Vicenç Prats still on top in Barcelona

Some late news from Spain where the third tournament of the "22/23 in Circuit Català" took place on February 26. It was another cracking day organized by the club of Barcelona and 21 players took part.

Once again Vicenç Prats was the big winner of the day but this time, he didn't beat Ferran Coll in the final as Ferran lost his quarter-final against José Luis Márquez in sudden death.

Huge thanks to Ricard Carles Prat and his team for another good tournament!

Quarter-finals:
Ferran Coll - José Luis Márquez 2-3sd
Paco Ucha - Ricard Carles Prat 0-1sd
Ivan Acuña - Marc Ligos 0-5
Álex Araujo - Vicenç Prats 1-2

Semi-finals:
José Luis Márquez - Ricard Carles Prat 1-3
Marc Ligos - Vicenç Prats 2-5

Final:
Ricard Carles Prat - Vicenç Prats 2-8

Shootout Victory for Farrell v Beggs in Ballymena

Finalists Mark Farrell and Kenny Beggs

Dublin's Mark Farrell won the second Round of the Irish Circuit in Ballymena, beating local man Kenny Beggs 3-2 on shots in the Final, following a tense 0-0 draw. Beaten semi-finalists were Simon Stewart (NIR) and John Moore (ROI). Derry's Dee Jenkins beat Donal Convery from Mahgerafelt in the Plate Final and Daniel Kaleszewski won the Junior Final, 3-2 against Eliott Fitzpatrick. Thanks to all 18 players for travelling, despite the snow, and for making the day such a success. (Report from http://www.nitfa.org.uk)

David Elton wins Munster club night

March 13 - After a very close run night 3 weeks ago, this one was a bit more clear cut with Dave taking the honours with 3 wins and one draw.

Jeff deservedly took second place with his H/W West Ham away team and is certainly the player in the club who is improving in leaps and bounds.

Greg in third place had an interesting record. 4 games | 4 draws | 0 goals scored | 0 goals conceded!

We look forward to doing battle again in three weeks time. 3 April.

1. David Elton 10 pts
2. Jeff Murphy 5 pts
3. Greg Molone 4 pts
4. Cian Hogan 3 pts
5. William Magnier 2 pts

Jurgen Balzan wins first title in Bormla

Bormla Subbuteo Club held a WASPA tournament on Saturday in the memory of Joseph M. Debono, one of the big founders of table football in Malta, who recently passed away. Players from several clubs were taking part and there were several excellent players taking part.

Charles Aquilina vs Jurgen Balzan

In the main event, Jurgen Balzan (Stembert) was the big winner of the day after defeating Charles Aquilina (Bormla SC) on shots in the final. Semi-finalists were Mauro Camilleri and John Zammit.

Consolation final

In the consolation tournament, Jayden Bonnicci (Valletta Lions) defeated Attard's Robert Farrugia Randon (7-3) to claim the trophy.

Top 4 of the day

Huge thanks to Bormla SC for a great event. Special thanks to Josef Camilleri for the good job!

WASPA standings of February 2023

Dear friends, you will find in the attached files the updated WASPA standings as per February 2023. We added 41 regional tournaments, 6 tournaments with the old rules and 3 promotional events for a total of 50 tournaments.

Rankings - Excel file

Results - PDF file

We are glad to see the first tournaments this season played in France and Japan.

Amazing tournament in Donegal (Ireland)

It was great to see many events in Australia, including two tournaments played under WASPA banner during the recent FISTF Melbourne tournament. It was great to have New Zeland's Richard Edeson taking part in these events.

Promotional event for young players in Stembert (Belgium)

England was once again the most active nation with 19 tournaments and some clubs really do an amazing job of promotion. It's really a source of inspiration and many nations can learn from what's done in England.

Youth in action in Genova (Italy)

Numbers are growing in the Netherlands, too. Their recent tournament in Gouda had even visitors from Belgium and Singapore. Well done!

Historic tournament in Bulh, Alsace (France). It was also the 3000th WASPA regional tournament

The Irish circuit stopped in Donegal and 15 players attended a great event.

Other nations such as Singapore, Wales, Belgium, Italy, Northern Ireland and South Africa also had tournaments played under WASPA banner.

Big turnout for Erza Aripin's visit in Gouda (the Netherlands)

We had a total of 420 individual entries in February, which is a new record for the season.

Don't hesitate to run tournaments under the WASPA banner. It's a great way to promote your club, to attract new players and to create local or regional development and we all agree this is what the game needs nowadays.

Northern Falcons tournament in Sydney (Australia)

All your ideas to make the circuit more attractive are more than welcome. Don't hesitate to send your feedback. We also hope to see more and more clubs running events under the WASPA banner in the future.

We also take to opportunity to thank our partners:

- SubKits at https://www.facebook.com/subkits

- Flicks for Kicks at http://shop.flickforkicks.com/

- MAD ABOUT GAMES at http://subbuteo2012.co.uk

31 players attended the Rochford Open in England

Well, that's all for now. 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.

Please invite your friends to join our Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/waspasubbuteo/

We also have a WASPA page here: https://www.facebook.com/WASPA-World-Amateur-Subbuteo-Players-Association-231789816834700/

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

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Vincent Coppenolle, WASPA organizer

News from Ireland and Northern Ireland - February 2023

 Irish Subbuteo Championship Circuit Round 1 Donegal

Venue: Orchard Bar, Letterkenny

A good venue, central to the town. The room was probably big enough to host something 2 or 3 times the size of competition if needed. Did the job perfectly.

Competition: Round 1 of the 2023 Irish Championship. 15 participants. 3 groups of 5. Top 2 plus 2 best 3rd placed teams played out the main event with the remaining 7 playing out a plate competition.

Outcome: In the end no real surprises. Mark Farrell beating Kenny Beggs in a close final. In the Plate Oisín Mór lost by 1 goal to Mark McCrossen who is returning to the game after a few years out.

Although the usual suspects fought out the main prize this competition was a bit closer than meets the eye. We had plenty of close games in the groups as well as the knock-out. The final could of been quite different as both semi's went to penalties with neither victor getting a comfortable passage to the finale.

The standard of Subbuteo is improving big time in Ireland and this competition was proof. The youth policy in young Daniel is really starting to bear fruit as the youngster gave one or two established players a fright in the group stage and only lost on penalties in the Plate Semi. This boy will be lifting trophies in the near future.

Many thanks to Donegal SC and their stalwards Brendan Rodgers and Classically Trained (Frankie) for organising a great day.

The road show moves onto Ballymena next month.

Kenny Beggs at ken@nitfa.org.uk is the contact if you are interested in playing. http://www.nitfa.org.uk/

NOTE: The Irish Subbuteo Championship Circuit is run in 5 venues over the year. The event is open to none Irish players ie. all players are welcome. 

Link: Irish subbuteo Championship on Facebook

Tralee & Munster SC results

On February 20, 2023 the Tralee & Munster SC players had a very entertaining night with many close games. Final standings were as follows:

1. Dave Elton 6 pts
2. Jeff Murphy 6
3. William Magnier 5
4. Cian Hogan 5
5. Greg Molone 5

Link: Tralee and Munster SC on Facebook

Derry City Winter cup

Martinog Bradley narrowly tops the table ahead of Oisin Mór, in our hastily arranged winter cup. The shed welcomed Nick Pearson back for his 4th shed appearance.

Link: Derry City TFC on Facebook

Poster of the next Irish Subbuteo Circuit tournament

Australia: more wins for Kennedy and Tardiota

Another wonderful night at Willoughby Park Bowling Club (Sydney) where the Northern Falcons had a four round Swiss.

Congrats to Eliot Kennedy, well done to Adrian Elmer, and great to see Daniel Sirmai, Johnny Ball and Louis Dettre back in action.

Having fun and sharing lots of laughs was the order of the night.

In Brisbane, five players competed in group format. Giuseppe Tardiota took the honors but the great news was to see Ordon Orr playing his first tournament.

Another good tournament in Brescia

We are pleased to receive more results from Brescia, Italy where the latest tournament played with the old rules was a success as 15 players took part. "It was the third stage of the Lombardia Challenge, a tournament played with Old Subbuteo rules and counting already 21 registered players. It is no longer a local event, but more likely a Northern Italy happening, with challengers coming from Liguria, Lombardia, Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Trentino. The formula is very much appreciated. A late start for a smooth Sunday wake up, many games for everybody and no refereeing. But above all, a priceless friendly atmosphere", commented Vittorio de Pascale.

It is Genova player Enrico Frisone taking the honor of the first place, defeating Vittorio de Pascale at shoot out 5-4, after regular time ended 2-2.  Great performance of the new entry from famous Subbuteo Club Vecchia Talpa Fidenza, Gian Marco Taverna and Francesco Molinari. The last, well deserving the final, after a wonderful match of group 1, won 5-2 against V. de Pascale. It was his last match, a draw 1-1  against Girelli, where Molinari lost two points, thus ending second in his group. Great to see two brothers Mentasti, Lorenzo from Varese and Giorgio from Trento playing their final for the 7th place.

Final table of the day:

1. Enrico Frisone (Ligures Genova)
2. Vittorio de Pascale (Ligures Genova)
3. Gian Marco Taverna (Vecchia Talpa Fidenza)
4. Francesco Molinari (Vecchia Talpa Fidenza)
5. Claudio Colpani (Papata Ponticino)
6. Federico Milan (Subbuteo Verona)
7. Lorenzo Mentasti (Trento)
8. Giorgio Mentasti (Trento)
9. Giancarlo Riva (Ligures Genova)
10. Luigi Bauleo (Ligures Genova)
11. Luca Rajna (Prato Verde Subbuteo Club)
12. Silvano Corleto (Vecchia Talpa Fidenza)
13. Alessandro Girelli (Subbuteo Verona)
14. Abramo Bartolini (Vecchia Talpa Fidenza)
15. Pietro Torri (Vecchia Talpa Fidenza)

First tournament in Buhl, France

Saturday was a day of history for French table football as a "Subbuteo meet" was held in Buhl (68, Haut-Rhin), a city located between Colmar and Mulhouse, in Alsace. Due to place restrictions, the event was limited to six players and guys travelled from several areas to play. In the end, after games played in a fair and positive spirit, Hervé Rakowski was the big winner of the tournament as he won his five games. He was surprisingly using Toccer figures, which is not really usual in table football nowadays. Organizers were kind enough to ask the WASPA status, which is greatly appreciated and shows that there is space in France to create regional events as done in many different countries. It was therefore the first WASPA tournament in France this season. Another meet is already in the plans for the players from the East of France!

Final standings:

1. Hervé Rakowski (FTC ST Symphorien sur Coise)
2. Hervé Fino (Alsace Subbuteo Club)
3. Jérôme Deffolin (unattached player)
4. Lorenzo Lo Preti (FTC ST Symphorien sur Coise)
5. Pierre Troestler (Alsace Subbuteo Club)
6. Frédéric Staine (Alsace Subbuteo Club)

More pictures of the meeting in Buhl

Australia: News from Sydney and Melbourne

Francis Cozzarin wins Western Flickers tournament

The Western Sydney SC had a tournament last week. Here is Adrian Elmer's report:

With the Australian Grand Prix being held in Melbourne on this weekend, and a few of our players really wishing they could have been there, the club decided on a hastily organised WASPA tournament, our first for the year.

The initial starting line up of six players had shrunk to four by the start of play, with illness and the speed of life taking their toll. So, a four player league with a grand final was decided on. Playing in just his second tournament, Greg brought along his new Brazil team and pitted them against Adrian. Still learning the ropes, he succumbed 2-0, but learning was definitely the main factor for all Greg's games this evening, and he was able to do a lot of this. On the other pitch, Dave brought out the shooting skills he had been practising at home over the summer, and was able to pull off a great 1-1 draw against Franck, who had been favoured to win the match. 

Franck was stung into action. He took an early lead in his next game, against Adrian, with a move on the run seeing the ball in the back of the open goal and Adrian still at the other end of the pitch. Adrian managed to pull back an equaliser but, Franck, not to be denied, received a yellow card for his over-the-top celebrations after a deft chip put him back in front a few minutes before full time. He was able to hold, in spite of renewed pressure from Adrian, for his first ever win against that opponent. Meanwhile, Dave rode a wave of shooting, putting three past Greg to go to the top of the table, alongside Franck.

While Franck was already assured a place in the final, Dave just needed a draw against Adrian to join him. The mind games started early as Adrian encouraged Dave to park the bus. Adrian got an early goal to settle his nerves but took until late in the game to score the second and put the result beyond doubt. Meanwhile, Franck was giving Greg a range of tactical pointers as Greg's Subbuteo education continued.

Adrian changed his glasses in preparation for the Grand Final rematch against Franck, but this didn't have much positive effect as the game got going. Within eight minutes, Franck was up by two goals and could have had a third following a stranded 'keeper from Adrian, though messed up his first flick to let Adrian off the hook. However, within a minute of Franck's second, Adrian jagged one back to give a breath of life to his challenge by the half way mark. The game became tense from there, but Adrian was gaining the upper hand, scoring an equaliser with 5 minutes to go. Referee Dave then began heckling Franck - "I can't believe you've given up a 2 goal lead!". Franck was holding out, though, forcing Adrian into a 'Magee Swarm' from a goalkick in the final 30 seconds. With the clock ticking down, desperate defending was blocking gaps, but also giving up free-flicks which Adrian was taking rapidly. Then, with literally 2 seconds on the clock, Adrian found the slight gap he needed to trickle the ball past Franck's diving 'keeper and take the win.

An epic struggle to conclude a great night of Subbuteo fun. Every player learned new things, every player built on their skills and knowledge. 

The full original report can be found here: https://sites.google.com/view/westernsydneysubbuteo/tournaments?fbclid=IwAR1acSY9_n12BybTMbFPzZso5-y_2106ZDiglR_8wCpE1DFU6MNVOyc1IuQ

Final table:

1.  Francis Cozzarin
2.  Adrian Elmer
3.  David Rudd
4.  Greg Adams

Chandiramani and Tardiota take honors in Melbourne

During last week-end's FISTF Grand Prix in Melbourne, two WASPA tournament have been played under WASPA banner.

Vikas (right) in action

On Saturday, the consolation tournament of the individual Grand Prix had 9 players taking part. Brisbane's Giuseppe Tardiota defeated Geoff Sirmai on shots after a 2-2 draw to claim the title. Beth Eveleigh and Richard Wilson managed to make it to the semi-finals.

Giuseppe (right) in action, too

On Sunday, a WASPA event was organised for those who couldn't play the team events. here again, 9 players from many different clubs where taking part. In the end it was Singapore's Vikas K. Chandiramani who defeated Adrian Connolly in the final (3-1) while semi-finalists were Nick brill and Geoff Sirmai.

To be noted the two events were played by New Zealand's George Edeson who travelled from Auckland to play the tournament. It's amazing to hear george is active in the "Northern Line Flickers TFC" (Facebook link: Northern Line Flickers TFC), which is the first Subbuteo club in the country.

You can see amazing pictures of the tournament on this Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.3277365609192249&type=3 and here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.654015466727339&type=3&mibextid=ncKXMA

A good turnout in Gouda

Last Wednesday Dutch subbuteo fans met in Gouda for another WASPA tournament. As there is a revival in the country, there was a good turnout of 13 players and, among them, 2 foreign visitors: Stéphane Lambert (Belgium) and Erza Aripin (Singapore). The tournament was played in 4 groups with then knock-out games for places 1 to 13. Fabrizio Cavazza defeated Nicol marks in the final while Patrick de Jong took the third place after beating Erza Aripin.

There will be another Subbuteo meet in Gouda on February 15.

The Dutch legends are also trying to build som enew tables and are trying to get some sponsors. interested partners can contact subbuteonederland@gmail.com

Besides all this, the Dutch Championship tournament to take place on May 13 in Wageningen is already sold-out as the maximum entry of 34 players is now reached. Congratulations to the dutch organizers for the great job!

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/Subbuteonederland