 What?
A social day where you can come along and find out what Fistball is all about. Bring the kids, have a hit around come see what all the fuss is about! When? Saturday 3rd of October 2019 - 1pm-4.00pm Where? Hillview Christian School, Senior Side Fields 125 Wilson's Road, St Martins, Christchurch Click here for Google Map. Why? This one's the easiest of all to answer....there’s not time for all of the reasons but the important ones are, it’s an incredibly fun sport to play, it’s rife with joke opportunities, there’s no family quite like our Fistball family and we’d love you to be a part of it. More questions? Get in touch!
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August 2019 saw the New Zealand Men’s Fistball Team travel to Winterthur, Switzerland to compete in the 2019 Fistball Men’s World Championships.
Beginning a week before the tournament, the boys got their chance to warm up against some pretty tough competition, competing in the Obersee Masters Tournament in Jona, Switzerland, before traveling to Germany join the Australian men’s team in a training camp. Then it was on to the Men’s World Champs (MWC), months of hard work and training finally coming together! MWC Day 1: The New Zealand Men’s Fistball team took on Serbia in their first game. Day 1 coincided with defensive player, Caleb Baker’s birthday and going home with a win was the only gift that mattered. Fans at home were treated to an extra special Facebook live stream (as this game wasn’t officially streamed) which taught us some valuable lessons about the passion of our at home supporters J. NZ took a convincing win in the first set but the Serbians came back strong, leading to a nail-biting finish but ultimately a 3-2 win for New Zealand – our first win of the Fistball Men’s World Cup! MWC Day 2: An afternoon game against the Czech Republic was the boys first game in the big stadium. By the 3rd set the boys were really hitting their stride and had some great points but unfortunately Czech took the win 3-0. MWC Day 3: Day 3 was the first time the guys had to play 2 games in one day – Belgium and Poland. Belgium was first up, the New Zealand men had a convincing 3-0 win leaving them amped up for their next game less than 2 hours later. The second game saw some excellent Fistball played with the kiwi men taking out the win 3-1. We also got to see a header from our resident footballer which lost one fistball point but won the hearts of everybody else so it was definitely worth it. This win put us in the top 12 which meant going on to the double elimination round which was starting the next day for the top 12 teams. A loss would have meant fighting it out for the President’s Cup for the 13th-18th placed teams. MWC Day 4: First game of the double elimination round was against Chili who had placed 3rd in their pool, losing against Brazil and Switzerland but defeating USA. The guys knew it would be a tough game but it was a mammoth effort and they played some beautiful fistball. They even managed to take a set off Chile but ultimately lost 3-1. MWC Day 5: By this point in the double elimination rounds we were having to wait for results to see who we would play next but the first game of Day 5 saw us pitted against Italy. The boys warmed up in some atrocious weather and after getting soaked to the bone, then jumped on the main field in the stadium for a very warm and sunny game with a rapidly drying field. This variable weather lead to some interesting fistball and some close sets but ultimately the NZ men lost 3-0. MWC Day 6: There was a lot riding on Day 6’s game against USA – a win would take us through to the next day to vie for 9th and 10th or a loss would see the guys play their final game that afternoon to see who would take out 11th and 12th. Unfortunately, it was a loss against the USA but the boys rallied for final game of the championship against Denmark later that afternoon. This final game was also the last opportunity for defensive player, Dave Dowall, to get his own face on the big screen beside his name, previously having his details put up beside the face of fellow defender, Andrew Buston, and then brother, Blase Dowall. Unfortunately for Dave, it was not to be, but more importantly it was a convincing 3-0 win against Denmark which saw New Zealand take 11th place of 18 teams at the Fistball Men’s World Championships 2019. This final game also saw Captain/Coach/NZFA President, Blase Dowall, hang up his boots as he retired from the New Zealand national team, followed by a moving Haka from the rest of his team. It was also the last national game for his brother, Dave Dowall, making for a couple of emotional moments to end what was an amazing championship. MWC Day 7: Though the tournament wasn’t over for the top 10 teams, the bottom 8 made sure to celebrate at the end of Day 6 so Day 7 was filled with a hungover morning playing Hornussen (It is impossible to explain what that is and we could never do it justice so you might need to Youtube that one). The afternoon was spent watching the best fistball teams in the world battle it out for the top spots. Ultimately Germany proved why they deserved to be number one yet again after remaining unbeaten for the whole tournament. Thanks to the fistball community for all the love and support we received in Winterthur but also to all those behind the scenes who helped to ensure that the whole thing was an absolutely incredible experience for our guys. We absolutely loved it and can’t wait to keep growing Fistball in New Zealand. Kia Kaha! The inaugural TTR Oceania Fistball Championship was held on the 25-26 May 2019, hosted by the NZFA in the Mainpower Oval, Rangiora.
Over two days, NZ Maori, Cook Islands, Samoa, Australia and New Zealand went head to head to be the first to get their name on that brand new trophy. For some teams it was their first ever national fistball matches and it was also the introduction of brand new U18 New Zealand and Samoan Men’s teams which brought a whole new level of new blood and passion to New Zealand fistball which was awesome to see. There was also an All Stars team made up of Fistball players from around the world, including IFA Administrative Director, Christoph Oberlehner from Austria and Giana Hexsel from Brazil so it was a great opportunity to watch many levels of fistball. Results were as follows:
The NZFA would like to thank the sponsors of the 2019 TTR Oceania Fistball Championships for helping us grow fistball in Oceania and make this tournament possible:
And lastly, thanks to everyone who came out to support us! Kia Kaha After months of training, the New Zealand Men’s and Women’s National Fistball teams both took home the silverware last weekend at the Asia-Pacific Fistball Championships! It was an amazing tournament and we must acknowledge the efforts of the Fistball Federation of Australia and their volunteers in running such a fantastic event. Some intense battles for second and third took place in some trying weather conditions between both the men’s and women’s teams for Australia and New Zealand. The kiwi women managed to hold on to their winning streak and take home the Asia-Pacific women’s cup. The women’s teams played several games over 3 days against Australia and an All Stars team made up of players from Germany, Austria, India, Chile and England. The kiwi men played some incredible Fistball, made sweeter by being able to take home the silverware at the end of some unbelievably hard fought battles. Both games against Australia were an absolute highlight to watch and I highly recommend watching the footage of the final game which is still available at https://apfc2018.com/tournament/livestream/ Well done to all players from all countries. The play on the field showed that the Asia-Pacific fistball region is one to watch. The Indian men’s team made a huge journey over and took out third place after some close games. In their International debut, Samoa quickly became the crowd favourites and played some excellent fistball, proving they’ll definitely be making some noise in future tournaments. The NZFA are incredibly proud of the players, coaches and support teams who have worked so hard for these wins. We also couldn’t do it without the help of our sponsors. NZHL Canterbury Metro and The Good Home, your ongoing support means the world to us and we couldn’t be more thankful that you’ve embraced the vision and culture of what we’re trying to build here. Full results can be found below. Fist on! Women's Championships: Q1. IFA All-Stars def New Zealand 3:1 (15-14, 8-11, 12-10, 11-8) Q2. IFA All-Stars def Australia 3:0 (11-6, 13-11, 11-9) Q3. New Zealand def Australia 3:0 (11-5, 11-5, 12-10) Q4. IFA All-Stars def Australia 3:1 (14-15, 11-5, 11-9, 11-5) Q5. IFA All-Stars def New Zealand 3:2 (11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11, 11-4) Q6. New Zealand def Australia 3:0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-4) Q7. New Zealand def IFA All-Stars 3:0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-9) Q8. Australia def IFA All-Stars 3:2 (7-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-13, 11-3) Women's Championship Final - New Zealand def Australia 4:0 (11-6, 11-9, 11-7, 11-4) Men's Championships: Q1. Australia def Samoa 4:0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5) Q2. New Zealand def Samoa 4:1 (11-6, 11-8, 13-15, 11-6, 11-6) Q3. New Zealand def India 4:0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6) Q4. Australia def India 4:0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-8, 11-4) Q5. India def Samoa 4:0 (11-9, 11-5, 15-13, 11-6) Q6. New Zealand def Australia 4:3 (5-11, 4-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9, 14-12, 11-3) Semi-Final #1 - New Zealand def Samoa 4:1 (11-6, 11-9, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10) Semi-Final #2 - Australia def India 4:0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-3, 11-2) Third Place Playoff - India def Samoa 4:1 (14-12, 11-6, 6-11, 13-11, 11-8) Men's Championship Final - New Zealand def Australia 4:3 (3-11, 15-13, 7-11, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10, 12-10)  After 3 days of outstanding Fistball, the Trans Tasman Fistball Championship is done and dusted for 2018. Both countries played well and some great battles were had on the field with the final scores perhaps not doing justice to some of the close sets had over the weekend. Kicking off with the club and Master's game on Friday night, these teams set the bar for what was to come with some close sets and long rallies. This was followed by a quiz night where 30 teams battled for top of the academic table (it was won by Kiwi's....not that that's important...just a healthy tidbit of information). Saturday and Sunday followed with some beauty weather and some excellent Fistball. As a relative newcomer to Fistball, the Kiwi teams were able to learn a lot from our Australian rivals who were happy to teach us a few friendly (and a few not so friendly) lessons in the art of Fistball. Like most unforgettable weekends, it was topped off by a few beers in the sun and a friendly/suprisingly competitive game of Duck Duck Goose. Results: Men's Final Positions:
Women's Final Positions:
Master's Final Positions:
Club One-Match Series
The NZFA is proud to introduce the 2018 Men's and Women's National teams. The teams will go head to head with Australia at the end of this month in the 2018 Trans-Tasman Fistball Championships which will be held in Christchurch from the 26th-28th of January. NZ Men's & NZ Men's Masters NZ Women's Team The 2017 CFL Outdoor Season came to a close on Wednesday with some close finals games.
Fistnation ultimately took out the win for the competition, beating Otautahi 3-2 in the final set. An informal prizegiving took place afterwards to recognise the winners and celebrate the completion of New Zealand's first season of outdoor fistball after completing the indoor season in September. Limited timeframes meant the whole outdoor season was played in 4 rounds, with every team playing 2 or 3 games each round. It took all of about 5 minutes for everyone to remember just how different the game is outdoors. Fortunately Christchurch put on some stellar evenings (and also some less than optimal ones to keep us on our toes) and some quality fistball was played, with huge improvements being made in every team each round. Final standings:
In CFL tradition, several other awards were handed out on that evenings prizegiving.
The Canterbury Fistball League's inaugural indoor season competition came to a close last night with some close games between the four regional teams. Magical Fistery Tour (MFT) battled it out with the competition's Master's team, Fistmasters, to take out first place while Middleton Grange Fistball (MGF) took on Otautahi Fistball to take out 3rd and 4th places respectively. The final games were followed by what can only be described as a prestigious awards ceremony. As well as the much coveted 'Falcon of the Year' and 'Most Canadian' awards, a dream team of the competition's most outstanding players was also named. Awards
The final games saw the end of 2017's indoor season as the teams will hopefully be joined by some newcomers as we head outside for the next season which will kick off in 2 weeks.  Round 1 of the Canterbury Fistball League indoor season kicks off tonight, with 4 teams battling for a bit of regional fisting glory.
As the first regional fistball competition in New Zealand, the Canterbury Fistball League will compete every second week with combined training sessions in the intervening weeks. The 4 teams will play each other twice over 6 rounds before heading to the semi-finals and finals in September. October will see the Canterbury Fistball League head outdoors for the summer series which will be used to make selections for the national Men's and Women's fistball teams. These teams will compete against Australia in the second Trans-Tasman Fistball Championship in January next year. Check out the Canterbury Fistball League page for more information on the draw, results and fixtures for the indoor season.  The women's national fistball team has brought home the winners cup from their international debut over Waitangi weekend.
Both the men's and women's New Zealand fistball teams travelled to Geelong, Australia, each playing a three-match series against the Australians for the Trans-Tasman Fistball Championship. The women's team took home a victory, winning their series 3-0 while the men's team fought well but unfortunately lost to their Aussie counterparts 2-1. The men's game concluded on the Sunday, sneaking in just before the weather turned and a downpour started. The winning teams shared a pavlova to celebrate their victories followed by the traditional fistball 'exchanging of the game jerseys'. Following their debut games on the international stage, there are plans to continue to grow fistball in New Zealand, hopefully expanding out of the Canterbury region - where the entire New Zealand team were based. |
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