All Concerned,   

As many of you know, I was out of touch with everyone for awhile during 
the summer due to about five weeks of almost continuous, short notice
military training and even now am STILL trying desperately to catch up
with both my day job at the Pentagon and all the work to be done with
USTSF!!  (I had little to no email/phone access, and all my inboxes are
even now still crammed with action items!)  

During my time "out of pocket" I received a few emails with various
questions about USTSF, some new and some requesting clarification of my
last USTSF news update email.  I'll try to address a few of those, and
add a few of my own latest updates.  

Of best news, August's mail included confirmation from the IRS that
USTSF is a 501c(3) tax-exempt charitable organization so yours and any
sponsor/donor contributions are legally confirmed as deductible dating
back to the approval date of our incorporation as a non-profit (31
March, 2003); see the USTSF Sponsorship webpage for a copy of it.  Of note, this is 
a significant milestone that we have been striving towards for quite some time 
and one that will finally permit USTSF to present a number of exciting promotional
programs to some very lucrative if not diverse potential sponsors.  (We
still need volunteers to help us assemble the business & marketing
plans...)  

We've also gathered enough in donations to get a Tornado table (includes
table/parts/tools/shipping) sent out to a forward deployed patrol unit
in Iraq (via Ft. Campbell, KY) as part of our new "Tables for Troops"
program.  The table has in fact now been shipped.  (Very special thanks
on this go out to donations and other logistics assistance provided by
both TornadoFoosball.Com and Foosball.Com!!)  This program, along with
our Tables for Kids and Wounded Warrior programs are a key part of our
charitable community involvement and new player base development
initiatives.  Please see the USTSF website for more info on these and more, 
and let us know if you have any ideas on working together in any of these 
areas...

Just before I left on my training I was back in my hometown of Denver at
the Colorado State Championships.  Regarding Colorado State and the Hall
of Fame follow-up presentation we did, I really think it went great!!
All play was stopped on Saturday night, Jim Stevens did the announcing
formalities and I presented the plaque and jacket to Gil Jackson's
sister Lori and his mom.  Gil's nieces (Lori's daughters) were present
as well, and all seemed quite overwhelmed and even tearful.  Gil and
Lori's old partner and roommate Bob Gibson was among those in the
audience, and quite a few people talked with Gil's family after the
presentation, with a couple even asking Lori for autographs.  The
Jackson family couldn't have been more appreciative.  InsideFoos did
photos and some video of it all.  As far as everything else it was
generally a good tournament (being Mary's last on Tornado) with a really
good turnout of Colorado's old-time players, many of whom are now just
getting back into the game.  The USTSF press release resulted in
television coverage Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and a good coincidence
occurred when MLS Soccer just happened to be having national awards for
Juniors at the same hotel -- Mary ran free entry tournaments for them
with promo give-aways just for participating (the parents seemed amazed
at the entire thing).  On the flipside, the hotel's sound/power system
couldn't support Mary's public address system needs so where the IFP
Everguide tournament software usually automatically announces all
matches over the P.A., Mary's staff had to do it themselves.  

Also, at that tournament I did see a sample of what man and ball that
Warrior would be using for KY State and as most know by now it was a
near identical playing figure from the chest down to that of Tornado.
And the balls were virtually identical to the mid-80's Dynamo yellow
urethane ball (my favorite ball of any, but a near exact copy
nonetheless).  As easily guessed, this could readily be a patent issue
with Brunswick's Valley-Dynamo (Tornado), though I don't know the full
extent of any communications between Warrior and BVDT and of course I am
by no means a legal expert.  I spoke to Mary there in Colorado and she
assured me that they would be making some further modifications to the
tables.  She didn't specify exactly what parts, but I would assume it
would primarily be the man and the ball.  She did say then that when
they finally have a true production model they would be submitting to
ITSF for status as an ITSF "Recognized" table via the ITSF published
process (which also includes having tables tested and endorsed by at
least three ITSF member federations).  She projected the timeframe for
that to be later this year so that the status could possibly be awarded
in time for her end-of-January Tour Kickoff tournament.  Since I did not
go to this last KY State due to my work conflict, I'm not fully up to
date on either what man/ball was used or on the progress they're making
towards a final production model, but I'm sure she'll make announcements
when appropriate and/or as they occur.  

Some good news that you probably heard: USTSF has gained three more
tournaments (on Tornado) for this year's tour as ITSF sanctioned events!
They are: Bart O'Hearn (Texas), Florida State and the Halloween Classic
(Wisconsin).  (Remember, IFP KY State and IFP LA State were removed from
ITSF sanctioned status, so we've actually gained tournaments from three
more promoters as a result.)  On KY State and LA State, USTSF did not in
fact hold any meetings at KY State and as far as I know no USTSF Board
of Directors were at LA State either.  Naturally, the larger, more
formal USTSF State Directors and General Assembly meetings will take
place at Tornado Worlds, so I hope most of you can participate in one or
both of those.  Hopefully we'll be able to use a good meeting room for
these larger meetings.  (USTSF will put out the
dates/times and agendas very soon -- if you have agenda topic items
you'd like to submit please email them to the USTSF at ustsf@foosball.com.)  

Back to the status of USTSF:  
a) We've also had inquiries from an indoor soccer venue/event sponsor
coordinator who believes we have shared interests that might be helpful
to state and local promoters, and I see where it could play in well with
USTSF marketing/event planning & promotions (while giving the sport
visibility in new venues); more on that at Tornado Worlds.  
b) We've finalized a lot of our formal policies, administrative
procedures, codes (conduct, ethics, administrative, sport, etc) per ITSF
and U.S. Olympic Committee requirements/standards and are now assembling
a five-year update/progress report to the U.S. Olympic Committee's
credentials commission.  
c) Next, we have some major fundraising to do before the newly COMBINED
ITSF World Championship Finals AND ITSF World Cup in Nantes, France in
early January -- we hope to advertise and run a very large raffle at
Tornado Worlds from Friday morning through Sunday afternoon.  The
purpose of the fundraising is to ensure sponsorship for the U.S.
National Junior [w/chaperone] and Women's Singles and Doubles teams to
ITSF Worlds.  Most certainly, both individuals and businesses are
encouraged to donate (tax deductible!) prizes, package deals, etc to
USTSF for the raffle.  (Businesses can also further contact USTSF [or
see the USTSF website] for ideas/incentives provided at different
donation/sponsorship levels: ustsf@foosball.com, www.ustsf.org.)
d)  Now that I'm in the process of getting back to speed at work, home
and USTSF, I'll FINALLY be putting some of my own (and some donated)
rare foosball collector's items up for auction on eBay, with winners
free to choose where the proceeds are applied (i.e. USTSF development
programs such as Tables for Kids, Tables for Troops, Wounded Warriors,
or to help sponsor Juniors/Women for the ITSF Worlds/World Cup).  The
first items will be up in the evening on September 11th.   

On the combined ITSF World Championships/World Cup being held this year
in France, I've heard that some people here in the USA consider that a
controversial move, if not proof that ITSF is purely a French
organization bent on destroying American foosball and indeed, the
American way of life.  So while ITSF has already provided what I
consider very good justification for the move (need for a larger, more
player & media accessible location and at a much more affordable price
for all concerned, etc.), I have another take on it that convinces me
that it's the best possible place of anywhere to hold this particular
event (at least for this year).  That is, the USA is going to be
fielding a team of extraordinary talent, with many players now having
strong international experience.  What better place could there be for
the U.S. National Team to get PAYBACK but on the French team's own home
turf?  I personally think it will be a very charged up event for players
from around the world and quite well-covered by the press.  (Sponsors
would be wise to seize this opportunity at any level of involvement!!)  

Of related interest, for the U.S. National Team that will compete in the
ITSF Teams event at Tornado Worlds, the following players have been
selected to represent the United States: 

Coach: Terry Moore 
Tommy Adkisson
Bob Diaz
Tracy McMillin
Ryan Moore
Billy Pappas
Tony Spredeman
Tom Yore
Dusty Bambenek
Stayce Fowler
Tiffany Moore
- U.S. National Champion Junior Singles Qualifier* 
* Blake Robertson not attending, alternate TBD -- We are in the process of 
contacting the second and third place Junior Singles finalists from KY
State to determine if one of them will be in Vegas to compete as part of the
U.S. National Team in place of Blake.  

On a final note, a reminder for those who haven't read all the
information on the USTSF website about who we are, what we do, what are
our goals and objectives, etc.:  

1.  The USTSF is an independent organization.  If ITSF, USTSA/VIFA, IFP,
any other association/federation or manufacturer went away tomorrow (not
that any will), USTSF still remains, and still acts per its original
charter as the USA's liaison between the ITSF, US Olympic Committee, all
manufacturers, the promoters and the players.  Having as its first
priority and original charter the recognition of table soccer as a sport
and in accordance with the USOC's structural requirements, the USTSF is
most accurately described as a sport governing body (though we certainly
have some progress to make in a number of areas).  

2.  In accordance with the above, the USTSF promotes the sport first and
foremost, not any one specific table.   As a member federation of ITSF,
USTSF is inherently more actively involved with manufacturers having
table models designated by ITSF as "Official" or "Recognized."
"Official" table manufacturers include: Bonzini, Brunswick's Tornado,
Garlando, Lehmacher's Tec-Ball and Roberto-Sport.  "Recognized" table
manufacturers include: Leonhart and Rosengart.  Naturally, with Tornado
having a 90%+ market share of the U.S. coin-op foosball market and a
good share of the U.S. retail market, and with both Tornado and Bonzini
tables having exceptionally long histories and dedicated player bases in
the USA, the USTSF works most frequently and directly with these two in
the promotion of the sport.  However, the USTSF is free to work with any
manufacturer whether or not it is ITSF endorsed.  At the same time, in
order for a manufacturer to gain USTSF endorsement (either independently
of ITSF or in support of a manufacturer petitioning for ITSF Official or
Recognized status) the USTSF has recently established a fairly stringent
equipment standards review process, which is intended to weed out
manufacturers not serious about the sport and to ensure a high level of
quality for any coin-op or home competition/training tables that do
become USTSF endorsed.  

3.  The USTSF holds its Board of Directors meetings wherever and as
often as the USTSF Board sees fit.  The agendas for these and other
official USTSF meetings (and the meeting minutes) are published on the
USTSF website.  These Board meetings do not have to be held at ITSF
sanctioned tournaments (or even at a tournament at all), but in the
interest of frequent engagement on USTSF programs or current issues,
they are most often convened wherever a majority of Board members will
be in one place concurrently.  The same is true of meetings called for
the new Regional and State Directors -- active engagement and
participation are more important than venue.  Also, Reg/St Dirs meetings
are not mandatory unless specified in advance, and even then
proxy/substitutes may attend if a given Director can't make it.  

4.  All of the above does not exist in a vacuum or simply on paper or on
a website.  What it is, is a lot of actionable items which I and the
rest of the outstanding and extremely dedicated USTSF all-volunteer
staff cannot accomplish alone.  All of what USTSF does or wants to do is
an open, participatory process -- all players, promoters, operators,
distributors, manufacturers and player associations are welcome to
contribute in any ways they can or see fit.  It's a player-run
organization that's all about growing the sport and whether it's from
the top down or from grass roots up it's all about sharing the love
(obsession?) we all have for this crazy game and communicating that to
with as many others as we can.  Those reading this news update are among the
most likely to exactly understand this, and also the most likely to be
able to extend that enthusiasm to new people and the grass roots players
that may be local sportsbar, frat/dorm or arcade players or even future
World Champions.  The key is we proactive participation.  As I often
say: "Ask not what Foosball can do for you; ask what you can do for the
sport of Foosball."  

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!  

Thanks to all for your ongoing support, and as always, take care!!  
Larry Davis, for USTSF
larry.davis@ustsf.foosball.com
www.ustsf.org
www.table-soccer.org

P.S. See you all in VEGAS!!