Why Make Changes to the Tables?

Excerpt from ITSF email to a USA player's question:

Why change to a one-man goalie's table for international competitions ?
It is part of a process to make sanctioned tables better and "harmonize" the various types of tables, while keeping some of their specificities - it is not about having a unique table.
As an international federation, we have to work in the best interest of all table soccer players worldwide, most of whom can not play on the 5 ITSF official tables, simply because those tables are way too different from what they are used to playing.
 
So, we work in close collaboration with all our partner manufacturers in order to ensure that ITSF sanctioned tables offer the best playing quality/features and adaptability to all.

Manufacturers provide various prototypes with new features, so new options can be explored. This is how playing equipment is further developed in the interest of the game.

 

Many such changes have been made in the recent past, as to the quality and playability of our partners’ tables, and no one would think now of complaining about these changes, even though there was a lot of disagreement each time - it is always hard to change habits.

 

Since your are mentioning voting procedures, please note that these types of decisions are not made by one person, and certainly not to "satisfy one's person agenda".
The change to the one-man goalie's table was approved by a vote of the ITSF Executive Committee over a year ago, at the last World Championships in Italy, where the new table was available for testing.
The table was also made available to players at the International Series event in Las Vegas in March and everyone was invited to comment on it.
 
This is all part of a democratic process, to which everyone can take part.
As explained in our December newsletter http://www.table-soccer.org/newsletter/200812_newsletter.html , everyone can get involved in the decision-making process.
The ITSF General Assembly, for example, is an important time for voicing one’s remarks and proposals.

Invitations to the GA are sent to all table soccer federations every year.

They were also informed that at the General Assembly this year (during the World Cup in France), there will be elections for Executive Committee members.

The members of the Executive Committee are elected by the General Assembly for four years; they may be re-elected.

 

It is always nice to have new people working in the Executive Committee and the various ITSF Commissions http://www.table-soccer.org/itsf/commissions.php , in order to bring new ideas.

 

 

Best regards,

and Merry Christmas

 

Christine Cabrera
Assistant to the President
 
International Table Soccer Federation
27 rue Adolphe Moitié
44000 Nantes
FRANCE
 
Tel : +33 (0) 2 40 47 90 84
Fax : +33 (0) 2 40 20 44 59
 
e-mail : info@table-soccer.org
website : http://www.table-soccer.org
 

----- Original Message -----
 

From: Deleted

To: <info@table-soccer.org>
Cc: "ustsf" <ustsf@foosball.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 8:17 PM
 
Subject: It's not right.
 
>I do not think it right that the ITSF is pressuring Tornado to eliminate the
> 3-man goalie rod.  This is a competitive advantage for the company and it is
> not right that the ITSF should force a manufacture to become less
> competitive to satisfy one persons (Farid's) agenda.
>
> If it is put to vote by all federations then I am ok with this requirement.
> Until then it wrong to force such a change without due-process.
>