Stop to abusive situations!

It doesn't happen very often but I will have some negatives comments today. In the last 24 hours I have been informed of 2 abusives situations happening in different countries. To make a summary, the 2 situations are as follows:

a) a club is refusing new players or players who are not "part of the friends circle" to attend their tournaments. This is totally unacceptable (see reasons below);

b) some people continuously organise tournaments with three players without even the approval of their club organizer. Let's imagine a club has 10 players and every player organize a tournament every month, it means the club should have 120 WASPA tournaments per season? No way!

Please let me remind people some basic rules:

- WASPA events must be played in public spaces where visitors and possible new players are welcome (after all the number 1 priority of the WASPA circuit is to promote the game and to try to attract more new players);

- A club can hold a maximum of 12 regional tournaments per season (+ possibly 12 other tournaments like "old rules" events or "promotional events");

- Tournaments should be announced in advance so that everyone has a fair chance to register.

Of course some clubs have limited space and therefore limit tournaments to 4, 6, 8,... players but at least those who register first have the priority.

Of some players think they don't have enough tournaments organized by their club, they are free to start their own club. At least is will not have a negative influence on team rankings.

WASPA rules are simple and flexible but it's up to the players to remain fair and to have constructive ways to help the game!

We stay at your disposal for questions regarding the circuit and how to hold tournaments. E-mail: vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com

Thanks for your attention!

Vincent Coppenolle, WASPA organizer

Barry Spence wins final Irish Circuit tournament

Derry City TFC hosted the 5th and final round of this year's 'Irish Championship Circuit'. Barry Spence was winner on the day with Martinog Bradley runner-up.

Tralee’s Dave Elton won the plate with Lawrence Watson runner-up.

16 players coming from different clubs were taking part.

Congratulations to the winners and to the organizers for having a great Circuit in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Results of WASPA event held by six different Belgian clubs

Since the beginning of the season, several tournaments have been held in Belgium and organized by six differents clubs. Here is a brief summary of results.

Top 3 of the evening: Michaël Dupret (2) - Geoffrey Marain (1) - Stéphane Lambert (3)

The first event of the new season was organized by Magic Team Tournai on September 22. 9 players competed in Swiss system and it was great to see the WASPA debut of French player David Sardi de Letto. Geoffrey Marain finished the evening with 3 wisn and a draw and it was enough to win the tournament. Michaël Dupret was runner-up and Stéphane Lambert was a surprising third after winning his first three games and losing in the final session against Marain.

Players at the Templeuve tournament

One week later, the Templeuve United tournament had 10 players taking part and the local group was glad to see Olivier Bodelle back in action, bringing the French group to 4 players. Belgians dominated the tournament though. Geoffrey Marain was on fire in the first three sessions but lost his last game against Vincent Coppenolle. Both players ended the evening with 9 points but Marain had a better goal difference. 3 players finished the evening with 7 points but here again, the goal difference pushed Benjamin Marain on the podium while Sébastien Sorge was 4th and Michaël Dupret 5th.

Noah Janssens winner in Bande

October started with good news from the South of the country. The Southern Province of Luxemburg has a very active club in bande and a new clubs made of young players in Aye. In Bande, the first event for a long while saw Noah Dirick taking the honors after finishing on top of a league of 6 while local organizer Jean Grosdent was runner-up. The final table was as follows:

1. Noah Janssens
2. Jean Grosdent
3. Luc Grosdent
4. Noah Dirick
5. Thomas Janssens
6. Maxim Grosdent

After a long hyatus, the club of Verviers hald a small tournament in their premises of Manaihant (Province of Liège). Philippe Roufosse took the honors after finishing on top of a small league of 5 players. Final table:

1. Philippe Roufosse
2. Pascal Scheen
3. Valéry Willot
4. Benoit Vanwissen
5. Mélina Scheen

Quality players for a great evening in Stembert

Action between Philippe Roufosse (winner a few days earlier in Manaihant) and Salvatore Visconti

A few days later, the neighboring club of Stembert held another event in the world-famous home called "La cave". Six players competed in a league format ahd Christophe Dheur was the big winner after his 5 victories. Pascal Scheen was again runner-up.

The usual group picture

In the province of Hainaut, the second tournament of "Magic Team Tournai" saw 8 players competing in swiss format. French player Thibaut Marville was the beginner of the night and it was good to see a new face travelling from Lille to meet the Belgians. Matthias Averlant, who couldn't attend prior events due to his studies, was the big winner of the night after beating Geoffrey Marain in the decisive game.

1. Matthias Averlant
2. Geoffrey Marain
3. Vincent Coppenolle
4. Michaël Dupret
5. David Sardi de Letto
6. Benjamin Marain
7. Eric Caillaux
8. Thibaut Marville

Geert Leys (3), Jos Ceulemans (winner) and Marco de Bruin (3)

Finally, in the Flanders, a small tournament took place last Monday while the Belgian Red Devils were facing Sweden, which was probably the reason why only 5 players were taking part. Local legend Jos Ceulemans was the winner on the day, scoring more goals than Dutchman Marco de Bruin.

1. Jos Ceulemans
2. Marco de Bruin
3. Geert Leys
4. Stéphane Lambert
5. Xavier Aret

Please note there will be tournaments organized in Templeuve on Friday October 27 at 6.30 pm and on Wednesday November 1 at 2.00 pm to celebrate the 25th birthday of "Magic Team Tournament". Interested players can contact the organizers at vincentcoppenoll@gmail.com

Links of the clubs:

Templeuve United: https://www.facebook.com/TempleuveUnited and https://www.facebook.com/groups/templeuveunited

La Cave (home of SC Stembert): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1527136117349276

Wamme Subbuteo Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/180520979012248

SC Flanders: https://www.facebook.com/groups/479038732231303

Vincenç Prats wins first event of the season in Spain

A quick look back at one of the biggest events held this season under WASPA banner. Our friends in Barcelona held the first of their 5 tournaments counting for the "Circuit Catala". 22 players from various clubs wdere taking part and some big names were taking part.

Vincenç Prats took the honors in the final after defeating Ferran Coll in a spectacular game (4-3). Ricard Calres and Arturo Martinez made it to the semi-finals.

José Maria Dieguez defeated Julià Rosa in the consolation tournament!

Huge thanks to Barcelona FT for putting the WASPA flag very high in Spain. Let's hope it will be a source of inspiration for other clubs in Southern Europe.

More pictures of the tournament

The final

Martinez vs Prats

Ferran Coll vs Ricard Carles

News from Mongolia - Material needed

We recently told you about Clarence Psaila's project to start a Subbuteo club in Mongolia. During his stay in Mongolia this summer, Clarence introduced some chess players to our beautiful hobby and the training camp ended with a tournament played under WASPA banner.

Things are still going well in this country as Steve Mizzi, also from Malta, is staying there and will be the local organizer of the local group. There are also wishes from other people to start another club in Ulanbator, the capital city of Mongolia.

Even if a second WASPA tournament should be played in the next few weeks, the main problem remains the lack of material. therefore, we are launching a call to have some more material that will be sent in 2024 when Clarence Psaila will visit Mongolia again.

If anyone in our great community is really willing to help with at least 1 pitch, 2 goals and a few teams, it would really be fantastic!

Anyone interested to help this project can e-mail Clarence at clarence_247@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks in advance to our community for helping the game to grow in a new country!

WASPA circuit 2023-2024: September rankings are out!

Excel file (rankings)

PDF file (results)

Alan Kimber's visit in Solent, england

The first month of the new season is already in the books. We had a very exciting month with 24 regional tournaments, 3 promotional events and the All-Ireland Championships played under WASPA banner. 212 players competed in our WASPA events held in 10 different countries.

Action at the All-Ireland Championships in Ballymena

No surprise in the rankings as Jason Christopher remains number 1 while Kevin Cordell is on top of the season ranking (the Stanway Rovers Flickers club is the only club to have held 2 regional tournaments this season).

Samuele Bignardi is still the number 1 junior. This season, juniors are players born in 2007 or later, which means we removed players born in 2006 in the junior ranking. Only 8 clubs have 3 ranked juniors and hopefully we will have more clubs with a youth policy this season.

A great venue in Leicester

The other rankings of clubs will be very interesting this season. Yorkshire Phoenix is currently on top of the "top clubs" section. 16 of the 20 involved clubs have already scored points.

The Stanway Rovers Flickers are on top of the Development League and 15 clubs are already listed. Finally, the Conference League has already 5 clubs scoring points and the Australians of Hipfingerz TFC are the first leaders.

Players in Birsfelden, Switzerland

You will find in the attached files the results and rankings.

We stay at your disposal for any question regarding the WASPA circuit.

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 vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com

Players in Cape Town, South Africa

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 vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Vincent Coppenolle, WASPA organizer

Mark Farrell wins All-Ireland Championships

20 players attended the All-Ireland Championships at Ballymena Golf Club. They came from nine counties - Antrim, Derry, Down & Tyrone in the North and Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Kerry & Wexford in the South. Mark Farrell retained the title, scoring his winning goal in the Final against Kenny Beggs with 2 minutes remaining. Barry Spence & Martinog Bradley reached the semi-finals. Mick O'Brien won the Plate with a golden-goal against Eoin Adams and Eliott Fitzpatrick took the Junior trophy. Well done also to young Daniel Kaliszewski, who reached the Quarter-Finals, with some great performances against experienced players. Thanks to all who travelled from far and near to make it a great day. Full Results, Photos and report on www.nitfa.org.uk

Report by Kenny Beggs

Youth in action in Genova

 This Saturday the Rebels Genova had their first WASPA tournament, open only to young players. It was a great day of table football for confirmed and new players. It was good also to see how the club's top players would be doing after their trip in Gibraltar for the European championship. The 14 players were divided in two leagues of 7 players. Samuele Bignardi was with no surprise the winner of the main category while Andrea Ferretti won the "Silver League".

"Golden League"
1. Samuele Bignardi
2. Alberto Capoferri
3. Tommaso Sani
4. Alessandro Gandin
5. Lorenzo Fazio
6. Giacomo Alessi
7. Filippo Careddu

"Silver League"
1. Andrea Ferretti
2. Teo Peretti
3. Davide Uva
4. Andrea Bolioli
5. Andrea Ferrari
6. Filippo Sottili
7. Emma Pisu

More WASPA results of September 2023

A quick look at the results collected in the second third of September. We had WASPA events in England, Wales, Ireland, Australia and the Netherlands.

Action in Leicester

Bob Varney Open champion

Mick Hammonds was Plate winner

The most amazing event of the month was held in Leicester (https://www.facebook.com/groups/571403958031872), England and had a fantastic turnout of 32 players coming from 11 different clubs!

Players were divided into 8 groups and then knock-out games were played to decide the winners of the main event and the plate event. Bob Varney (The Glide, Slide, Dip & Chip Club) defeated Yorkshire's Sam Curtis in the main event on shots while Aaron Skinner (Bristol) and Jeremy Bradley (TSPA White Star) made it to the semis. Mick Hammons (Wolverhampton) won the plate final against Nick pearson.

Brian Daley (winner) and Cayne Matthews (runner-up)

In Wales, this month's London Road SC (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1699324517049032) tournament was played by 7 players in a league format. Brian Daley won the tournament on goal-diffrence after sharing the first place on points with Cayne Matthews. Ruby Matthews was 3rd. Other involved players were Brendan Ashley (4th), Lucasz Whittle (5th), Yorkshire's Ian Sharp (6th) and Brian Hall (7th).

In Ireland, the first Tralee and Munster (https://www.facebook.com/groups/382626976190248) event of the season was played by 4 players. After 5 sessions, David Elton won the event with 11 points while Jeff Murphy was runner-up, Cian Hogan third and William Magnier fourth.

In Surrey (https://www.facebook.com/groups/858264647945999), the first event of the season was played by 5 players in a league format. Simon Goodman took the honors while other contestors were Lee Fenton (2nd), London SC's Tony Banks (3rd), Mark Hammersley (4th) and Alex Fenton (5th).

Alan Kimber (in red) was the special guest of the night

The first Solent (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2759539824274495) tournament of the season was also a success as 15 players attended the nigh played in Swiss system. The special guest of the night was australia's Alan Kimber who proved to be a strong competitor, finishing in fourth place. Jason Christopher was undefeated and won the tournament while Malcolm Jamieson was runner-up and Andover's Chris Burford was third.

While Alan was in Europe, the other Perth (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1233903783292458) players had their monthly event. 4 players competed in home and away fixtures and Tan Yew Loy won his 6 games to win the event. Noel Mani was runner-up, Chris Thorn 3rd and Ron Byrne 4th.

In Brisbane (https://www.facebook.com/brisbanesubbuteoclubinc), 5 players attended the second chris Scoles Memorial tournament. Home and away fixtures were played so that all players had 8 games. Giuseppe Tardiota was the winner of the day while other players were Kevin Halliday (2nd), Gus Gillespie (3rd), Gareth Whalley (4th) and Wayne Miller (5th).

Jarno marks vs René Bolte

Finally, the first tournament in the Netherlands this season took place last Wednesday in Gouda (https://www.facebook.com/Subbuteonederland). 11 players were taking part and legend Patrick de Jong took the first place while Nico Marks was runner-up. Maurice Montone was third and René Bolte was fourth. The next events in Gouda will be held on October 11, November 15 and December 20.

We stay at your disposal if you want to join the WASPA circuit. Our doors are open. Contact us at vincentcoppenolle@gmail.com

Eric Lienhardt wins Swiss Cup tournament

The players: Hervé Rakowski, Clinton Gähwiler, Peter Erb, Milan Knezevic, Giovanni Attianese, Pietro Pietrantonio, Pierre Troestler, Eric Lienhardt, Jérôme Deffolin, Luigi Del Pozzo.
Front: Hervé Fino, John Imbrogiano.

The winning trio: Milan (2), Eric (1), Pietro (3)

The Swiss Cup played on September 17, 2023 in Birsfelden/Basel (CH) was a great success. The organisers of subbuteo.ch managed to attract 12 players for the tournament. There were also 4 players in new kit from the Guebwiller Alsace Subbuteo Club. Fair play, fun and friendship always come before victory!

Group A was won by Milan Knezevic (Serbia) ahead of Eric Lienhardt (France), Hervé Fino (France), Peter Erb (subbuteo.ch), Luigi del Pozzo (Switzerland) and Pierre Troestler (France).

Group B was won by Pietro Di Pietrantanio (Italy) ahead of John Imbrogiano (subbuteo.ch), Clinton

Gähwiler (South Africa), Hervé Rakowski (France), Jérôme Deffolin (France) and Giovanni Attianese (Switzerland).

In the semi-finals, Milan won 5:1 against Hervé Fino and Eric won 2:0 against Pietro.

Winner was Eric Lienhardt, he won 1:0 after shots against Milan. Third place went to Pietro with 3:2 against Hervé Fino.

Huge thanks to Peter Erb for compiling results and sending us a great report and nice pictures.

We hope Subbuteo.ch will be able to host 3 tournaments this season to be included in the new WASPA Conference League.