WASPA banner

WASPA is also looking for partners. If you know any company ready to support us (we don’t ask for money but we want some w-in-win agreements so that we can promote each other), don't hesitate to contact me at vincent.cop@rsca.com

Ideas to develop the WASPA circuit or to make things more attractive are always welcome. We stay at your disposal for more info.

Yours sincerely,
Vincent Coppenolle

Friendship Rivalry Rekindled after 30 years

Chris Dimmer and Johan van Nieuwenhuizen

Ernest Modise in action

At the recent New Years Tournament 2017, hosted by the Johannesburg TFC a friendly rivalry dating back almost 60 years was rekindled. Best friends for over 60 years, Johan van Nieuwenhuizen and Chris Dimmer played their first competitive Subbuteo game in over 30 years when they flicked off against each other. Although a disappointing turnout of only 4 players competed for the annual trophy, the OLD DERBY' was unmostdoubtedly the highlight of the afternoons games. Nostalgia was in abundance when Johan and Chris flicked off against each other with the latter defeating his best friend by the odd goal converted from a great through ball and chipped delicately over Johan's goalkeeper. Both friends remember their last competitive game against each other in 1987. Johan and Chris' friendship and Subbuteo began way back in 1957, which must be a record with both players ending the day with broad smiles and promises of returning for future tournaments. The field of four players competed in a round robin stage with Clifford and Chris occupying the top 2 positions along with Johan and Ernest the remaining positions.

Part of Johan’s celluloid collection

In the play-off games, Johan accounted for Ernest with the winning goal scored on the stroke of full-time. The Final saw perennial favourite, Clifford and Chris Dimmer play for the title. Bearing in mind that this was Chris' first few games in over 30 years his play with the new flatter base figures was remarkable and proves that you never forget how to play this beautiful game. Clifford was the victor in the final, however the cementing of their Subbuteo friendship between Johan and Chris was the cornerstone of the tournament and proved to be rather special and brought a tear to the eye as they reminisced about their previous epic encounters and friends they have lost who also loved this special game of ours.

(Report by Clifford Graaff)

Brisbane Second Anniversary Tournament

Saturday 28th of January 2017 - 9am Flick Off @ Woody Point Redcliffe
It was the second anniversary of The Brisbane Subbuteo Club, and up for grabs was a very nice (and large) trophy for the winner to hold for one year.  And for the first time a minor trophy was to be competed for by the bottom group.

Things were made easy by the fact we had eight players competing, which meant we could run two groups of four, the top two from each would then play off for the major trophy, and the bottom two from each for the minor. The format being another group stage with the two highest finishers having to play a final. So it was going to be hard fought for no matter what. Just to make it slightly harder it was very hot and humid, but it would seem some people will do anything for a bit of cake.
It was an open draw, no seeding, but it turned out that the four stronger players were split evenly in the two groups. Group A had Rik Bland, Wil Gillespie, Gus Gillespie, and Gareth Whalley.  In Group B we had James Gillespie, Derek Hovell, Andrew Ridgen and Australia’s #1 Giuseppe Tardiota.
Rik won all three games, beating Gus 4-2 quite comfortably. Gus came second  securing his spot in the last four. Wil came bottom of the group to Gareth, but was just warming up. Group B saw Andrew lead by goal difference to Giuseppe, and they both fought in frantic 3-3 draw. James finished bottom to Derek.
In the minor trophy group, Wil rallied to finish second on goal difference, pipping Gareth. The top 3 all had 6 points but Derek’s goal difference was far superior. So Derek and Wil would meet in the final.
The Major trophy group saw top spot beat bottom spot by 2 points. A very tight group indeed. The first round saw Gus beat Andrew scoring some very quick goals indeed, three from kick offs. Andrew did well to comeback and had most of the attacks in the second half but the damage was done. Rik and Giuseppe fought out a very skilful game which ended 1-1. Round 2 saw Rik edge Andrew by a goal in a 3-2 thriller. Gus found Giuseppe’s goalkeeper in fine form and could not get past him, and Giuseppe scored a clinical through the middle goal to take the 3 points. The final round saw Gus hold onto to hard fought point from Rik with a 1-1 score line. In the other game, Andrew came out on top to beat Giuseppe 3-2 which saw Giuseppe drop to third and let Gus into the top two on goal difference.
The minor trophy saw a couple of tired players do their best, Wil taking a lead in the first half and managing to hold on to it, despite a flurry of shots from Derek’s Seagulls. A good experience for these players.
The Major final was very tight. Not the score fest the same two players started with at the beginning of the day, both players defending like lions. Gus however managed to score a good finish after a large slice of luck went his way. Rik went into half time 1 down but with 15 minutes to go, Gus was worried. As expected, Rik came out and worked his way down both flanks with Gus’s back to the wall hanging on. Eventually Rik broke through and scored a nice chipped goal for the equaliser.  Two minutes later the whistle blew. 10 minutes of extra time required, after 6 games in the heat it was a marathon. Extra time saw Rik have the largest share of possession but Gus did manage the odd flurry forward. And just when it looked like it might go to penalties,  Gus finished a nice move with a goal on the fly (unfortunately the video camera we had setup didn’t record it). Gus held out and the large Trophy went to a new custodian, Rik having won the year before, and Giuseppe winning the very first tournament.
A great anniversary tournament, and a very tight one. The cake got devoured and everyone survived and had a ball despite the heat. A big thanks to Rik for the awesome Anniversary Trophy, and to Giuseppe who does such a great job as host we can’t thank him enough. Good luck in Sydney.

(Report sent by Brisbane SC)

Brian Daley still on top in Drury

London Road Subbuteo Club held a WASPA event on January 29 at The Parrot, Drury. 10 players entered. Group A saw Brian Daley and Cayne Matthews go through to the semis. Group B was very close with Richard Stock through Danny Lilley got his semi place after a last minute equalizer against Algy Taylor. Richard booked his place in the final with a 5-0 win over Cayne. The other semi was very close, 0-0 at full time so a golden goal 10 minutes was played which was won by Brian. A very well played final finished 0-0 and went to Golden Goal which was won by Birthday Boy Brian. Many thanks to everyone who entered, next month's tournament date will be announced soon.

Paul O’Donovan on top in El Cerrito

The Northern California Subbuteo Club hosted a WASPA event in sunny and mild El Cerrito, California, on Sunday, January 29th. The club welcomed visitors Paul O’Donovan Rossa and Varant Kurkeyerian from the California Subbuteo Club. A total of six players took part. Paul O’Donovan Rossa defeated Varant Kurkeyerian in a close final, 4-3, to claim top honors on the day, while George Vassiliades beat Conan Mullen to claim the consolation round’s coveted “Wooden Spoon”.

Great day for all participants. The NCSC hopes to hold more events like this one in 2017!

Stylianou and Kalopsidiotis share honors in Limassol

Season winner Marcos Kalopsidiotis

Tournament final Kalopsidiotis vs Stylianou

This Sunday the club of Famagusta was hosting the last tournament of the national circuit for last season. Due to a number of reasons, the last two events of last season had been postponed and have now finally been played. There were some surprises, specially in the semi-final when Giorgos Stylianou (Famagusta TFC) defeated Giorgos Zangylos (Famagusta TFC) before taking the honors int he final against Marcos Kalopsidiotis. Marcos Kalopsidiotis (Salamis Famagusta) had enough with this second place to win the Cypriot circuit with 59 points while Zangylos ended with 53 and Kyriakos Stylianou (Phoenix) had 52. The day also ended with the celebration of Kyriakos Stylianou's 16th birthday. Congratulations to all 23 players involved in the circuit and let's hope Cyprus will continue to organize some more events in the future.

Robert Ramsay wins Roy Holden Memorial

Wolverhampton Subbuteo Football Club opened the club yesterday with its first ever tournament in memory of former player Roy Holden. Roy was the organisor of the Black Country Subbuteo Club from 1965 to 1999 but sadly passed away in 2011. The event was a great success, with 14 contenders from the Midlands and further afield. It was played in great spirit with a great atmosphere. Robert Ramsey was the eventual winner in a close final. Robert scored his winner against Mike Bradbury with only seconds left. Weekly league meetings start next week in Tettenhall. For more information visit @wolverhamptonsubbuteofootballclub on Facebook or email wolverhamptonsfc@gmail.com

(Report by Justin Scott)

Marain stronger than the fog

After the final

The fog was an unexpected guest last Tuesday in Belgium, which pushed some players to drop out before the kick-off of the Pecq tournament. Finally only 6 players (instead of 10 or 11) were present to play the tournament organized by SC Warcoing Ducks. There was a group stages with 5 sessions of 20 minutes and then a final. Geoffrey Marain had no trouble to win another tournament but the good surprise came from the U15 player Matthias Averlant who not only qualified for the final but also manage to score two goals in the final. Marain won the game 3-2 to claim a 67th WASPA title. It was goood to see Erwin Delaunoy in action after a hyatus of several months and Nicolas verslype, a solo player from Helchin, was playing his first tournament ever. Thanks to all the involved players who were not scared to take the road to play some good games!

Stanley Farrugia is a winner in Malta

Last Sunday the club of Attard in Malta was hosting another WASPA tournament with a majority of young players.

This time Stanley Farrugia took the honors, defeating Zven Zahra in the final. Joseph Agius and Miguel Zahra reached the final 4.

Congratulations to all the people involved to support youth development in Malta.

Steve Bennett is a winner again

Dundee United players during the recent FISTF grand prix of Belgium in Rochefort

Last Sunday the club of Dundee United TFC was holding the 5th or their 9 tournaments in Letham with 7 players taking part. After 21 games played, Steve Bennett finished on top of the table to win the tournament while Andy Beskaby was runner-up. Congratulations to DUTFC for their ccntinued efforts of promotion in Scotland.

Final standings:

1. Steve Bennett

2. Andy Beskaky

3. Rob Conway

4. David Baxter

5. Drew Orr

6. Craig Thom

7. Dave Minty