April 2010 - British Foosball Association

British Foosball 

Association 

April Newsletter 2010 

© Martyn Harris 

Martyn Harris Interviewed 

World Cup Reports 

Liverpool Open Report 

2-13 World Cup Reports 

15-16 ITSF Disciplinary Committee Report 

17-19 Liverpool Open Results and Report 

20- 24 Martyn Harris Interview 

25-28 BFA AGM Minutes 

29 BFA EGM Minutes 

30 Altrincham Open Results 

31-35 Warwick Open Detail 

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World Cup Reports – 

Men’s Team 

The ITSF World Championships and World Cup took place in January in Nantes. Over the 

next few pages are a number of reports by key team members originally posted on the 

Britfoos forum. Of particular mention is the fantastic 2 nd places of the Women’s team and of 

the Senior Doubles pair (Dave Ziemann and Chris Haddon) and of the 3 rd places of Dave in 

the Senior Singles and of the Senior World Cup team. The reports are taken from postings 

made on the Britfoos forum. 

Men’s Team World Cup Report By Rob Atha 

First Off I want to Congratulate the Women and Senior teams on awesome performances, that was 

amazing and you should be proud of yourselves. 

Secondly about the Men’s: 

This year we took our strongest team possible IMO and everybody performed. Our first match was 

against Germany, everyone was fired up and we wanted it more than the Germans. 

Before the match, I had a feeling it could be a draw, I just wanted us to win our Tornado matches 

and they try and steal a leg on Tecball. but IMO they got their team selection all wrong. which 

played in our favour. 

Juj played in the first match, narrowly beating Uli Stoepal 5-4 on Tornado then playing flawless on 

Tecball winning 5-3, he scored 9 from 9 snakes in that match. 

2nd Match was Joe/Dave B vs Marc Balic/Knuth Strecker, (a Lehmacher team) in the first match on 

Tecball Joe was playing well and Dave was blocking good (standard) they just lost 5-4 in that 

game, but that’s their table, so it’s expected, going over to Tornado they destroyed the Germans 5- 

2 I think. 3-1 lead. 

My game against Tim started a little late and Tom/Jon M vs Chris Marks/Charly was going at a 

faster pace and before I finished my game against Tim, Tom/Jon won which gave us 4-1 lead. 

Then I knew that I had to win my games, I saw everyone performing out of their skin and that gave 

me confidence, I had a tough game on Tornado which I won 5-3, then before my Tecball game 

finished, Jon/Tom came back from 4-2 down to win their Tornado match against Chris/Charly 

which put us on 6 points and gave us victory. So I then won my Tecball game 5-1. 7-1 Up, ship it!!!! 

Alex then played a dead rubber against Bjorn Brose and narrowly lost 5-4 on Tornado after being 

4-1 up then Bjorn took control on Tecball winning 5-3. 

So a 7-3 win against Germany which gave us a great chance on winning the group, we just couldn't 

let up against India. We didn't, hardly conceding a goal. )

First Round KO v Slovenia was a lot harder than the 3-0 looked on paper. We all had to dig out 

games which we should of lost. 

First Juj in Singles, he lost his Tornado leg 5-4, then won on Bobby Sport, then won 8-6 in the last 

game in a tough match which went back and forth. 

Tom/Jon next up. They lost on Tornado, then are 3-1 down in the 2 nd game, and Jon goes upfront, 

bricks the guys 5 bar and when the forward did get it, Tom shut him down. Jon ends up doing the 

business upfront, passing/scoring high %. in last game I think we won 6-4 which left it down to me 

to close the match out. 

I started out playing well, going up 4-1 on Bobby Sport, then somehow losing that game 5-4 which 

put pressure on my Tornado leg. He had an awkward style which took me some time to get used to 

and he scored on the 3 bar a high % and led 4-3 in 2nd game. I pulled that game out somehow and 

then I knew I would take it in the 3rd, I won 5-2 overall. 

Against France next in the ¼ finals. 



Men’s Team 

Most of you probably watched it but it was in front of a big pro-French crowd, with football style 

chants, an incredible atmosphere which will only give us more experience. 

As always, Juj is up first, he seems to deliver every time, but this proved his toughest test yet. He 

plays Paul Nunes who is a really good Tornado player too, Nunes plays a great first game on 

Tornado and wins 5-3, they go to Bonzini and Juj has a 4-2 lead and then gets cheated, Paul did a 

pin shot from the 5 which deflected on Juj’s 5 and he catches it on the 3. 

I shouted foul because I knew the ref was terrible and didn’t call anything. He didn’t even see what 

happened and when he asked Nunes to show him what happened he showed him the shot without 

pinning it first, CHEAT number 1. That affected Juj in someway and slowed him way down and 

Nunes comes back to win that match. 

Up next was Joe/Jon May, I put this pair together because I thought they make a better Bonzini 

team than the others. 

They didn’t disappoint as they came out firing on tornado, 5-2. then They lost a close one on 

Bonzini, Joe started great on Bonzo but his 3 dried up towards the end. 

The French switched in the 3rd and that was the key for them as john was blocking Dos Santos but 

Zapater scored a lot better. I think the final score was 5-2 in last game.



Men’s Team 

I was up next against Adil Yousfi, I knew it would be tough and it was. I won quite easily on 

Tornado first game, then he kicks my ass on Bonzini, I was struggling to score and block him. It 

ends up going to overtime. 

I felt like by the end I was figuring him out a lot better on the 5 which didn’t give him as many 

possessions and gave me confidence and I closed it 9-7 i believe on Bonzini. 

They cheated during this game which has been highlighted elsewhere and has resulted in their 

players and team receiving bans. 

(The full verdict of the ITSF Disciplinary Commission is shown after these World Cup reports). 

So that puts us at 2-1 France with Tom/Shovo in game 4, Dave B didn’t play this match due to his 

lack of experience on the Bonzini table, so Shovo stepped in and played well. 

It started on Bonzini, Tom played great at the start, passing really well, scoring ok, and I think it 

was 3-3 then the French got lucky I think. They won 5-3, I was still confident at this point they 

would win on Tornado, we started well again on Tornado going up 3-1. 

They got a lucky one, then the guy at the back took like 20 seconds at the back on Tornado and 

scored a pull kick I think as it was a panic clear, he then scored a good pull shot from the 2 to go 

up 4-3. In the end they closed the match 5-3 and we were out. 

Coach Morgan made us feel better by getting us numerous shots of Vodka and the drinking began. 

Such a good effort from all the guys, when the draw was made people probably thought that we 

would lose to the Germans and then go out first round to USA. We beat the Germans, which is a 

great step in the right direction. 

I think with a little more international experience we could go up another level. Look at what Jody 

has done, she went to nearly all the WC events and played a massive part in leading the Women 

to a silver medal. If the men do the same we could do place even better. 

Sorry to Alex who didn’t get to play a competitive match, and thanks to Rob Davey who didn’t play 

but was supporting us the whole time.



Women’s Team 

Women’s Team World Cup Report By Oliver Deakin 

Group Stages 

The girls had a slightly nervous start in the groups - as Cameroon pulled out we did not get any 

warmup in the group matches before meeting France, our strongest opponents on a table we had 

little experience on within the team outside of Emily. 

That said, the girls put up a good fight and took a couple of legs off them. The French women's 

team were all very friendly people and the match was played in good spirits. 

After France, we played Japan who had chosen Tornado. They only had a team of 4 and so 

automatically forfeited 2 doubles legs. We took (if I remember correctly) 5 of the remaining 6 legs. 

The Japan team were all really sweet and just seemed so excited to be at this event - to think they 

didn't even have a full team but still travelled half the world to be there, when it's a struggle to get 

teams to come from Europe in some cases! Amazing! 

Although I imagine they are relatively new to the game, they had an incredibly relaxed playing 

style, shooting smooth pull shots on the 3. They didn't seem nervous or phased by the size of the 

competition at all - I think they will be a nation to watch in the future. 

Speaking to them later I found out they hold about 4/5 tournaments a year of 60 to 70 people, 

which makes me think their scene is a similar size to ours. I'd love to go out there and play at one 

of the tournies one day. 

Quarter Final 

We met Slovakia on Tornado in the first round of the knockouts. I think they were the most skilled 

and dangerous team we met in the competition, and we were impressed they topped their "group 

of death" ahead of some really tough competition. 

We were also very pleased not to have to meet Belgium on Bobby Sport! We ended up at 2 

matches each and had to go to the extra doubles match, with Jody and Mayya pairing. 

In summary, the extra doubles match was a nail-biter. Let's say things got a little heated, but we 

got it sorted out and let them have it on the 3 bar. The poor Slovakian girl must have been a bit 

nervous because I think she just turned the ball over straight to Mayya's 2 bar, losing her pin. 

After that it was all over for the Slovakians - Mayya and Jody were fired up and the opponents were 

nervous and probably a little scared. I think it finished 7-3 and we were through to the semi-final.




Semi Final 

Next up was the Netherlands on Tecball. Strangely, going into this match I felt very comfortable 

and confident that we were going to win. I had heard that the only reason the Netherlands beat 

Bulgaria in the previous round was because Bulgaria had to forfeit one doubles match and had 

setup a crazy team order which meant their top player never played! 

I had a feeling that the Netherlands were a weaker team than us and it turned out I was right. 

Hannah and Sarah took the first doubles game 2-0 I believe, quite comfortable with both girls 

playing really strongly in both home and away legs. It never looked like they could lose the match. 

The next game was Jody vs Tessa, the coach's wife. Jody drilled her on Tecball, but Tessa scored 

some really crap goals on Garlando to take the 2nd leg and make it 1-1. 

The coach Yuri made a couple of disparaging comments about Jody's game, which just showed 

what a bitter loser he is. 

Jody very quickly brushed his idiotic comments aside, taking the third leg across both tables 

something like 5-1. It's a shame, because the rest of the Dutch team were really nice during the 

match but their coach spoiled the occasion. 

Sadly Alina and Emily lost their match against the 2nd doubles team, even though they played 

really well and were fairly evenly match with their opponents. 

Luckily Mayya was still fired up from the stupid coach's comments and, fuelled by wine, caned their 

2nd singles player 2-0, putting us 3-1 in matches and through to the final. We couldn't believe it!!! 

The Final 

The final was incredibly exciting. Hannah and Sarah played the first doubles match. After narrowly 

losing the first game on Bonzini, they caned the French 5-0 on Garlando! 

Hannah was blocking unbelievably well on both tables against everything they had, and Sarah was 

passing and scoring up front well. Although it was very clear we dominated on Garlando as much 

as the French did on Bonzini, the French got a couple of lucky goals on Garlando and managed to 

take the 3rd game to win the match. 

What a shame because both girls were playing really well and it could have gone either way. 

The 2nd match was Jody against the strongest French girl Estelle. Again we lost the game on 

Bonzini and won very easily on Garlando, going to a third game.




Jody fought hard but just could not get the ball in the net on Bonzini. Estelle played well and we 

had a little bad luck on Garlando giving her enough of an edge to closely take the match. Again, 

Jody played an amazing game and with just a little luck on Bonzo the match would have been ours. 

At 2-0 down, the third game became crucial. Alina and Emily were to meet the 2nd French pairing. 

They played a really strong game, better than I've ever seen them play before I think, taking the 

first game on Garlando 5-3. 

Unfortunately the French were too strong on Bonzini and took the 2nd game. Again we were into 

the 3rd game and, although Alina and Emily played a great game, they could not quite hold off the 

attack enough to take it. 

They played so well together - I know it sounds like a broken record, but again we were so close to 

taking the match that it really came down to just 1 or 2 goals which could have turned it into a 

completely different result. 

Sadly this put us 3-0 down in matches, meaning the French had won and Mayya would not get to 

play her singles match. This was a real shame - partly because I believe Mayya would have come 

out and won taking us to the extra doubles match which I believe we could have also won, but 

mainly because all the girls had played so well, were equally or better skilled to their opposition on 

their respective home tables and put in such a great fight that I truly believe they deserved to win. 

I think on the day we were beaten by the table and not our opponents - if an equally skilled team to 

the French had played us on any other table we would have won, but sadly our general lack of 

experience on Bonzini tables stole the match from us. If we can get a little more practise on this 

table this year, I think we will be in an incredibly strong position at the next World Cup to win it. 

Well done to the girls for getting 2nd place in the World Cup - you thoroughly deserved it and more. 

Amazing to think we were so chuffed to qualify to the knockouts and then went all the way to the 

finals. 

We came back with a massive cup and silver medals (I got one too as coach - brilliant!), so that 

was really great! 

Anyway, that's a massive writeup when I wasn't expecting to write very much at all! It was a great 

nail-biting adventure with lots of thrills, spills and controversial moments! Looking forward to the 

next one!

Junior Team World Cup Report By Rich Potts 



Junior Team 

Firstly, the singles started badly due to the fact that we had no juniors. unfortunately due to the 

weather they didn’t make it in time. 

The doubles was a mixed bag with James and Luke not qualifying through to the knockouts having 

a tough draw. Steve and Adam did however qualify though into the knockouts winning half of their 

games. unfortunately they drew Austria, who were one of the favourites, with the forward being the 

winner of last years junior singles competition. 

The team event was tense to say the least. in our group we had France, Netherlands, Portugal and 

South Africa. it was great to see all the guys playing in some awesome matches, with everyone 

winning games. 

Netherlands played exceptionally well and were clearly one of the strongest teams at the 

competition. they beat us and won the group overall. As with the Men and Women we were forced 

to play France. which basically meant they skanked us on Garlando and we attempted to do the 

same. As with a lot of countries our lack of Bonzini experience was obvious. Overall France came 

second in the group and beat us 7-3. 

The South Africa leg was tense. South Africa had some strong players on Tornado, and luckily so 

did we. Overall we managed to draw with them, with lots of high tension games and everyone 

playing exceptionally. 

This left Portugal. If we beat them our qualification would be guaranteed, if we drew it would go 

down to Portugal/Netherlands. Both countries fought hard with the last game going to sweat ball. 

Unfortunately they scored the final goal, which to be honest was a pretty sweet shot. 

So we drew with Portugal, but thankfully Holland did the job and beat Portugal allowing us to 

qualify. 

We drew Germany in the quarters. they were clearly a strong team. with the current singles 

champion and the current junior number 2 in the world (who is barely a teenager!!!) 

Our guys all played well but got beat by the Germans. It was awesome to see Luke and Adam beat 

them 5-0 in the Garlando leg 

The juniors all played well and the results are very successful and should all be proud of what they 

achieved. especially in comparison to last years juniors who didn’t win a single game. (Iforget who 

they were ((hehe)). they represented their country well, and most importantly kept their chins up 

and had a laugh through the entire weekend. I had a great time with them. 

Well done guys, it was a pleasure being the coach to such a awesome team



Senior Team 

Senior World Cup Report by Dave Ziemann 

The UK Senior team was: Boris Atha, Chris Haddon, Martyn Harris, Paul Martin, Dave Oates and 

Dave Ziemann. The coach was J-P Thompson. 

This is a story of a series of great decisions, and how they led to our Senior Team Bronze medal. I 

believe we were one goal away from Gold, but I’m getting ahead of myself... 

We were in a single large group of 7 teams, so we knew exactly who we were going to play, and 

we knew that our Garlando table pick was going to work well for us. And if we qualified we knew 

that the strongest teams were the Germans and USA, both of whom would rather play any other 

table. 

In the qualification round, you play 3 doubles and 2 singles matches, each match consisting of two 

games, one on your home table, and one on their table. You win the fixture if you win 6 or more 

games. 

Netherlands 

Chris and Martyn started our charge by losing 3-5 on Roberto and winning 5-3 on Garlando. Boris 

(being Boris) reversed this by winning his singles game 5-3 on Roberto but losing 3-5 on Garlando 

against the tricky Mat Koussen. Boris complained about being out-hacked. Then Boris and Chris 

won both legs in the 2nd doubles, 5-1 on Roberto and 5-3 on Garlando. 

In the 2nd singles I lost 4-5 on Roberto and won 5-3 on Garlando against Theo Conjour. In the 3rd 

doubles match Martyn and I won both our legs, 5-1 on Roberto and 5-3 on Garlando. 

Score: 7-3 to us, a comfortable win against Netherlands. 

Italy 

Boris defended for me in our 1st doubles against Italy, and we won both games 5-3. 

Paul drew their star singles player Massimo Ragona and lost 3-5 and 2-5. But then Paul turned it 

all round in the 2nd doubles match which he played with Dave Oates, winning 5-4 on Roberto and 

then 5-0 on Garlando, with Dave playing a brilliant defensive game. 

I then won the 2nd singles leg 5-3 on Roberto and 5-1 on Garlando. Boris and Dave Oates 

completed the fixture with a comfortable 5-2 win on Roberto and a huge 5-0 on Garlando, with 

Dave again showing his great defensive experience on Garlando. 

Score: 8-2 against Italy.

France 

This was a bit of an upset in that most of the wins went with the home table. I was disappointed to 

lose my singles 2-5 on Bonzini to Pascal Lecoz. 

It was 4-4 until the key last leg, when Boris and Paul won both their games 5-2. Boris was playing 

forward and basically ‘ruined’ the victory by scoring a 3-bar winner after Paul scored had the first 4 

goals from the back! 

Score: 6-4 against France. 

Germany 

We always knew it would be tough. Boris and Dave Oates started with a 5-1 win on Garlando and a 

1-5 loss on Tecball. It was going to be interesting! In the 1st singles I had to play the very tough 

Johann Wahl, who had previously beaten me 3 games to 0 in the Senior Singles semi-final. I beat 

him 5-4 on our table but lost 2-5 on his. 

Things looked up after Martyn and I played the 2nd doubles, winning both our games 5-2. Boris 

had a bad 2nd singles against Jet, narrowly losing 4-5 on Garlando and being trounced 0-5 on 

Tecball. 

4-4 and the 3rd doubles leg would decide the fixture. Unfortunately Martyn and Dave could not hold 

back the German pair, with the very strong Heinz Kiessling in defence, and we lost 2-5 and 3-5. 

Score: 4-6 against Germany. 

USA 

Martyn and I kicked off against Greg Perrie and Robert Janac, and I was disappointed to lose 4-5 

on Garlando, as well as 2-5 on Tornado. We may have had a bit of bad luck on our table, but this 

happens. 

Chris lost his singles games to Robert Janac 3-5 on Tornado and 3-5 on Garlando. I failed to hold 

my singles against Greg on Tornado, losing 3-5, but beating him comfortably 5-2 on Garlando. 

The score was now 3-5 to USA and we had to won both games in the 3rd doubles leg to make a 

draw. Martyn and Dave won the 3rd doubles leg 5-3 on Garlando, but unfortunately narrowly lost 4- 

5 on Tornado to Robert Janac and Bud Spredeman. 

Score: 4-6 against USA. 



Senior Team 

Belgium forfeited their match, so we lost 2 out of 6, placing us 3rd in the group. We calculated that 

we would have to play Germany, who were in 2nd place.

Elimination – Germany 

We had a short time to decide and submit the 4 players for our knockout fight with Germany. 

I decided to play myself and Boris for singles, with Chris and Martyn playing doubles. It was a very 

hard decision because everyone played extremely well in the quals, and I was grateful for the 

assistance of our fine coach J-P Thompson. 

The next problem was the order of play, and in particular the singles match up. I calculated that 

Boris might on average do a better job against Wahl than I would, and that I would be more likely to 

prevail against Jet than Boris would. I also reckoned that they would play Wahl as their lead 

singles, expecting us to do the same, so I put Boris in the lead slot. 

Chris and I were up first, against Jet and Heinz, their top defender. In the KO you play 5 matches 

again. Each match is one game on each table again, but this time if it’s 1-1, you decide the match 

winner by playing a 3rd game on both tables, first playing one ball on one table and then alternating 

2 balls on each table until the win. The winner is the first team to win 3 matches. 

We were disappointed to narrowly lose both games 4-5, there was slop, but I was pretty dejected 

because I thought we had to win the first leg to stand a chance. 

But now Boris was up to play 1st singles, and the plan had worked! He was stacked up against 

Wahl. Boris and Johann are VERY similar players. To get the picture, imagine one of those 

computer games where you can either play the computer or you can get the machine to play itself. 

Well watching Boris vs Johann was like watching the machine play itself. Boris played really well 

and contained Wahl 5-2 on Garlando followed by a narrow but highly significant 5-4 victory on 

Tecball. 

We were back in the running! 

But now Boris and Martyn had to play Johann and Jurgen Stachowiak. The Germans prevailed 5-4 

on our table and 5-1 on theirs, so we were 1-2 down. 

Next was my singles game against Jet. If I lost we would be out of the tournament. 

I won the toss and chose to play Garlando first. Jet came out strong and scored a snake on me 

from the 2-bar. He was also passing and shooting well on the 3. But the real damage came from 

the back. My D clearly sucked because he scored two more angled snakes from his 2-bar. I took a 

time-out and got some good advice from Boris on my D, but it was too late to turn it round. 

Jet beat me 2-5 on Garlando and it looked all over. 



Senior Team



Senior Team 

But I played well on Tecball. Jet wasn’t scoring from the back now but he was passing and snaking 

well on his table. I can’t remember if I was 1-4 or 2-4 down before the game started to swing. 

For some reason I felt calm and strong even though I was almost dead. When I got the ball on the 

3 I was shooting good snakes to both sides. I played out of my skin to even it up. I became aware 

of people shouting and screaming, and it took a while to realise they were shouting at me and Jet. 

I took the 4-4 time-out and scored the winner to even the game score. Jet thought he’d finished me 

and was now worried, as it was going to a 3rd game, with the first ball on Garlando. 

It was an epic game, and I don’t remember too much about it, but it was pure quality and I was 

shooting very well on Tecball. It went pretty much ball for ball. Finally I went 7-6 up on Tecball and 

with the next ball on Garlando I knew I had the chance. I scored the winner from the 2-bar, my 

favourite, dummy the pull-shot and play a brush across the table. 

The place erupted and I remember Martyn lifting me off the floor! We were back in the game. 

Last up were Martyn and Chris, and the pressure was on. Our boys did great, destroying the 

Germans 5-1 on Tecball! 

But then horror of horrors, the Germans responded, beating our boys 5-1 on Garlando. As Martyn 

has already reported, it came down to the final table-swapping game which went ball for ball, with 

huge shouting on every point. 

The Germans had a bit of luck and we had none. It hurt that every decision we made was a good 

one, and yet we still most by the narrowest margin. 

After the Americans beat the Germans in the final I spoke to Greg Perrie, and he confirmed what I 

had thought – that they were greatly relieved to be playing on Tecball rather than Garlando. 

I’m sure we’d have won if we’d played the Americans, because we are better on Tornado than they 

are on Garlando. 

I can’t emphasise enough how much of a team effort this was. Without each individual it would not 

have been possible, each player made multiple key contributions without which our campaign 

would have ended, and that includes our magnificent coach who solved difficulty after difficulty.

Senior Singles Report by Dave Ziemann 



Senior Singles 

In the qualification games I won 6 out of 8 games but with a high goal difference to seed 3rd out of 

24 players. 

I beat Conjour of Netherlands 7-4 on Roberto, Delabarre of France 7-4 on Tornado, Benz of Austria 

7-2 on Bonzini, Bud Spredeman of USA 7-2 on Bonzini, Brito of Portugal 7-4 on Bonzini and Jager 

of Germany 7-4 on Tornado. And I lost 5-7 to Jet on Tornado, and 6-7 to Baelen of France on 

Roberto. 

In the elimination stage I felt it was a shame to come up against Des O’Rourke of Ireland in the first 

round. He is a very good and a tricky player at the best of times, with a great push shot on Tornado 

and a dead solid defence, so things looked very bad when he took the first game off me 4-5 on 

Garlando, my table choice. But this was a best of 5 match, and I won the 2nd on Tornado 5-4, and 

then the next two games 5-3 and 5-2, scoring some decisive 2-bar pulls on Tornado. 

The quarter final match against Pirlet was a ridiculously long, gruelling and confused affair. It went 

on far too long, we both broke a number of rules, albeit unintentionally, and there was confusion 

about the score and also how many points we were playing to. It was a true ‘senior’ match and I 

wish it had had a referee. 

After winning two games I remember saying to him, OK that’s 2-0 now right, and he said no you 

mean 2-1. I was confused about the game score but thought he was right. Anyway, it went to a 5th 

game, and it went on and on. Jean-Pierre only had 2 grips and every time we swapped tables, after 

every 2 balls, he had to remove his grips and re-grip on the other table. 

He was taking way too long, and while he re-gripped, I practiced on the table, thinking we were 

between GAMES when in fact we were just between BALLS after a table change. 

We passed the 4-4 point and we both thought we were playing first to 8. It just went on and on ball 

for ball. So when I scored the 8th goal at 7-7 we both thought I’d won and he shook my hand. But 

then someone pointed out that we should have been playing infinite 2 clear. But then Jean-Pierre 

also said to me that anyway he was unsure that the score was 2-1 when I’d asked him earlier in the 

game, and he declared me the winner. Later on I think I worked out that the game score must have 

been correct, but by then I was even confused about which table we’d started on, and anyway it 

was too late by then. So it all ended unfortunately, but whatever really happened or should have 

happened, Jean-Pierre came out of it very honourably, and we consider each other friends. 

This result meant I was playing the German singles specialist Johann Wahl in the semi-final. 

Somehow I just didn’t give him a game, and he took me apart 4-5, 3-5, 1-5 to leave me in 3rd 

place, disappointed not to have had a chance at Uli, but pleased with a podium finish.

Senior Doubles Report by Dave Ziemann 



Senior Doubles 

Chris was a great partner, defending really well and being deadly with his shot from the back, 

especially on Garlando. Unfortunately I let him down pretty badly in the early games in the 

qualification stage. First game was on Bonzini against Italian pair Massimo Ragona and Antonino 

Cotugno, who destroyed us 4-7 with a combination of al volo goalie shots and 3-bar fakes (both of 

which we learned to solidly defend later on, but that’s another story). 

Our second game was also on Bonzini, against Austrian pair Benz and Hahn. We lost 6-7. By now I 

was very disappointed, expecting to perform better on Bonzini. Third game was on Roberto, and 

we lost 5-7 against the Germans Wahl and Stachowiak. 

After losing our first three games I was feeling pretty low. I wanted to win the next 5, I wasn’t sure 

how many would qualify. Basically I started playing, and indeed we did win the remaining 5 games 

to come 6th out 16 teams. We beat Belgians Pirlet and Stevens 7-4 on Bonzini, more Belgians 

Castermans and Hoogsteyns 7-3 on Roberto, Netherlands team Conjour and Koussen 7-6 on 

Bonzini, French team Farges and Gervot 7-4 on Roberto, and finally (and most significantly) Jet 

and Uli Stoepel 7-5 on Bonzini. 

In the elimination stage we were first up against the same Italian pair who destroyed us in our first 

qualifying game. But this time I got some detailed advice from Paul and Martyn who had also 

played them, and from Boris. I used a different D up front and Chris modified his defense. 

This time it was a different story. It was a best of 5 games match, and we beat them 3 straight, 5-4 

on their table (Roberto), 5-3 on Garlando, and then 5-4 on Roberto again. Next we had to play 

Farges and Gervot on Bonzini. This was a tight match. They seemed to play a ton better on 

Garlando then Bonzini, beating us 4-5 on our table, but allowing us to win 5-1 on theirs. We then 

won 5-4 on Garlando and 5-4 on Bonzini, winning 3 games to 1. 

In the semi-final we had to play Belgian pair Jean-Pierre Pirlet and Maurice Stevens. I was worried 

about Pirlet because I know he’s a fighter, and he had already won two matches after being 2 

games down in each. But we played them hard and won in 3 straight, 5-3, 5-3 and 5-2. 

In the final we were up against the strong German pair Uli and Jet. Uli was playing in the Men’s 

World Cup team, but in the Senior World Championship. I knew from experience that his Tecball 

pinshot was deadly, and although we didn’t have enough preparation time to construct the best 

defence, we also critically lost a Garlando game. We won the first 5-4 on Garlando but lost the next 

3 games 2-5, 3-5 and 2-5. 

I was fairly pleased with our result, but especially happy for Chris, who I don’t think was expecting 

to do as well we did.


ITSF Disciplinary 

Commission Report 

As posted at: 

http://forum.britfoos.com/forum/viewtopic.phpf=7&t=8185 

Maastricht, the Netherlands 

March 23rd, 2010 

Dear ITSF 

The ITSF Disciplinary Commission came to a verdict in the case of Team UK against Team France 

(Match Robert Atha – Adel Yousfi) during the 2010 World Cup in Nantes. 

The following sections of the Rule Book apply to the facts: 

MATERIALS AND HARDWARE 

Table: 

f - Use of resin (as used in handball) or magnesium or anything similar on the table (surface, 

handle, balls) is strictly prohibited, and can be penalized by exclusion from the tournament. 

1. Code of ethics: 

Any action of an unsportsmanlike or unethical nature during tournament play, in the tournament 

room, or on the grounds of the host facility, will be considered a violation of the Code of Ethics. 

Mutual respect between all players, officials and/or spectators is a requirement. It shall be the aim 

of every player and official to represent table-soccer in the most positive and sportsmanlike manner 

possible. 

25. Delay of Game: 

Play shall be continuous, except during time outs. Continuous shall be defined as no more than 5 

seconds duration between a ball scored and the beginning of the ready protocol. 

A delay of game penalty may only be called by an official. 

After hearing all parties (accusers, witnesses, officials and accused) we came to the following 

conclusion: 

- Mr. Brice Harpin clearly brought a manipulated ball in play during the match Atha vs. Yousfi. 

- Mr. Adel Yousfi was aware that a manipulated ball was brought into play by his coach. 

- Mr. Robert Atha indirectly caused a delay of game after interference of players in the audience.


ITSF Disciplinary 

Commission Report 

A) If all facts had been known and if it had been possible to investigate during the tournament, 

the French Men’s Team would have been disqualified immediately from the 2010 World 

Cup 2010. Due to the fact that this was not possible, the French Men’s Team will be 

expelled from participation in the next team event in the ITSF World Tour, that is the Men’s 

Nation Cup at the 2010 Tecball WCS in Koblenz, Germany, on April 15-18, 2010. 

B) Due to the fact that Mr. Brice Harpin brought a manipulated ball into play, he will be 

suspended for 1 year from all activities related to the any French team. The penalty will 

expire after the end of the 2011 World Cup. 

C) Mr. Adel Yousfi will receive a conditional sentence of a 1-year suspension from the ITSF 

Tour and this sentence will become effective if a violation against the code of ethics occurs 

again. Probation time of this sentence remains effective for 1 year, ending after the 2011 

World Cup. 

D) Mr. Robert Atha receives a warning regarding the fact that during play, a delay of game can 

only be made by an official. Future violations of this rule will lead to a penalty or sentence. 

I would like to thank all committee members for their time and help in this matter. 

I think we all learned something in this process. 

Kindest regards, 

Patrick Meijers President of the ITSF Disciplinary Commission 

BFA Newsletter Editorial 

(This does not represent official news or policy of the British Foosball Association. It represents the 

unofficial, personal views of Newsletter Editor Dan Gallon.) 

A lot has been made in recent UK and US internet discussion forums that the ITSF is run by the 

French for the French. This is undoubtedly an over simplification, and the developments that the 

ITSF have made to push the game forward Internationally can only be marvelled at. However, the 

level of punishment imposed is not appropriate, and the entire process on the day was 

unsatisfactory. Quite how Rob is given a punishment when as per “A” above that there was a lack 

of full information available that if known would have led to France’s disqualification is absolutely 

astounding, and gives no credit at all to the ITSF. 

Furthermore, I think it is worth the top British players really looking at whether attending the World 

Cup and World Championships is worth spending their valuable time and holiday. There are other 

tournaments (ITSF WCS, International and Master events, P4P tour events) that offer better value 

for money, although they may not have the prestige of the ITSF World Championships.


Liverpool Open Results 

Open Doubles 

1 Hamilton, Joe & Atha, Rob 

2 Tari, Jozsef & Juhasz, Krisztian 

3 Lyall, Christopher & Nubbert, Andrew 

Open Singles 

1 Atha, Rob 

2 May, Jonathan 

3 Hamilton, Joe 

Womens Doubles 

1 Kraus, Natasha & Lasecka, Olga 

2 Racy, Mayya & Walding, Jody 

3 Ramlee, Hannah & Brice, Sarah 

Womens Singles 

1 Walding, Jody 

2 Racy, Mayya 

3 Kraus, Natasha 

Senior Doubles 

1 Ziemann, David & Atha, Boris 

2 Kircher, Hans-Friedrich & Healey, Roger 

3 Cree, Stuart & Jones, Les 


1 Kircher, Hans-Friedrich 

2 Atha, Boris 

3 Ziemann, David 

Semi-Pro Doubles 

1 Marsh, Richard & Mitkus, Rytis 

2 Zakowski, Grzegorz & Walding, Jody 

3 Addison, Graeme & Darragh, Brendan 

Semi-Pro Singles 

1 Bicki, Lukasz 

2 Mitkus, Rytis 

3 Zakowski, Grzegorz 

Amateur Doubles 

1 Mitkus, Rytis & Rathke, Joules 

2 Pierro, Giampiero & Ciminelli, Vincenzo 

3 Willetts, Tom & Eilon, Josh 

Amateur Singles 

1 Willetts, Tom 

2 Buczek, Tomasz 

3 Darragh, Alina 

Novice Doubles 

1 Dadci, Abdel Malek & Ettenfield, Chris 

2 Hudson, Dan & Mate, Janos 

3 Benson, James & Rathke, Joules 

Novice Singles 

1 Rathke, Joules 

2 Buczek, Tomasz 

3 Sander, Mario 

Pro-Am Doubles 

1 Burdett, Tom & Buczek, Tomasz 

2 Marsh, Richard & Lasecka, Olga 

3 Walding, Jody & Ramlee, Hannah 

3 Yeung, Simon & Willetts, Tom



Our ace reporter Rich Potts gives his full report on the 

2009’s first ranking event 

Saturday morning. The always familiar mix of emotions filled the tournament room. The scene was 

set as players practiced on every table. Some were in high spirits, others anxious, and as usual a 

few players were more focused on nursing their hangover from the night before. 

Once again Riley’s Pool Hall in the heart of Liverpool hosted the tournament. Although there were 

some issues with this venue, it was clear that last year’s problems of space and lighting were 

solved. The overhead lights provided optimum illumination and spectators had enough room to 

watch matches comfortably without disturbing other competitors. It all pointed towards a successful 

weekend, and as always, half an hour after the tournament was scheduled to start, the matches 

began. 

The day started with the Semi-Pro Singles and Amateur Singles events. Warwick player Tom 

Willets won Amateur Singles beating Tomasz Buczek in the final. It is clear that Warwick University 

are still providing some of the strongest newcomers and will be producing more champions in the 

future. 

Rytis Mitkus Caused a stir in the Semi-Pro Singles event. Rytis -an Amateur- decided to enter 

Semi-Pro Singles event instead of competing in the Amateur division. His risk paid off and he 

managed to take second place, losing to Lucasz Bicki in the final. Rytis’s success continued 

throughout the weekend, winning Semi-Pro Doubles with partner Richard Marsh and finishing 

seventh in open singles above Pro-Master Mike Amsden and a handful of other top players. 

Open Singles was won by Rob Atha, beating last year’s ‘Player Of the Year’ Jon May in the final. 

Although Jon managed to beat Joe Hamilton in the Losers’ bracket final he was no match for Rob. 

Joe finished third with Tom Burdett taking fourth. 

Although these players were all expected to finish in the top four, there were a few shock results 

within the event. World number eleven Charlie Frießem finished 25th and Pro-Master Steve Lyall 

was knocked out of the event by Boris Atha, in a game which saw very few snake shots. Both 

opponents played a mixture of shots and the match was won with angled pins, banks shots and as 

expected with Boris, some quick midfield hacks. 

One of the most exciting matches of the event was Simon Yeung against Dave Morgan. Both 

players had beaten tough opponents in previous rounds, and both were on top form. Dave started 

the match with the most momentum, winning the first two games confidently. Simon fought back 

and took the next two games. The final game went down to the wire. In the last few balls, with 

discipline and a little bit of luck, Dave came out the winner. 

Sunday saw the good, the bad and the ugly. Unpredictable results, formidable form, and lots of 

good old fashioned skank decided the results as Pro-Masters fell to the feet of Semi-Pros.



Nonetheless, Rob Atha and Joe Hamilton won the event, beating Pro team Jozef Tari and Kriztian 

Juhaz in the final. Kriztian and Jozef played exceptionally well, however even on top form they 

were no match for Britain’s flagship duo. 

Jody Walding and Gregorz Zakowski provided one of the biggest upsets of the event when they 

beat Jon May and Mayya Racy, putting the Pro-Master team into the losers’ bracket in only the 

third round. Gregorz seemed to have an impenetrable defence and blocked 80% of Jon’s three-bar. 

Jody’s ever consistent attack managed to secure the win. 

Jody yet again showed her dominance over the British women, winning the Women’s Singles event 

and finishing second in Women’s Doubles, losing to Natasha Kraus and Olga Lasecka. 

Sunday also saw Rytis and partner Joules Rathke win Amateur Doubles. It was made clear 

throughout the weekend that both players were under ranked. Joules won the novice singles event 

again, and Rytis finished highly in both Semi-Pro and Open events. Deservedly the two have now 

been promoted. 

Although there was a lot of high tension matches in the group stages, due to the tournament 

running late, the Mixed Doubles was not finished. Players had too much faith in the schedule and 

booked train tickets for the time the tournament should have finished. As usual it was the female 

players that suffered the most with the overrunning of the schedule. 

Sunday was supposed to host the Junior Singles and the Junior Doubles events, however due to 

lack of entries both were cancelled. It is somewhat worrying for the future of table football in this 

country that arguably the most important Garlando tournament of the year could not attract even 

one Junior. It was nice to see two local children enjoying the tables set up in the pool hall and 

playing nonstop until their dad came to collect them. We need a stronger grass-roots scheme to 

boost the popularity among younger players. 

The weekend provided excitement, quality and fun for all participants and spectators. We must 

work harder to ensure that tournaments like this continue.


Martyn Harris Interview 

1. How did you get started playing foosball 

I started playing in my local youth club (do they still exist) way back when. It had a “Lilliput” table 

football table. It was wooden, and had a slick surface. I, like most, not only played foos but also 

table tennis, darts etc. For some reason, I shone at foos and kept winning. And winning. I loved it. 

My “fame” must have spread (apart to a rival youth club that is) as one day, out of the blue I was 

introduced to a local lad called Dave Oates, who didn’t frequent our club. He was as keen as I was 

playing foos and was looking for a regular partner. Pete Ochmann & Chris Bulley had already 

teamed up and the three of them regularly played. Dave and I hit it off perfectly and thus began my 

journey. It was around the time the American pro’s were in the UK promoting Tournament Soccer – 

“The Million Dollar Game”. We actually thought we were pretty good until we saw them. They 

totally blew us away. I had never seen a palm roll before, so when a US Pro Master called Larry 

Folk blasted us off the table time after time using MY shot, the awesome Pullkick (the audacity of 

the man), I learnt it real quick. That was all back around 1977 I think, before a good percentage of 

the current BFA membership was even born ! 

2. What were your best achievements 

"back in the day“ 

The pinnacle has to be winning the biggest 

foosball tournament ever held in the UK 

(still), the awesome UK Championships in 

1978. There were FIVE all expenses 

doubles teams trips to the USA prizes here 

in the UK, one prize trip held in Ireland and 

others in Europe. All qualifiers to fly 

expenses paid to the Worlds in Minneapolis 

to compete for huge prizes of cars, trucks 

etc and thousands of dollars. First prize in 

Open Doubles was a Corvette Stingray 

motor car EACH, (see the picture of me 

with the Corvettes (left) and of me, Doug 

Furry & Jim Wiswell shortly after they won 

(front cover). I apologise for my dodgy hair. 


Anyway, our UK event in Birmingham was, 

I recall, professionally run and had around 

100 tables all set up and ready to go, no 

player helpers needed back then as a large 

company was in charge. It was just an 

amazing sight and a great feeling to even 

be there.



We’d practiced really hard for this event, but for some reason, even though we constantly stayed in 

the winners bracket, (we played best of three games) we always lost the first but then won the next 

two, round after round after round after round, and often sweat ball to take us through. One 

massive game was against our bitter rivals from Bath, two superb players at that time. One game 

all, 4-4 in the last and I had the ball on the front. I called a time out, both my long and inside game 

were working great, BUT this was a HUGE match and would propel us very near to a USA trip. We 

knew each others games inside out. I called time in and waited. And waited. I then hit, in front of 

the large watching gallery, the sweeeeeeetest dink you will ever see. Rob Davey still recalls Kevin 

Ferris, one of UK’s best keepers at the time, saying he never moved, he knew I’d dink him, and yet 

it still slid in. We erupted, they went mad. LOL. The match to actually take the title was actually the 

easiest we had, playing rivals from Blackpool who seemed somewhat beaten before we’d even 

started, maybe its cos they knew they’d be going to the USA, win or lose. Other paid for trips to the 

States, Belgium, going to Ireland and winning at the Open with Rob Davey was truly memorable, 

(see picture below), sponsorship from the mighty Slazenger was cool, TV appearances etc all 

followed, but Birmingham was THE pivotal achievement. I still from time to time look back on that 

event and those superb foosball days, and can only wonder what the game could have been like if 

the dreaded Space Invaders/video game phenomenon that caused the demise of foos tables in 

bars didn’t occur. The game now, although in essence the same, is being played in a very different 

world. 

“I feel very 

lucky to 

have been 

at the very 

top when 

the game 

itself was at 

the very 

top.” 

© Martyn Harris



3. Did you ever fully give up playing, or were you always playing with friends 

There was no one to play, nowhere to play. The TS tables were neglected, and then taken out by 

operators for more profitable, less maintenance hungry video game machines. People queued and 

queued to play them. They were sleeping cash machines. Nowadays, people at home enjoy Xbox 

360’s, PS3’s, the internet etc which give far better quality video games than people queued to play, 

but remember, none then existed. I had bought (and still own) a brand spanking new Blue Top 

Tournament Soccer table back in 1978 and finally mothballed it around 1982 when the UK foos 

party was well and truly over. We were all pretty much gutted. During these great foosball times, 

we had formed the BTFA (British Table Football Association), I was the treasurer. Paul Martin was 

member number one !! We had no internet, and relied on tournaments, phones and the good old 

post for member expansion. When it all folded, we all slipped away and that was that. 

4. And what was the catalyst to get back into the game fully. 

The love of foosball is in you or its not. It’s in me. I am still scratching my head wondering where 

some of the recent good players I have seen since I got back have gone. Maybe I am naïve, but 

once you get good at something and enjoy it, I kinda think you’d wanna stay playing it. Wouldn’t 

you As an example, I can think of some Oxford students, some Bush players and others dotted 

around the country who simply don’t bother to play anymore. Dave called me one day to say he’d 

seen a tournament advertised in Hereford, so we went. Blow me down, there were our old mates 

Chris Bulley & Pete Ochmann. Not seen them for years!! They had somehow heard of it too. We 

made the OD grand final, met and played Dave Ziemann & Rhys Roberts, but had to double dip 

them (this was all new to us). We won the first set, but narrowly lost the last to take second place, 

not bad for our first time back. Pete & Chris placed third. The fire was relit, and I was back. 


5. What has been your highlight since 

coming back to the game 

Well, winning Oxford 1 on Garlando, (see 

picture right) and then winning a Tornado 

Open in London which involved Mike Fowler 

and I twice beating Jet & Charlie from 

Germany were both pretty sweet. Being the 

GB coach for the inaugural World Cup in 

Hamburg 2006 sits right up there too, as 

does playing in this years senior team in 

Nantes. Making long time friends in the 

game is cool, so really little highlights rather 

than one big one is my answer. Maybe my 

big highlight is still just around the corner, 

eh



6. The Bush was a top venue for years - what was the root of the success of the venue 

Well, there’s a question. Boris found the venue for us way back when, we (Pete, Chris, Dave and 

myself) had previously travelled weekly to Bath to play Geoff Brice’s glass top Garlandos in such 

pubs as the famous Pig & Fiddle. We wanted to move to Tornado. The Bush was/still is ideally 

located, had top players close by, and I tried to promote a regular thread on the BFA site. My good 

friend back then and now Rob Davey found us playing there and we even spawned a noob turned 

World Champ in Joe Hamilton too. The Shoveltons cut there Tornado teeth here amongst others 

and we had many visitors from the UK and abroad, even a Pro Master from the USA. 

7. And why do you think the venue died at the end - is it as simple as saying Bristol can not 

support 2 evenings of foosball a week 

Yes, pretty much Dan. My personal opinion is that when a second Bristol venue called The Bank 

was tried and then failed, the writing was pretty much on the wall for two Bristol venues not 

succeeding in this current climate, due mainly I think to the splitting of an already beleaguered local 

and regular player base. The mistake, I think, was to then ignore the writing and immediately open 

a similar venue just down the road from the Bank, pretty close to the Bush, just a few miles away. 

Maybe with the poor player base locally (and actually imho nationally), perhaps one night a week 

with two tables at the Bush may have been a better idea (and possibly would have preserved this 

great foos venue) until such time when hopefully our game took off again. But of course hindsight 

is a wonderful thing. The historic “Mighty Bush” was an awesome foosball venue, (some say 

legendary lol), was seldom equalled, and never beaten. Until, sadly, now. 

8. You have recently come back from the Foosball World Cup in Nantes - as detailed in the 

reports. Can you describe the emotions of representing your country 

You can reproduce my report I made at the time if you like Dan, but I will also add a few extra lines 

as you are asking. Representing your country is an honour. To a non foosball playing individual, 

they may have a sly smirk on their face when you say what you play, but I believe whether it’s 

Tennis, Table Tennis, Table Football or Tiddlywinks, to be at the top of any game and be a 

member of team GB means a lot. It actually meant more when I got arrived and witnessed others in 

their countries team strips doing their stuff too. We were all gathered in some giant arena doing 

what we do. I still wince when remembering the Germany game, having just one opportunity to 

score what would be the winning goal and then put us into the final we all craved, to take on the 

USA in the main arena. If we had just one piece of luck….but we didn’t. 

I guess that’s what your question really asked, I hope this provides the answer. I have played in 

many big games over the years, I love them and hope I get the chance to play many more. I 

always seem to do better the tougher the games, having had previous spectacular singles losses 

against far lesser ranked opponents. Ooops.



9. What do you think the BFA do well and badly 

Tough question. The BFA is made up of us, players who have jobs who do this part time. 

Volunteers. So, it seems little point in knocking these enthusiasts who are doing this for the love of 

the sport, unpaid (and unloved, lol). I have been asked on numerous occasions to join the BFA 

committee and maybe one day I will. I have run my own IFA (Independent Financial Adviser) 

practice since 1986, clients of which even include a few foosers, (shameless plug) and although 

rewarding, can get quite demanding. Foosball is my escape from all this, but only as a player. More 

decision making and extra politics is frankly something I really don’t need any more of, thank you!. 

10. And what should the BFA focus on doing in the next year 

Running tournaments, encouraging player growth maybe…….…….I actually have no magic 

answer as to what the focus should be or how to achieve it, Dan. 

11. What one change would you make to the rules of foosball if you could (Ban the 

French) 

Haha, don’t be cruel, though I suspect many would agree with you. I think the rules are ok, but 

maybe I’d allow the “aerials” back into the game – one per game per side, just to add some flair. 

The game seems a little sanitised since the ITSF have arrived on the scene. 


12. And finally what does 

the next year hold for you 

I am sadly seeing our game 

here in the UK continue to 

decline or at least stagnating, 

whilst in other parts of the 

world it is seemingly 

flourishing. Because we are 

an island, it’s not as easy for 

the Europeans to travel here 

as it is for them to simply drive 

cross border and play in other 

events, so we seem only to 

attract selected ITSF point 

hungry overseas players to 

our tournaments. So my year I 

guess will be to continue to 

play foos, attend some UK 

tournies and perhaps throw in 

the odd one or two overseas 

events myself.


BFA AGM 

Present 

Minutes of BFA AGM 2010 

Bar Kick, London, 

Sunday 21-2-2010 

Boris Atha, Andrew Nubbert, JP Thompson, Young Wook Cho, Dave Ziemann 

Apologies 

Joe Bundy, Steve Lyall, Tom Burdett, Dave Morgan, John Worthington, Paul Martin, Jon May, Dan 

Kingston, Dan Gallon 

Meeting Opened 1535hrs 

Noted meeting is not quorate, proposal to proceed with AGM and have decisions ratified by EGM 

to he held at Altrincham tournament. Agreed nem con 

Minutes of 2009 AGM 

Agreed nem con 

Matters Arising 

None 

Chairman’s Report 

The year has seen several notable advances, a sponsorship deal was agreed with Fosters which 

resulted in £5k income for the BFA and a programme of grassroots activities at Fosters outlets with 

tables. Three staff-training days were arranged to encourage reps to promote the game at a local 

level. The Garlando table scheme matured with the BFA buying out the remaining months of the 

scheme for around £750. Ten Tornado tables were also sourced from Foos4Fun to allow Tornado 

tournaments to be organised, however these will become BFA property on a staggered basis, with 

title in four tables passing to the BFA on payment of the second annual instalment of £1400. The 

Roberto-Sport tables which were supplied to us free are in the process of being sold off, with an 

offer of replacement once the proceeds have been passed back to RS. 

Internationally, the Women’s World Cup team were runners-up, the Men’s team reached the 

quarter-finals for the first time, and the senior team narrowly lost to Germany in the semi-finals. 

There were creditable results in the individual competitions for Rob Atha and Joe Hamilton in the 

Men’s singles and doubles, and from Dave Ziemann and Chris Haddon in the senior events. 

Secretary’s report: 

Total of 527 members in ITSF list of which 23 paid full membership in 2009 and 39 provisional 

membership


BFA AGM 

Treasurers report 

The accounts are summarised thus: 

BFA Accounts Feb 2009-Feb 2010 

Revenue 

Sponsorship £2,500.00 (50% of Fosters payment) 

Expert Challenge Income £5,000 (inc half of Fosters payment) 

Membership Fees £238.00 

Table Fees £1,130.00 (exc UKC) 

Table Sales £550.00 

Advertising £193.28 

UK Championships £1,337.10 

ITSF Stickers £352.84 

Interest £1.84 

Total Revenue £11,303.06 

Expenditure 

Garlando Scheme Completion £726.60 

Tornado Scheme Instalment £1,400.00 

Table Transport £1,017.75 (exc UKC) 

Table Storage £984.00 

Expert Challenge Expenses £2,475.50 (inc £900 table hire) 

Tables/Spares Purchase £106.95 

ITSF Fees £510.20 

UK Championships Costs £1,063.50 (ex Tornado scheme) 

Website £150.00 

Other £81.00 (Table damage compensation) 

Total Expenditure £8,515.50 

Net Gain 2009-2010 £2,787.56 

Notes 

£1000 bank transfer (expert challenge credited in accounts) misdirected to wrong account number 

by client - chasing up 

£240 owed for Reading Open table fees (not in accounts) 

£300 owed for Holywell table fees 

£550 owed to Roberto Sport for table sales to date 

£135 owed to committee members for out of pocket expenses 

Assets 

10x Garlando Tables - resale value approx £2000 

3x Roberto-Sport Tables - effective resale value nil as payments revert to Roberto-Sport 

Bank accounts at Feb 09 - £1370.32 

Bank accounts at Feb 10 - £4135.08 

Agreed to approve accounts 

No working group reports available


BFA AGM 

Elections 

There were by-elections to the committee in November 2009, no current committee members had 

indicated a desire to stand down, no formal applications to stand for any vacancies had been 

received. 

Committee re-elected nem con 

Chair – Matthew ‘Boris’ Atha 

Treasurer – John Worthington 

Secretary – Joe Bundy 

Vice-Chair – Ben Mason 

Womens Officer – Mayya Racy 

Exec members 

Jean-Phillippe Thompson, Andrew Nubbert, Tom Burdett, Dave Morgan 

Boris indicated that 2010-11 will be his final year as chairman, and serves notice that he intends to 

stand down as chair in 2011 after 4 years in the post. He recommended that potential successors 

attend the proposed ITSF training course on running a national federation. 

Membership Fees – A change to membership structure is proposed, due to the difficulty of 

collecting and accounting for memberships. Full membership to be conferred on anyone who has 

entered a UK tournament in the past year and paid a registration (table) fee, scrapping separate 

payments. Boris – membership fees are impossible to collect under the present structure, and 

including full membership with table fees would be some compensation for scrapping the £5 per 

one-day concessionary level for table fees. DZ – what about people who want to join but don’t 

enter tournaments – proposal to allow people to pay separately for membership e.g. via sign-up on 

website via Paypal – AN to investigate financial viability. 

Agreed - full BFA membership to be granted for 12 months to any UK resident player, or UK 

citizen, paying a registration fee at an official BFA ranking tournament. Non-tournament playing 

individuals can opt to pay for full membership, annual fee to remain at £5.00. Membership policy 

document to be amended accordingly. 

Table/Registration fees: Agreed to be £10 per tournament, with £5 discount for novices and for 

juniors (i.e. junior novices free). Promoters to be allowed option of: 

(a) covering table provision & transport costs with 100% of approved table/registration fees, or 

(b) alternative of paying fixed £350 fee up front and to be responsible for all transport costs. 

AN – how much would we lose from stopping charging separate membership fees 

Problem has been collection. Noted in 2009-10 only £154 income was confirmed from entry fees 

(23x full & 39x provisional), the total of £238 including a payment from the Liverpool Open credited 

as membership fees Boris to get statements from branch. Members without contact details –


BFA AGM 

maybe link to Britfoos forum membership. JP – Has been working with FAST software, could be 

used to manage membership as well as tournaments 

Quorum – To remain at 6 members 

Spending limits – to remain at £500 per cheque 

Any Other Business 

TB Debt (Holywell table fees) – Gentle push to pay £300 owed, by instalments if necessary, with 

sanction of tournament ban in event of refusal. 

UK Championships – format in 2009 was judged a success, overall costs were much lower than 

in 2007 and 2008, proposed to continue as 2009 – need to decide whether to hold this year, or to 

base on POY rankings – decision needs to be made soon so people know where they stand. JP – 

is only multitable competition we have. Overall loss in 

2009 £526 allowing for table hire and transport, such costs should be much lower in 

2010 but trophies higher (see projections) . Need to investigate potential sponsorship, needs 

planning and an action committee to make it happen with clear demarcation of responsibility. 

UK Championships Costs 

Item 2009 2010 (projected) 

Income £1,337.10 £1,300.00 

Room Hire £300.00 £300.00 

Transport £655.00 £350.00 

Trophies £108.00 £400.00 

Table Hire £800.00 £0.00 (table fees only) 

Total -£525.90 £250.00 

Agreed to hold 2010 UK Championship on broadly the same basis as 2009 

Working Group memberships – to be reviewed in line with policy documents and weed inactive 

members where they have executive functions. TCC – only active committee members or former 

committee members 

Next AGM – proposed to hold on Friday night before a tournament early 2010. 

EGM to be held 20th March at 6pm 

Meeting concluded 1725hrs.


BFA EGM 

Minutes of the British Foosball Association 

Extraordinary General Meeting 

The Bowdon Hotel, Altrincham, 

Saturday 20-3-2010 

Present 

Boris Atha, Joe Bundy, Tom Burdett, Jon May, Phillip Henkes, Simon Yeung, Tom Willetts, Joe 

Hamilton, Marta Cieslik, Chris Lyall, Ben Mason, Daniel Tan, Eelin Loy, Ming Yeo, Graeme 

Addison, Ola Lasecka, Louise Herring, George Eid, Rob Atha, Oli Deakin, Hannah Ramlee, Alina 

Darragh, Brendan Darragh, Les Jones, Stuart Cree, Dave Oates, James Oates, Greg Zakowski, 

Antony Kay, Lukasz Bicki, Jonas Navakas, Lorenzo Mesce, Marco Mesce, Rob Davey, Norman 

Cloney, Mike Amsden, Tomasz Purgal, Mariusz Suliga 

Meeting Opened 1802hrs 

Motion – that the minutes and all decisions of the BFA AGM held on 21st February 2010 be 

approved and ratified. 

Motion carried unanimously 

Meeting closed 1804hrs


Altrincham Open Results 

19 th -21 st March 2010 

Open Singles 

1. Amsden, Mike 

2. Hamilton, Joe 

3. May, Jonathan 

Open Doubles 

1. Atha, Rob & Cloney, Norman 

2. Davey, Rob & Amsden, Mike 

3. Hamilton, Joe & Burdett, Tom 

Women's Singles 

1. Herring, Louise 

2. Lasecka, Olga 

3. Loy, Eelin 


1. Jones, Les 

2. Atha, Boris 

3. Ziemann, David 

Pro Singles 

1. Yeung, Simon 

2. May, Jonathan 

3. Mason, Benjamin 

Amateur Singles 

1. Purgal, Tomasz 

2. Kay, Antony 

3. Oates, James 

Women’s Doubles 

1. Herring, Louise,& Lasecka, Olga 

2. Cieslik, Marta,& Darragh, Alina 

3. Ramlee, Hannah & Jaffer, Sukaina 

Mixed Doubles 

1. May, Jonathan & Lasecka, Olga 

2. Cieslik, Marta Davey, Rob 

3. Loy, Eelin Hamilton, Joe 

No-Pro Doubles 

1. Mason, Benjamin & Yeung, Simon 

2. Moss, Robert & Willetts, Tom 

3. Bundy, Joe & Lawlor, Dave 

Handicap Doubles 

1. Cree, Stuart &,Jones, Les 

2. May, Jonathan &,Ziemann, David 

3. Lasecka, Olga & Herring, Louise 

Amateur Doubles 

1. Purgal, Tomasz & Suliga, Mariusz 

2. Pierro, Giampiero & Ciminelli, Vincenzo

To include articles or feature an event in this Newsletter, 

please contact newsletter@britfoos.com. 

To advertise in the BFA Newsletter, please contact 

commercial@britfoos.com. 

Edited by Dan Gallon 

Published by the BFA 

This newsletter is published under license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ 

Please note individual articles or photos may not be covered if published separately.

April 2010 - British Foosball Association

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