International Fistball Association

International Fistball Association (IFA)
legal form	society
purpose	World Fistball Federation
Seat	Linz , Austria
founding	January 30, 1960
place	Frankfurt / Main , Germany
president	Jörn Verleger (since August 14, 2019)
executive Director	Christoph Oberlehner
Former board members	Karl Weiß (Honorary President)
Members	63
Website	www.ifa-fistball.com

The International Fistball Association (IFA) is the world association for the sport of fistball . It is made up of the national associations recognized in the respective countries, which oversee the fistball game (field and indoor fistball) as well as the related games operated by the International Fistball Association in their countries. The IFA (formerly the International Fistball Association IFV) was founded on January 30, 1960 in Frankfurt / Main .

history

Founding years

The first plans to found an international fistball association came at the end of the 1950s. In October 1958, the first international merger took place at a regular conference in Bolzano, Italy. During the meeting, which was attended by representatives from the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, the rules were voted on and the draft statutes for the International Fistball Association (IFV), drawn up by the Austrian Erich Petschnek, were presented. The GDR delegation did not receive an entry permit. The IFV was founded on January 30, 1960 in Frankfurt am Main. The founding associations were the German Gymnastics Association (FRG), the German Fistball Association of the GDR and the Austrian handball and fistball association . Ten months later, on November 12, 1960, representatives from the FRG, the GDR, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Brazil met again in Frankfurt am Main for the first constituent congress of the International Fistball Association. During the meeting, the Austrian Erich Petschnek was elected as the first president of the fistball association. The other members of the Presidium were Edgar Wünsche (GDR) as Vice President, Albert Bank (BRD) as Secretary General and Erich Kinzel (BRD) in the function of cash administrator. After the three founding associations, the German-Chilean Gymnastics Association, the Argentine Fistball Association and the Brazilian Fistball Association were added. In the following years up to 1967 the Swiss Fistball Association, the Italian Fistball Association (1962) and the South African Fistball Association (1966) were added. As the first international fistball event for national teams, the IFV organized the first European fistball cup (men) in 1963 and the first national team competition, the men's European fistball championship, in 1965.

Years 1968–1982

Efforts for the first fistball world championship have existed since the founding of the IFV. In 1968 the first men's world championships took place in Austria. The matches were held in Steyr , Altheim , Gallneukirchen , Wels (preliminary round) and Linz (final round). A total of eight nations, including the newly incorporated association from Canada, took part. The team from the Federal Republic of Germany won the first world championship, ahead of the team from Austria and the GDR. In 1969, at an extraordinary congress of the Presidium, the regulations were passed, the preparation for the 1970 congress and a resolution on the hall regulations took place. On the occasion of the second men's fistball world championship in 1972 in Bavaria, in which seven countries took part with the newcomer South West Africa, the eighth congress was held at the final destination in Schweinfurt . With Alfred Reifeschneider from Chile, a non-European was elected to the presidium for the first time. Also in 1972 the Lausanne Fistball Federation became a member of the Association of International Sports Federations (AGFI). The third fistball world championship then took place in South America for the first time in 1976. The host was the Fistball Association of Brazil, the finals took place in Novo Hamburgo. The team from Germany secured the title - for the third time in a row. In 1979 in Switzerland and 1982 in the Federal Republic of the world championships four and five were held. Here, too, the team from the Federal Republic of Germany won the world championship title. At the congress during the 1982 World Cup in Hanover, changes to the rules of the game with regard to the approval of net and tape came into effect with immediate effect. To this end, Erich Petschnek handed over his presidency to the previous Vice-President Hans Beutler from Switzerland. Petschnek was appointed honorary president.

Years 1983–1999

Fistball was one of the participating sports for the first time at the second edition of the World Games in 1985. The Federal Republic of Germany prevailed in the field of participants, which consisted of the best teams in the world with Austria, Switzerland and Brazil. The Fistball World Cup celebrated its premiere just one year later. The winner of the South American Cup lost to the winner of the European Cup from TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen at home. Shortly before, the men's fistball world championship took place in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires . Hans Beutler resigned as President Dr. Hans Kollmann (Austria) continues. With him at the helm, the association celebrated its 30th anniversary during the 1990 World Cup in Austria. With the new entries from Uruguay (1986) and Denmark (1990), eleven nations took part in the final round in Vöcklabruck for the first time, a record participation at that time. Just two years later, the nations met at the World Championships in Chile, then in 1995 in Namibia. It was the first time such a fistball event was held for both nations. Starting in Namibia, the Presidium decided that the World Championships would henceforth take place every four years - always alternating with the World Games every two years. In Windhoek, Ernesto Dohnalek from Argentina also replaced the previous President Dr. Exit Hans Kollmann. The IFV celebrated a premiere in 1994 in Dohnalek's home country. The first women's fistball world championship was held in Buenos Aires. Eight nations competed in Argentina, as with the men in previous years, Germany won the title. The German team was also at the top of the podium at the second event in Austria in 1998. In 1999 Brazil won the men's world title for the first time. When the World Cup was held in Olten, it was also decided to reduce the line height to 1.90 m for women's, junior and female youth games. The United States and Japan, the venue for the next World Games, have been confirmed as the new fistball nations.

Years 2000-2010

At the beginning of the new millennium, the U18 teams of boys from eight nations met for the first time for the first fistball world championship of the U18 national teams. Brazil won in Bolzano, Italy, followed by the first U18 World Cup in 2006 in Llanquihue, Chile - with Germany as the first title holder. At the 2003 Men's World Championships in Porto Alegre (Brazil), the Congress decided to rename the International Fistball Association to the International Fistball Association (IFA). From this point on, the previous Technical Commission was no longer run as an organ of the IFA, but as a permanent commission. German and English have been set as the language of the IFA. The composition of the Presidium was adjusted in the statutes with the president, general secretary and up to nine other members, including at least one vice-president. India was also accepted as a new member country. At the 2007 World Championships in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, the Congress decided, with the participation of twelve nations for the first time, to change the rules of the game to a sentence length of up to eleven credit points. Pakistan, Nepal, Albania, Taiwan, Serbia and Catalunya / Spain were accepted into the IFA.

Years 2011 – today

At the 2011 Men's World Championships in Pasching, Austria's Karl Weiß inherited the presidency from Ernesto Dohnalek. With him the sport began to spread even more widely throughout the world. White is pursuing recognition as an Olympic sport. The organization of the IFA was also restructured for this purpose. Continental associations were founded, which are henceforth responsible for organizing the continental championships. In addition, the world association welcomed other fistball nations with Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and Colombia in 2015 and is therefore represented as a sport on all continents. In addition, the structure of the presidium and the standing commission in the IFA was restructured. In addition to the President, Vice-President, General Secretary and Finance Officer, the Executive Committee also included the chairman of the new Sports Commission. In 2014, a new record was set at the Women's World Cup in Dresden with ten participating nations and it was also decided that the women's World Cup should be held every two years. The field of participants also reached a new record with 14 nations at the 2015 Men's World Cup in Argentina. In 2016, for the first time in South Africa, a fistball world cup was not held in the established fistball nations. The world association achieved a milestone at the beginning of 2017. With the relocation of the headquarters to Linz, the Austrian Christoph Oberlehner succeeded in installing a full-time managing director for the first time. The IFA Fistball World Tour was also introduced this year . Similar to tennis, fistball club teams can take part in tournaments and earn points for an annual ranking list. The two best-placed teams, together with the winners of the continental associations, qualify for the IFA Fistball World Tour Finals, which will be held for the first time in 2018.

organization

president

As part of the 23rd Congress of the International Fistball Association IFA on August 14, 2019 in Winterthur, Jörn Verleger from Germany was elected the sixth President of the IFA, replacing Karl Weiß from Austria, who did not run again after two terms in office.

Previous presidents of IFA

Surname	nationality	from	to
Erich Petschnek	Austria	1960	1982
Hans Beutler	Switzerland	1982	1986
Hans-Christian Kollmann	Austria	1986	1995
Ernesto Dohnalek	Argentina	1995	August 11, 2011
Karl Weiss	Austria	August 11, 2011	August 14, 2019
Jörn publisher	Germany	since August 14, 2019

Secretary General

The Secretary General ensures that administrative business runs smoothly. The Secretary General Christoph Oberlehner has been from Austria since August 14, 2019.

Bureau

The Presidium currently consists of 19 people.

Executive Presidium of the IFA

Surname	nationality	function	since
Jörn publisher	Germany	president	August 14, 2019
Giana Hexsel	Brazil	Vice President	August 14, 2019
Vikki Buston	New Zealand	Vice President	August 14, 2019
Steve Schmutzler	Germany	Vice President	August 14, 2019
Christoph Oberlehner	Austria	Secretary General	August 14, 2019
Franz P. Iten	Switzerland	Finance officer	November 14, 2015
Winfried Kronsteiner	Austria	Chairman of the Sports Commission	November 14, 2015

Other IFA Presidium Members

Surname	nationality	function	since
Roger's will	Switzerland	Board member	November 14, 2015
Alwin Oberkersch	Germany	Board member	November 14, 2015
Rodrigo Boettger	Chile	Board member	August 14, 2019
Kim Kruse	United States	Board member	August 14, 2019
Katharina Lackinger	Austria	Chair of the Athletes' Commission	22nd November 2019
Eric Kindler	United States	Deputy Chairwoman of the Athletes' Commission	February 25, 2017
Uwe Schneider	Germany	Chairman of the Youth Commission	15th November 2015
Valentin Weber	Austria	Chairman of the media commission	15th January 2017
Franco Giori	Switzerland	President of the European Fistball Association	15th November 2015
Cristiane Suffert	Brazil	President Pan American Fistball Association	20th November 2016
Anke Baas	Namibia	Continental Association of Africa	15th November 2015
Bladder Dowall	New Zealand	Continental Association Asia / Oceania	August 14, 2019

Commissions

• Sports Commission: Chairman Winfried Kronsteiner ( Austria ) 
• Athletes Commission: Chairwoman Katharina Lackinger ( Austria ) 
• Media and Marketing Commission: Chairman Valentin Weber ( Austria ) 
• Women's Commission: Chair Wioleta Franczyk ( Poland ) 
• Youth Commission: Chairman Uwe Schneider ( Germany ) 
• Popular Sports Commission: Chairman Peter Hinterholzer ( Austria ) 
• Entourage Commission: Chair Patrícia Schmitt Lebert ( Brazil ) 
• Medical Commission: Chair Giana Hexsel ( Brazil ) 
• TUE Committee: Chairman Carlos Dillenburg ( Brazil ) 
• Doping Control Committee: Chair Pia Neundlinger ( Austria ) 
• Para-Commission: Chairman Jörn Verleger ( Germany ) 
• Ethics Committee: Chairman Volker Bernardi ( Germany ) 

Congresses

The International Fistball Association has held congresses since the association was founded in November 1960. Since 1972 these have been held on the occasion of the men's fistball world championships.

No. date place I. November 12, 1960  Frankfurt / Main II. November 10, 1962  Linz III. November 28, 1964  Schaffhausen IV. October 9, 1966  Bolzano V. October 26, 1968  Garmisch-Partenkirchen VI. June 21, 1969  Pfungstadt VII. 4th September 1970  Olten VIII. 17./18. August 1972  Schweinfurt IX. October 13, 1973  Bolzano X. September 13, 1974  Linz

No. date place XI. October 7, 1976  Porto Alegre XII. August 31, 1979  St. Gallen XIII. September 16, 1982  Hanover XIV. October 9, 1986  Buenos Aires XV. 19./20. September 1990  Linz XVI. November 25, 1992  Llanquihue XVII. August 27, 1995  Windhoek XVIII. August 24, 1999  Olten XIX. November 20, 2003  Porto Alegre XX. August 6, 2007  Oldenburg

No. date place XXI. August 11, 2011  Pasching XXII. 18th November 2015  Villa General Belgrano XXIII. August 14, 2019  Winterthur XXIV. 2023  Mannheim

Members

These 64 countries are currently members of the international fistball association.

Europe (22 nations)
Albania	Belgium	Denmark	Germany	Greece
United Kingdom	Iceland	Italy	Malta	Netherlands
North Macedonia	Austria	Poland	Russia	Switzerland
Serbia	Spain	Sweden	Czech Republic	Ukraine
Hungary	Cyprus

Asia (13 Nations)
Afghanistan	People's Republic of China	Hong Kong	Chinese Taipei	India
Iran	Japan	Kuwait	Mongolia	Nepal
Pakistan	South Korea	Sri Lanka

Africa (12 nations)
Benin	Burkina Faso	Ivory Coast	Cameroon	Kenya
Namibia	Nigeria	South Africa	Sierra Leone	Uganda
Togo	Central African Republic

Pan America (12 nations)
Argentina	Bolivia	Brazil	Chile	Dominican Republic
Haiti	Canada	Colombia	Trinidad and Tobago	Uruguay
Venezuela	United States

Oceania (5 nations)
Australia	Cook Islands	Fiji	New Zealand	Samoa

Events

The IFA organizes the following events:

Current

field

• Fistball world championships
• Asian fistball championships
• IFA Fistball World Tour
• IFA Fistball World Tour Finals
• World Games

Former

• Fistball World Cup

Events were also organized and carried out by the IFA until the end of 2015, which have since been taken over by the European Fistball Federation ( EFA ). They were:

field

• European fistball championships
• IFA Cup
• Youth European Cup (ARGE-Alp Cup)
• International youth camp
• European Cup field
• European Cup field club teams

Hall

• European Cup Hall
• European Cup hall club teams

Web links

Commons : Fistball  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website

Individual evidence

1. ^ Associations. In: IFA website. Retrieved May 11, 2020 . 
2. ^ IFA statutes. (PDF) In: IFA-fistball.com. February 20, 2016, accessed March 2, 2016 . 
3. ^ Fistball conference in Munich . In: DFV (ed.): Der faustball . 4th year, no. 1 , January 1959, ISSN  0323-3138 , p. 3 .
4. ↑ IFA address list. (PDF) In: IFA-fistball.com. February 1, 2016, accessed March 24, 2016 . 
5. ↑ Australian fistball association founded! Announcement on fotofaustball.blogspot.ch from March 5, 2013