2012 Foosball Wrap Up. 2013 Outlook.

      As I write this blog, table soccer enthusiasts from around the world are converging on Nantes, France for the January 3rd- 6th, 2013 International Table Soccer Federation Multitable World Cup tournament.  Go to http://www.kozoom.com to for coverage and video streaming. Go to http://www.table-soccer.org/ for more information on the ITSF and the World Cup Multitable format.  America's own #1 fooscaster Jim Stevens is part of the production crew (www.insidefoos.com). Go Team USA!!! As 2013 heats up across the pond, let us look back and put 2012 to bed.

     Three regional events rounded out the final quarter of the 2012. The 4th quarter of the year is typically slower for foosball. The biggest U.S. event of the year is at the end of August, the Tornado World Championship, closing out the major tournament events of the year until the Tour Kick Off the following year (http://www.ifptour.com/tournaments/2013/tour-kickoff.html).

     Back to school, Fall sports, holiday preparation and events have a sociological effect on attendance as well. These factors contribute to a slow down that can be felt all the way down to attendance at the local tournament level, though you would not have known it if you play local tournaments in the Denver area (www.cofoosball.com)! The Turkey draw hosted by Tim Walters at Ecks Saloon in Lakewood, Co had 26 teams! Way to keep things rocking in the off season!!

     Two regional tournaments have established themselves this time of the year with one newcomer looking to make a mark. In October there was the 13th annual Bart O'Hearn Foosball Celebration tournament held in Austin, Texas at Buffalo Billiards on Sixth street. Thanksgiving weekend brings the 30 year old North Carolina Foosball Championships ran by Charles Macintosh and Tornadofoosball.com. IFP added an extra end of the year event this year, the Southern Classic, hosted at Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

2012 Bart-O Hearn Celebration Results
http://foosballboard.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11833&highlight=bart+o+results

2012 North Carolina State Foosball Championships Results
http://foosballboard.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=12051&highlight=north+carolina

2012 IFP Southern Classic Results
http://foosballboard.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=12156&highlight=bart+o+results

   

     2013 looks to be an interesting year for foosball. IFP and TornadoFoosball.com partner events will continue to make up a majority of the foosball calendar. Warrior has officially returned to foosball manufacturing and promotions.  My first blog post spoke of this return when the rumblings first began. Since this initial blog post, the Warrior table has gone on sale to the public and has become one of the tables recognized by the International Table Soccer Federation. The table comes in home model only with a price point just under $600. Early player reports of this new design are favorable. I am looking forward to my first opportunity to play on the table. I really enjoyed myself at the $250,000 tournament Warrior hosted nearly a decade ago at the Rio Casino and Suites in Las Vegas. That first Warrior model was fresh from the manufacturer and played well considering. This table appears to be light years above that first alpha run.


     Two  tournaments are currently listed on the Warrior Foosball company website (http://www.warriortablesoccer.com/). Both are to be held at golf courses owned by Warrior Golf.  The first tournament is listed for February 2013 at the Runaway Bay Golf Course , about an hour north west of Dallas. The second tournament is slated for April 2013 at the Cimarron Golf course in the Palm Springs area of California. No concrete dates or flyers have been released.

    Keep up with schedule changes and dates for 2013 by following www.foosballboard.com discussion board or keeping an eye on http://schedule.foosball.com/.  In addition to the IFP events, here is what I know about 2013 so far.

 Texas State Championships  May 24th- 27th, 2013
 Bart O'Hearn Celebration tournament October 18th -20th, 2013
 North Carolina Championships Thanksgiving weekend 2013.


     The 2013 Independent Foosball Promotions Tour Poster (http://ifptour.com/publications/2013_IFP_Tour_Poster.pdf or scroll to the bottom for a jpg version) is filled with 6 majors and 14 total events. Beginning with the Tour Kick off Kick Off  January 25th in Atlanta, GA. The next Major event is the Hall of Fame Classic held at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. A new move this year by IFP has Mary Moore and company running a major event in Europe. The IFP Tornado European Open is slated for April.The third domestic Major tournament is the 4th of July weekend National Championships and North American Cup event. The largest and most prestigious event of the year, the Tornado World Championships is again slated for the traditional Labor day Weekend. The host hotel is will be the Hilton D/FW Lakes just north of the D/FW Airport in Grapevine, Texas. The final major of the year is the U.S. Open to be held at the Harrah's Hotel and Casino in Joliet, Illinois. One thing to note is that the dates conflict for the Bart O'Hearn and U.S. Open. The tournaments are 1100 miles apart so there should be plenty of foosers to fuel each event. It will be interesting to watch where the top player's migrate on this weekend if the schedule stands as is.

  One big news item that dropped at the end of 2012 was the new IFP points rating system and adjustments that will go in effect for 2013. IFP added an Elite rank below master and above Pro. Many inactive players that were formerly expert were also dropped to Amateur rank. Player reaction has been mixed so far. It will be interesting to see how the new system works in action over the 2013 foosball year. Go to www.ifptour.com for flyers, points, and the latest IFP information. 

     Upcoming articles this year will include a few interviews, tournament updates, and I am going to talk about more about the business side of foosball. A successful foosball vendor has to learn how to run a proper business. Foosball was my fourth business to run. I learned invaluable lessons being paid good money to run other people's businesses before I struck out on my own.

Make sure to go to www.kozoom.com to follow the coverage from the ITSF World Cup! Safe travels to all my friends on the team. God speed and GO USA! FOOS ON!!