GSA - German Shuffleboard Association - Shuffleboard World Cup in Germany

Shuffleboard World Cup in Germany

15.08.10

Eröffnungsfeier WM

Too little was said about “our” Shuffleboard Word Cup, taking place at the “Hessen Hotelpark Hohenroda” from the 1st - 8th of August 2010. Not surprising, since all helpers had both hands full with work. Luckily, our website http://worldcup2010.shuffleboarder.de covered all the important information: about the team standings, single results or the best players. Even a webcam was installed, so that website visitors could watch what was happening online.
For the helpers and managers,...

...the organization started in 2007, when Germany was announced as the host country for the 2010 World Cup.

Last steps
Last steps were taken at the end of June 2010. Missing courts and equipment with a total weight of 2200 lbs had arrived in Germany, and needed to be stored at the hotel. The Monday before the beginning of the tournament, two last courts were transported via car and trailer from the Sauerland to the state of Hesse. Robert Lammers and his event center “Skyline” from the town of Geseke lent the courts and Dieter Wuellner organized the carriage.

Hard-working Youngsters

UN Youth

Tuesday and Wednesday, 20 courts, numerous discs, cues and scoreboards, as well as all the other essential utensils were to be re-built and re-installed. But before that, most of the equipment had to be removed from and carried out of the “National Shuffleboard Centre.” So at this point we thank the GSA-Youth for their great job, and Sven Wuellner for being the good coordinator he is.
Of course we will not forget all these that helped the World Cup be a success, by doing all the little jobs with much love for the detail.

The great finale
Thursday was all about the already mentioned detail work: inspections, functional checks, installation work, sign-posting, checking timetables and much more.

First guests arrive

Adrian, Phil & Sven

It all came down to Friday. The first guests arrived two days before the actual start of the tournament at Frankfurt Airport. They had to be picked up and brought to Hohenroda, the last court from Meerbusch had to be built and the information desk needed installed.

A day at Frankfurt Airport
Saturday morning the buses left in direction Frankfurt to pick up the first participants. Even for “airport professionals” this turned out to be challenging, especially because the “Airrail connection” between terminal 1 and 2 was shut down for a while. So it was not surprising that many travelers had trouble to reach at the meeting point. Sebastian Runge was the one that had to suffer – he spent his entire day at the airport, trying to find everyone. While passengers of the first bus arrived at the courts in the “Hessenhalle” around 1pm, the second bus made it to the hotel after 6pm.

Dinner on Sunday

ISA Hall of Famers

New day, same game. Not all of the 170 players had arrived at the hotel by Sunday. Therefore, 2 more buses headed to Frankfurt Airport. This time, they arrived earlier than the day before. One couple had more than bad luck, as they had to wait till late that night, because their flight had been canceled.
After all players had had the chance to practice in the early afternoon, the “Get Acquainted Dinner” started. In most cases the dinner war more like a welcome back meeting. Pictures were taken, hugs given and words of kindness exchanged.
The official induction into the “Hall of Fame” was a big point on the agenda. Max Tate (CAN), Sachiyo Takada (JPN), Marcos Cardoso (BRA) and Earl Ball (USA) were ceremonially accommodated into the “HOF.” It was an emotional moment for everyone, particularly for the presenters of the Awards and the inductees themselves.

The opening ceremony

Luckily, the weather for the opening ceremony on Monday was nice. Led my “Major” Sven, all participants marched to the decorated outside area where the ceremony was taking place and provided a good show for all visitors. Even a small mistake while playing the national anthems couldn't deject the great atmosphere, but helped to loosen everyone up.
After the opening speech by GSA President Dieter Hussmann, as well as the greeting by the prime minister of the State of Hesse, Roland Koch, the guests were welcomed once again by the mayor of “host town” Hohenroda, Joerg Schaefer.

Eröffnungsfeier WM

The President of the International Shuffleboard Association (ISA,) Earl Ball, closed the ceremony and declared the World Cup open.
The first day ended with the taking of team pictures and the first two rounds of Shuffleboard. Only the Presidents of the national associations had a long night ahead of them. They called a board meeting and discussed the future of Shuffleboard. Michael Zellner from Brazil was elected next ISA President for 2011, Vice President will be Dieter Hussmann. Beth Allen will remain treasurer for the coming two years.
On top of that, ISA's statutes were updated and an International Player ID was initiated. For the time to come, an official world ranking list will be the highlight as will be the World Shuffleboard League.
Moreover, it was decided that the next Singles World Cup 2011 will take place in Canada's Dieppe (New Brunswick.) The next Team World Cup will be held in Seattle, Washington in 2012. Seattle had been up for election against Hemet, California.
Extremely important for the future of Shuffleboard was the establishment of a website of the ISA. Latest on the 1st of October, you will be able to find everything new and exciting about shuffleboard under www.world-shuffleboard.org .

Sightseeing

Team Germany

Since Tuesday had been devoted to the athletic competition, Wednesday was the day to relay and enjoy what Germany has to offer.
All visitors were able to attend the rehearsal of Mozart's “magic flute” in Bad Hersfeld. First in groups, later by themselves or with friends, everyone then got to explore the center of the town with all its little stores and sights. After everyone had bought enough souvenirs, the trip took us to “Point Alpha,” a museum and memorial place close to the former German-German border. Not only the US Americans showed interest when they were able to take a tour at the once busiest place during the Cold War.

Einkaufsbummel

What do visitors expect from Germany as the host? That was the question the organization-team asked themselves many times. The answer: a Bavarian evening would be a must-do. Therefore, all participants went to the Bavarian restaurant, “Zum goldenen Stern,” in Huenefeld and were provided with German food and beer. Of course, brass music should not be missed. Ingolf Semmel from Langenselbold and his band even brought their alphorns and got the vibe going until 10 pm, when it was time to go back to the hotel.

Shuffleboard at its best

Alphörner

The excursion day was followed by three more days of tough competition. All teams did their best and great games could be watched. Television, radio and press came to report on the event and helped the World Cup to become even more famous. In order to keep the attention, the organization-team held a presentation of the World Shuffleboard League the same evening. At this occasion, the team called “Girlfriends,” consisting of Marjory Govett (AUS), Sachiyo Takada (JAP), Pam Hill (CAN) and Jan Crouse (USA) won the little fun tournament. They showed the favored mens teams how to play the game right.

The Award Banquet

Girlfriends

On Saturday night the world cup reached its peak. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the traditional award banquet.
On behalf of the German Shuffleboard Association e.V., the President once again thanked all players, especially his German team, which, by their hard work, had earned the standing ovation given by the foreign guests. The President also directed a few words to the sponsors who had made the event possible and thanked the always friendly service team for their help.
ISA President Earl Ball, tournament director Glenn Monroe, assistant TD Linda McRae as well as Jim and Beth Allen were specially honored by the German team for their efforts that enabled Shuffleboard to become successful in Germany.
For their efforts, Jim and Beth Allen had also been inducted into the “Hall of Fame” during the Bavarian evening the day before.

Ladies Merit Awards

The team captains of every nation were honored for their work and Brazil gave out gifts to several players.
Saxophone player Laurenz Wenk elated the guests later on. Many used the stage to make toasts and speak out congratulations.
The evening was also used to give out the “Merit Award,” which only one player out of each of the 22 teams could receive. For the German teams the recipients were: Kerstin Runge, Ina Schwarten, Dieter Hoffmanns and Sven Wuellner, along with Marcel Hinkel from the UN Youth Team.

Merit Awards Men

Then the moment everyone had been waiting for: the awards for the winning teams.
This time, the winners were USA 1 for the men and CAN 1 for the women. All team members were given a gold medal, but for the first time, 2nd and 3rd places also received medals. The GSA sponsored silver and bronze medals for CAN 1 and the UN Youth Team for the men along with JAP 1 and USA 1 for the women.
One more highlight was left for the very end: soul singer Keith Sanders, who tributed to the delightful ending of the ceremony.

End note
The World Cup 2010 brought many challenges and much work for the German organization team. The only thing left to say at the end is: it was worth it.
Shuffleboard in Germany as well as world wide took the next step in the right direction, especially because of the new youth teams, who set a new trend.
The most important was, though, that all guests felt welcomed.

ISA Party

We also received feedback that we would like to share.
"Thank you for making our trip to Germany such a wonderful experience." (USA)
"Congratulations to you all and in particular Birgitt and Dieter in hosting such a successful "28th Team World Cup, 2010" at such a beautiful German location. The Australian Team were unanimous in their praise. We all really enjoyed ourselves thanks to your attention to every detail." (AUS)
"IT WAS THE BEST ONE THAT I EVER ATTENDED AND IT WILL BE A REAL TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW." (USA)
"We were impressed by the wonderful “ 28th TEAM WORLD CUP”. (JPN)
"The members of German Shuffleboard Association are to be congratulated for the wonderful tournament and related events." (CAN)

The German Shuffleboard Association e.V. once again thanks everyone that helped to make this World Cup the success it was.

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