3rd Anniversary Shoot-out Derby & 2005 Super Cup
Celebrating 4 years of Subbuteo in Connecticut
August 26/September 23, 2005
Celebrating 4 years of Subbuteo in Connecticut
August 26/September 23, 2005
The 4th SCC season wrapped up on the Last Friday of August with the
traditional Shoot-out Derby that Conturso ended up winning for the first time,
succeeding to Luis Silva (2003 winner) and Miguel Marques (2004).
The 2004-2005 season is far to be over, though. A series of date conflicts
postponed the end of the State League and Super Cup tentatively to
September 9, 2005 when the club will embrace Sergio Sensini and Jim Taylor,
both back from Europe. To check the final result, visit the State Championship
home page (click here).
This ending season has been the most intense, most controversial and longest
ever with a 12-month 12-man league, plus an unprecedented number of ASA
and FISTF events in and out of the State.
It all started in Bologna, Italy...
SEPTEMBER
The season starts quite early from Jim Taylor, Mike Benkart (a prestigious add to
the club roster) and Massimo Conturso. The World Cup in Conturso's home
country was a temptation too big to let it pass and the 3 SCC headed toward
Rome and, eventually, Bologna. The FISTF tournament wasn't exactly a success
for the US, although we were able to play in the Team Cup for the first time in
ASA history.
As usual, Italy and Belgium won everything possible and our individual results
showed how still big is the gap between Europe and USA.
World Cup Week Home Page
OCTOBER
This was the month of the first ever FISTF IO in Connecticut that will probably
be the last one, considering the controversy on the tournament format and the
poor attendance from out-of-state.
Benkart and New York City's Cutuli were the only US players coming from
outside CT and Stephane Lambert resulted the only European whose presence
justified the 'international open' event's title.
Conturso managed to win both IO and Sunday's ASA Open with his new
Profibases that Marco de Angelis assembled for him in Bologna.
2004 FISTF IO of CT
NOVEMBER
Sunday Sweep Sunday!
The best-so-far page of our history book was written in November when 10 of
us traveled to Maryland for the Holiday Silver weekend hosted by Paul Eyes and
the local club. The MSC is the best thing happened to ASA in recent years and
has soon become a sort of brother club for the SCC.
On Saturday the 6th, our Rick and Luis resulted the best of 5 CT players
(Miguel, Frank and always-present Mike Benkart were the others) as they
reached the semifinals. While Rick got routed 4-0 by 2004 National Champion,
Gregg Deinhart, a sleep-depraved Silva defeated 2-1 Nick Giffen and qualified to
the final that Deinhart managed to win with a goal scored with 20 seconds left.
On Sunday, 5 more SCC members arrived: Eddie, Jeff, Pablo, Ostap and Massimo.
After a memorable tournament, our club was the absolute winner as we
brought home Open (Massimo, 1-0 to Gregg), U19 (Pablo, shoot-out win over
Jeff) and Mary Jane titles (Frank, 2-0 to Nick Giffen).
Too bad there was no team cup: we would have won that, too!
The best part of the weekend was not the silverware, though.
This trip helped more than anything else building club's now famous 'esprit de
corp'. Rick's scream for Massimo's goal to Deinhart is still loud and vibrant in
everybody's ears!
Maryland Sweep Home Page
WINTER (Dec/Mar)
Despite the long New England snow season, the club activity didn't slow down a
bit. We hosted a successful 17-player ASA Open on January 2nd when we had
the pleasure to have over long-time club member, Ryan Bak, now a California
resident and a professional runner. Despite his busy holiday schedule, Ryan
enthusiastically found time for us and his lost love, table soccer! For the first time
ever, Eddie 'Quarter Final' Davidson reached ..the Semifinals!
On the local side, the SCC played a total of 11 club competitions between
Dec.17 and March 25, plus the hotter-than-ever weekly League and Cup
meetings.
ASA RBI / 2004-2005 Season
APRIL/MAY
May is the month of warmer air, pretty flowers ..and FISTF Weekend in Maryland!
To get ready to North America's premier international event, in April we hosted
our 4th tournament of the season: a 12-player ASA New England Championship
in which Andrea Gasparini was the only out-of-state.
Once a SCC member, Andrea has become the co-founder of the Salem SC of
Massachusetts (web site) as well as one of the most respected players in the US
(although this season wasn't as successful as the previous when CT became land
of conquer for the strong Italian).
The Final was a Conturso-Marques classico, 4th championship match between
Miguel and Massimo, that the Italian ended up winning 2-0 for his 5th seasonal
title.
The weekend in Maryland was quite different from November's as only 3 of us
made it to the Patapsco School: Mike Benkart, Eddie and Massimo. The 2-day
event was first class and the Europeans brought home both titles: Shorab (UK)
won on Saturday, Wolfie (AUT) on Sunday.
Conturso had the best SCC result as he qualified to the Semifinals on Sunday,
but that was it: a tennis-like 0-6 loss to Shorab and a 2-3 against Gregg
relegated him to the 4th place. Eddie made his part and won the ASA MJ title
on Sunday, while Mike reached the Quarter Finals on both days.
For Mike, the action and the satisfaction were not over. To keep faith to his
fame of unstoppable subbuteo traveler, he drove to Toronto, Canada for the
2nd FISTF event of the week ..and won the Grand Prix after shoot-outs at
conclusion of a spectacular 2-2 final against Canadian Chris Buttigieg.
Mike became the 3rd ASA member to have won a North American FISTF
tournament.
7th ASA NEC / 2005 FISTF GP/IO
JUNE/JULY
Summer brought a blooming of major tournaments along the Northeast Corridor.
In June we hosted a fabulous 18-player NEMO with a full load from the DC area.
July was the designated National Weekend month and 5 of us plus Andrea
Gasparini repaid the visit.
Unfortunately, the long season started to get to the club and the traditional
weekly meetings became less frequent. SCC top players skipped the US
Championship in Virginia and, worst of all, our U19 Jeff Davidson was the only to
bring home a title (2-0 to Maryland's Pat Sheridan, U19 NEMO).
Andrea completed his seasonal collection of MJ titles (4-0 to Rob Tucker, NEMO)
and Rick Marques and Conturso ended up runner-ups, respectively at the NEMO
(2-3 Zach Walker) and National Open (0-1 Rick Wilcox).
The trip to Alexandria deserves a few more words: Rick, the pride of CT, almost
made ASA history when he faced 2002 national champion, Rick Wilcox for the
championship match. That was his first ever national tournament (he missed
Hartford 2003 and skipped St.Louis 2004) and he played table soccer like the
Rage Against The Machine play music: awesome. Club mate Conturso had the
(un)pleasant experience to face him in the Quarter Finals and he showed to be
on fire. After their game (2-1 Rick in OT), there were no doubt he was going to
make it to the end.
OK, he wasn't the last man standing, but he pinpointed us on the map of US
subbuteo history as he became the first SCC member to play a national
championship match.
Hats off.
2005 NEMO / 2005 national weekend
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Vacations, family time, fast paced work schedule suffocated the recent club
activity.
So far we were able to play a couple of Challenge Cups and have the traditional
Shoot-out Derby.
Jim Taylor is in Belgium for the 2005 FISTF World Cup and should be back by the
first Sunday of September. If we are lucky enough, we'll crown State's new
champion on September 9, just in time for the beginning of the new season
(fixed for the first weekend of October, 2005 CT Cup weekend in Farmington).
No time to rest, this is Connecticut: be quick or be dead!
traditional Shoot-out Derby that Conturso ended up winning for the first time,
succeeding to Luis Silva (2003 winner) and Miguel Marques (2004).
The 2004-2005 season is far to be over, though. A series of date conflicts
postponed the end of the State League and Super Cup tentatively to
September 9, 2005 when the club will embrace Sergio Sensini and Jim Taylor,
both back from Europe. To check the final result, visit the State Championship
home page (click here).
This ending season has been the most intense, most controversial and longest
ever with a 12-month 12-man league, plus an unprecedented number of ASA
and FISTF events in and out of the State.
It all started in Bologna, Italy...
SEPTEMBER
The season starts quite early from Jim Taylor, Mike Benkart (a prestigious add to
the club roster) and Massimo Conturso. The World Cup in Conturso's home
country was a temptation too big to let it pass and the 3 SCC headed toward
Rome and, eventually, Bologna. The FISTF tournament wasn't exactly a success
for the US, although we were able to play in the Team Cup for the first time in
ASA history.
As usual, Italy and Belgium won everything possible and our individual results
showed how still big is the gap between Europe and USA.
World Cup Week Home Page
OCTOBER
This was the month of the first ever FISTF IO in Connecticut that will probably
be the last one, considering the controversy on the tournament format and the
poor attendance from out-of-state.
Benkart and New York City's Cutuli were the only US players coming from
outside CT and Stephane Lambert resulted the only European whose presence
justified the 'international open' event's title.
Conturso managed to win both IO and Sunday's ASA Open with his new
Profibases that Marco de Angelis assembled for him in Bologna.
2004 FISTF IO of CT
NOVEMBER
Sunday Sweep Sunday!
The best-so-far page of our history book was written in November when 10 of
us traveled to Maryland for the Holiday Silver weekend hosted by Paul Eyes and
the local club. The MSC is the best thing happened to ASA in recent years and
has soon become a sort of brother club for the SCC.
On Saturday the 6th, our Rick and Luis resulted the best of 5 CT players
(Miguel, Frank and always-present Mike Benkart were the others) as they
reached the semifinals. While Rick got routed 4-0 by 2004 National Champion,
Gregg Deinhart, a sleep-depraved Silva defeated 2-1 Nick Giffen and qualified to
the final that Deinhart managed to win with a goal scored with 20 seconds left.
On Sunday, 5 more SCC members arrived: Eddie, Jeff, Pablo, Ostap and Massimo.
After a memorable tournament, our club was the absolute winner as we
brought home Open (Massimo, 1-0 to Gregg), U19 (Pablo, shoot-out win over
Jeff) and Mary Jane titles (Frank, 2-0 to Nick Giffen).
Too bad there was no team cup: we would have won that, too!
The best part of the weekend was not the silverware, though.
This trip helped more than anything else building club's now famous 'esprit de
corp'. Rick's scream for Massimo's goal to Deinhart is still loud and vibrant in
everybody's ears!
Maryland Sweep Home Page
WINTER (Dec/Mar)
Despite the long New England snow season, the club activity didn't slow down a
bit. We hosted a successful 17-player ASA Open on January 2nd when we had
the pleasure to have over long-time club member, Ryan Bak, now a California
resident and a professional runner. Despite his busy holiday schedule, Ryan
enthusiastically found time for us and his lost love, table soccer! For the first time
ever, Eddie 'Quarter Final' Davidson reached ..the Semifinals!
On the local side, the SCC played a total of 11 club competitions between
Dec.17 and March 25, plus the hotter-than-ever weekly League and Cup
meetings.
ASA RBI / 2004-2005 Season
APRIL/MAY
May is the month of warmer air, pretty flowers ..and FISTF Weekend in Maryland!
To get ready to North America's premier international event, in April we hosted
our 4th tournament of the season: a 12-player ASA New England Championship
in which Andrea Gasparini was the only out-of-state.
Once a SCC member, Andrea has become the co-founder of the Salem SC of
Massachusetts (web site) as well as one of the most respected players in the US
(although this season wasn't as successful as the previous when CT became land
of conquer for the strong Italian).
The Final was a Conturso-Marques classico, 4th championship match between
Miguel and Massimo, that the Italian ended up winning 2-0 for his 5th seasonal
title.
The weekend in Maryland was quite different from November's as only 3 of us
made it to the Patapsco School: Mike Benkart, Eddie and Massimo. The 2-day
event was first class and the Europeans brought home both titles: Shorab (UK)
won on Saturday, Wolfie (AUT) on Sunday.
Conturso had the best SCC result as he qualified to the Semifinals on Sunday,
but that was it: a tennis-like 0-6 loss to Shorab and a 2-3 against Gregg
relegated him to the 4th place. Eddie made his part and won the ASA MJ title
on Sunday, while Mike reached the Quarter Finals on both days.
For Mike, the action and the satisfaction were not over. To keep faith to his
fame of unstoppable subbuteo traveler, he drove to Toronto, Canada for the
2nd FISTF event of the week ..and won the Grand Prix after shoot-outs at
conclusion of a spectacular 2-2 final against Canadian Chris Buttigieg.
Mike became the 3rd ASA member to have won a North American FISTF
tournament.
7th ASA NEC / 2005 FISTF GP/IO
JUNE/JULY
Summer brought a blooming of major tournaments along the Northeast Corridor.
In June we hosted a fabulous 18-player NEMO with a full load from the DC area.
July was the designated National Weekend month and 5 of us plus Andrea
Gasparini repaid the visit.
Unfortunately, the long season started to get to the club and the traditional
weekly meetings became less frequent. SCC top players skipped the US
Championship in Virginia and, worst of all, our U19 Jeff Davidson was the only to
bring home a title (2-0 to Maryland's Pat Sheridan, U19 NEMO).
Andrea completed his seasonal collection of MJ titles (4-0 to Rob Tucker, NEMO)
and Rick Marques and Conturso ended up runner-ups, respectively at the NEMO
(2-3 Zach Walker) and National Open (0-1 Rick Wilcox).
The trip to Alexandria deserves a few more words: Rick, the pride of CT, almost
made ASA history when he faced 2002 national champion, Rick Wilcox for the
championship match. That was his first ever national tournament (he missed
Hartford 2003 and skipped St.Louis 2004) and he played table soccer like the
Rage Against The Machine play music: awesome. Club mate Conturso had the
(un)pleasant experience to face him in the Quarter Finals and he showed to be
on fire. After their game (2-1 Rick in OT), there were no doubt he was going to
make it to the end.
OK, he wasn't the last man standing, but he pinpointed us on the map of US
subbuteo history as he became the first SCC member to play a national
championship match.
Hats off.
2005 NEMO / 2005 national weekend
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Vacations, family time, fast paced work schedule suffocated the recent club
activity.
So far we were able to play a couple of Challenge Cups and have the traditional
Shoot-out Derby.
Jim Taylor is in Belgium for the 2005 FISTF World Cup and should be back by the
first Sunday of September. If we are lucky enough, we'll crown State's new
champion on September 9, just in time for the beginning of the new season
(fixed for the first weekend of October, 2005 CT Cup weekend in Farmington).
No time to rest, this is Connecticut: be quick or be dead!
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Photos from West Haven's club meeting of
Sept.23
Sept.23
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