The 2005 World Games, the seventh World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Duisburg, Germany from 14 July 2005 until 24 July 2005. Three other cities, namely Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, and Oberhausen, also held some of the competition events. More than 3,000 athletes competed in 31 official sports and 6 invitational sports.
Fistball is a sport of European origin, primarily played in the German-speaking nations of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as well as in Brazil. The objective of the game is similar to volleyball, in that teams try to hit a ball over a net, but the rules vary from volleyball in several major ways. The current men's fistball World Champions are Germany, winners of both the 2023 Men's World Championships and the fistball category at the 2022 World Games, while the current women's fistball World Champions are also Germany, after winning the 2021 Women's World Championships.
The 1985 World Games were the second edition of the World Games, an international multi-sport event held in London. Three main venues were used, the main one being the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The opening ceremony was held at the Wembley Conference Centre. The master of ceremonies was television commentator Ron Pickering. Competitors were addressed by World Games Association President Dr Un Yong Kim, who told competitors, "the World Games is an innovation that deserves a warm welcome." Games Patron Ryoichi Sasakawa underwrote the financial shortfall to enable the Games to take place. British Olympic Association Chairman Charles Palmer opened the Games on behalf of the British sports community. The song "World Game" by John Denver was adopted as the theme for the Games. Sports included field archery, taekwondo, karate, sambo, powerlifting, finswimming, roller sports, casting, korfball, water skiing, speedway, fistball, softball and netball. The ground team at Crystal Palace was headed by former Nottingham Forest player Roy Dwight with assistance from Tosh Chamberlain. Television coverage was produced by Cheerleader productions. Commentators included Simon Reed, Martin Tyler, Gerald Sinstadt and Dave Lanning.
The 1997 World Games, the fifth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Lahti, Finland on August 7–17, 1997. The opening and closing ceremonies took place at the Lahti Sport Centre.
The 2008 European Men's Fistball Championship was held in Stuttgart (Germany) from July 25 to July 27 with seven men's national teams: Austria, Catalonia, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Serbia and Switzerland. The matches were played in Stammheim district.
The 2010 European Men's Fistball Championship was held in Ermatingen (Switzerland) from August 27 to 29 with seven men's national teams: Austria, Catalonia, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Serbia and Switzerland.
The International Fistball Association is the umbrella organization of all national fistball organizations worldwide. It is member of the Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport, within the Global Association of International Sports Federations. It is also a member of The Association for International Sport for All.
Asia-Pacific Fistball Championships are an international fistball competition run in conjunction with the International Fistball Association (IFA), and the Asia-Pacific Fistball Association (APFC) with the first men's championships held in Pakistan in 2014. While originally known as the Asian Fistball Championships, the tournament has been renamed to the Asia-Pacific Fistball Championships for subsequent iterations, to recognise the inclusion of Oceanic region fistball associations such as Australia and New Zealand. The participating countries in the first Asia-Pacific Fistball Championships were Pakistan, India, Australia and Nepal.
The 2022 World Games were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions that are not currently contested at the Olympic Games; the Games featured 3,457 athletes competing in 223 medal events over 34 total sports.
The 13th Men's World Fistball Championships was held from the 7th to 13 August 2011 in Austria. A total of 24 teams qualified for the World Championships, with those 24 teams initially split into four pools of three teams for the preliminary rounds. These preliminary rounds were followed by qualifying matches leading into the quarterfinals, semifinals, and then a final. In addition, classification matches were held for places three to twelve to determine final placings. Germany was crowned World Champion after defeating defending champions Austria 4:2 in the final, recording their record 10th Men's Fistball World Championship.
The 14th Men’s World Fistball Championships was held from the 14th to 22 November 2015 in Calamuchita, Córdoba in Argentina. It was the second time the Men's Fistball World Championships have been held in Argentina, having also previously been held in Buenos Aires in 1986. The tournament was held in four settlements in Córdoba Province, three of them are located in Calamuchita: Villa General Belgrano, Santa Rosa de Calamuchita and Embalse. The fourth venue was La Cumbrecita, in Santa María Department.
Fistball World Championships are an international association fistball competition contested by the senior national teams of the members of the International Fistball Association (IFA) since 1968 for men and 1992 for women. In additional, under-18 Fistball World Championships have been hosted for male youth since 2003 and female youth since 2006.
The fistball event at the World Games 2017 in Wrocław, Poland took place between the 22nd and the 25th of July.
The fistball event at the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan took place between the 18th and the 20th of August. A total of 40 athletes from 5 teams entered the competition. The competition took place at Yabase Stadium.
The fistball competition at the 2022 World Games took place in July 2022, in Birmingham in United States, at the Birmingham Southern College. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2021, the Games were rescheduled for July 2022 as a result of the 2020 Summer Olympics postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time when women's tournament in fistball took place as part of the World Games.
The Asia Fistball Association (AFA) is the Asian continental federation of the International Fistball Association and serves to unite the national fistball associations of Asia. The AFA was founded as part of a video conference of the participating associations and the IFA.
Chile competed at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing Chile won two silver medals and one bronze medal. The country finished in 55th place in the medal table.
Argentina competed at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing Argentina won one silver medal and two bronze medals. The country finished in 57th place in the medal table.
New Zealand competed at the 2022 World Games held in Birmingham, United States from 7 to 17 July 2022. Athletes representing New Zealand won one gold medal, one silver medal and one bronze medal. The country finished in 40th place in the medal table.
The fistball competition at the 2025 World Games will take place in August 2025, in Chengdu in China.
