On Friday, October 29, 2010 at 8:38:27 AM UTC-7, qfoos wrote:

Message from outgoing USTSF President, Larry Davis
15 October, 2010

It's been an outstanding experience working with so many dedicated, enthusiastic people in what has amounted to a huge amount of progress
for USTSF and the game and sport of table soccer, both here in the USA
and worldwide.

In my several years at the helm of USTSF – having taken over for Kathy Brainard in 2003-4 – we've seen the USA's pro tour expand from just
three Tornado majors and a dozen regional and state championships to
three Tornado majors, majors on two other manufacturers' tables, and
nearly 30 regional, state and large city championship tournaments
easily totalling over a half million dollars in prizes per year. In
the same timeframe, the International Table Soccer Federation has gone
from 18 member countries to 63, and from 32 sanctioned tournaments
worldwide to over 50 annually. Participation in the ITSF World
Championships has gone from 32 players and only one event (Men's
Singles) and a few dozen spectators, to this year's combined ITSF
World Championships and World Cup with a total of 500 participants in
14 events and literally thousands of spectators. Even more, ITSF's
WCh/WCup and each of its "World Series" level tournaments are now
broadcast on EuroSport2, in 58 countries and in 14 languages!

We've also seen USTSF take the lead on publicizing the sport, with my personal program of community, media, sporting goods, sports travel,
coin & home amusement, nightclub & bar and soccer-related industry
targeted press releases distributed in every town where a USTSF
sanctioned tournament was held. This has resulted in publication of
1,500 newspaper, magazine & online articles via syndication, and
countless radio interviews, TV spots and more, appearing everywhere
from ESPN and Sports Illustrated to the New York Times and the
Christian Science Monitor. Together with booths and networking at
major sporting industry trade shows, USTSF has finally increased the visibility of table soccer to the extent that Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Sports Authorities and yes, potential event and tour sponsors
are now calling USTSF with interest in finding out how they can work
with our sport. Moreover, other new and/or growing sports are even
copying USTSF's organizational documents, our sponsorship plan, our
press kits, and even our new website. (Beyond that, USTSF's active
and continuous contribution to worldwide press releases over these
last several years has helped lay the groundwork for attracting media
such as the above mentioned EuroSport coverage, and for product
marketing from the likes of 55DSL/Diesel, MTV, Pepsi and Nokia, among others.)

Meanwhile, USTSF has worked to establish the documentation needed for recognition of table soccer as a sport by the US Olympic Committee, in accordance with USTSF's original charter. Of course, this can't
happen until the International Olympic Committee first recognizes the
sport via the ITSF. And that's well along the way, as ITSF now
regularly meets with both the IOC and the General Association for International Sports Federations (GAISF) for progress reviews,
planning and advice. So, why should USTSF wait? Better to have all
our ducks in a row, and since USOC reps are frequently at the same
sports industry trade shows as USTSF (and many other U.S. sports
federations) we're keeping up as much visibility with them as we can
in advance.

To that end, the USTSF is required to qualify/select and field a U.S. National Team, which we have done to some notable success over the
last several years, growing from three players at the ITSF World Championships in 2004 to full Mens, Womens, Seniors and Juniors teams
for a total of 24 players competing each year in the ITSF Worlds/World
Cup – and taking home a total during that time of over 65 medals and
two World Cup titles (back-to-back, no less!). A true testament to
the great skills and extraordinary adaptability of American
players!!

USTSF further continues its charitable and grass roots promotional/
player development programs. As a 501(c)3 Non-Profit public charity,
USTSF's Tables for Kids and Tables for Troops programs and its
Regional and State Directors and State Championships programs have led
to table donations, charitable fundraiser tournaments and drawings,
bigger, better and more effectively run & publicized tournaments, and
again, more visibility for the game and sport, both locally and
nationally.

And the USTSF has done all this in each year with a budget of less
than $10,000 – all of which until recently were donations (though in
some years it was predominantly out of my pocket) and we've done it
all with an all-volunteer staff of dedicated players. USTSF has never collected memberships, no one at USTSF has ever been paid for our
work; we even attend trade shows to promote the sport out of our own
pockets.

Certainly, the USTSF is not now nor will it ever be all things to all
people. But it really is in a good place right now to make an even
greater, more positive difference. Unfortunately, the entire USTSF
staff are workaholics in their day jobs, their own local foos
promotions and more, so while myself and the entire USTSF staff have accomplished a great deal, we could have accomplished tens times as
much if any of us had more time. For example, I work 60-72 hours a
week in my day job in the military, and still work on USTSF promotions
32-40 hours a week beyond that (not to mention night school, an 18-
month old at home, a money pit of a house, etc, etc). I have no life
but no matter how I look at it, it's all worth it if it makes a
positive difference for the game & sport I love so much – even if my contributions are behind the scenes and the players will never know I
did any of it – and I'm 100% sure that all the other USTSF staff
members would say the same.

Going forward, in its role as a National Governing Body for the sport
and in accordance with USOC guidelines, the USTSF hopes to eventually
take charge (i.e. full control) of player ratings (not rankings) so as
to standardize it in such a way that it finally becomes clear and understandable to everyone how points are calculated, so as to
eliminate what has become grossly arbitrary and/or inaccurate annual/ periodic "adjustments" by manufacturers or promoters, and so as to
publish ratings updates online as they occur (or at most, within 10
days of the rated event) rather than annually or bi-annually. As such
the USTSF has endorsed a "beta" test version of a new rating system
(created by Ahmad Shadman) that nearly all reviewers have found
excellent (and consistent with ELO systems for accuracy). But for the
time being the USTSF is simply "authorizing" manufacturers/promoters
to use their own system – which also conforms to USOC guidelines – provided their calculation process can be published for the players to
see and does not include "adjustments" made outside of the published calculation algorithym. (Note: Implementation by USTSF of its own
rating system may further result in USTSF finally having to charge
membership fees, but at a lower rate and hopefully, with other
benefits of greater value to the players than they are presently
getting from USTSA. On the other hand, this could mean dissolution of
the largely disengaged USTSA and also its membership fees for which
players only recieve a twice-a-year "Table Talk" newsletter).

USTSF can also now move forward smartly on expanding its new
relationships with potential sponsors. The USTSF's Sponsorship
Opportunities document outlines many levels of involvement for
sponsors and/or donors – what USTSF needs now is an experienced,
aggressive sports sponsorships/fundraiser (paid as an independent
contractor on a tiered or commission basis), or to teach a
manufacturer to do the same. Personally, I'd prefer manufacturers to
get out of the tournament business (other than providing their
products and/or paying to be a tour sponsor) so as to place the tour
in the hands of players (ex: Germany's P4P foosball tour) or a player representative organization such as USTSF that could contract out tour/ tournament administration (ex: tennis' ATP tour, the PBA, etc). If a
good sponsorships/fundraiser for USTSF obtained two or three
Presentation level sponsors, we'd be looking at a self-sustaining, million-dollar tour that increases prizes for the players while
reducing entry fees, eliminates "admin/table fees," grows the player
base at both grass roots and pro tour levels, gains increased media
coverage, and benefits sponsors, manufacturers, and local communities
all at once. I believe it is possible, but the question becomes: can
USTSF, with its existing limited resources of time/money and so many
other projects going on, find a way to advance on such outstanding opportunities?

The groundwork for all that and more has been laid over the last
several years – perhaps now is the ideal time for more players with a passion for the game to step up and take the reigns – you can make it
so. Don't fall into (or remain in) the mantra of apathy and
disillusionment that so frequently has held our sport back.

I myself will probably never stop playing and promoting in some way or another just as I've always done since I started playing in the
mid-1970s. I''ll always remember one day in 1979 at a place called
Arapahoe Sports Center in Aurora, Colorado, when the already legendary
Mike Bowers first told me "I'll quit playing when they pry the rods
from my cold, dead hands." When combined with my own personal
philosophy and catch phrase, "Ask not what the sport of Foosball can
do for you, ask what you can do for the sport of Foosball," you have
the complete perspective on whatever my future involvement with
foosball will be.

I'll never stop enjoying the play – and the stories – I've shared with
so many players both here and around the world. In my travels,
everywhere from Denver to Ukraine, from Singapore to Germany, foosers
have treated me like family. In that sense our game and sport really
does transcend nationality, politics, age or gender, while on the
table I remain amazed, even after 35+ years, how there are still no
limits to what I can learn and do.

Again, it's been a pleasure working with all the USTSF Board of
Directors, Regional Directors, State Directors and other player-
volunteers, and with the various manufacturers, promoters and other
national federations. We've all faced some tough challenges, had some
heated debates, and shared some great times from which I've truly
learned and grown a lot. I can only hope you all feel the same.

Thanks and very respectfully,
Larry Davis

P.S. Good luck to USTSF's new President, Pat Ryan; and special thanks
go out to Pat, Kathy Brainard, Jim Waterman, Bruce Nardoci, Jim
Stevens, Phil Kennedy, Stacey Myers, Mury Johnson, David Radack, Ed
Geer, Shaun Cooper, Mark Winker, Melissa Kegg, Shelly Langley and
Cissi Whipple, whose help/advice/assistance and counterpoints have
made USTSF and my efforts to promote the sport all the richer; and to
Link Pendley, Dave Courington, Alan Cribbs, Mary Moore, Ed McCloud,
Johnny Lott and Lee Peppard all from who I gained tremendous
promotions insights, and to Todd Loffredo, Tom Spear, Bob Gibson, Bob
Maloney and the late Gil Jackson, who taught me to play.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)