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Table football may be a pastime most of us associate with the pub, but did you know that in Reading more than 300 people convened for an international tournament and that the town also has the number five national seed for the sport?
 | | Raphael Jack shows "pin" hand technique |
At the Orange House in Oxford Road, table footballers gathered from as far as Austria, Belgium and France to play in singles, doubles and mixed doubles contests over three days (Friday 12 to Sunday 14 November). Promoter Bill Donne, who organised the day in conjunction with the British Foosball Association, said: “It’s the largest table football tournament held in the UK ever in terms of the number of players that are entering.” With 24 tables, the tournament is split into one for semi-pros and one for novices, with a £4,000 prize pot to be won.
”The tournaments have been growing on an ad hoc basis over the last couple of years,” explained Mr Donne, who also manages Mango club in Hosier Street, “and I felt there was an opportunity to do something really big.”
The resurgence of table football as a popular sport comes after about a twenty-year period of computer games dominating people’s attention. But just like chess is becoming the must-have present this Christmas, table football marks a return to the traditional. “It’s a fun game, it can be played and enjoyed at any level, even youngsters can play. And once you become more skillful and begin to understand the tactics involved it becomes a very absorbing pastime.” One man who knows this all too well is 27-year-old Raphael Jack from Reading, who has achieved a number five ranking after starting out playing for fun four years ago at the Purple Turtle bar in Gun Street.
“I entered a competition and became club champion with my partner,” he said. “I was encouraged to go to national championships in table football, so I eventually went and was very surprised at the standards and skill involved, I didn’t think that much went into it. A week later I purchased my own table.” Contrary to assumptions, players need a good level of fitness as well as have good reflexes and good hand-eye coordination. “It’s a hot and sweaty game”, says Mr Donne, “sometimes it lasts for an hour. One ball can last you five to ten minutes, so it really is quite intense at that level.”
There are currently 67 semi-pros in the UK, though we have a long way before reaching America’s interest in the sport. There they hold grand tournaments with a £250,000 prize pot and 500 tables set in grand hotels. For now, Reading is catching the table football fever fast with plans for a Reading league.
If you fancy learning a few skills and techniques (believe me there is more to it than twisting the rod and thwacking the ball), log on to www.britfoos.com to view video tutorials.
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