Page updated: 2 September 2006
In 1980 the Worthing league's first trophy was contested, the SFA cup. Nine amateur players founded the Worthing Fivestar Subbuteo League in November 1981. Eight players from two towns competed for the inaugural trophy. Since its formation, players from five different counties have competed in Fivestar domestic competitions.
Although Brian Barnes (the pre-season favourite) won the inaugural league championship, outsiders won the two open cup tournaments. Craig Heward (the current league number one) first competed in 1984, winning the second division in some style. He went on to win the Clifton Cup (the Fivestar's "League" Cup, named in memory of Paul Dineley (Clifton United) who sadly had a congenital heart problem and unfortunately passed away at the age of 15) in two successive seasons. Peter Hawes, who went on to win the Crook Log Open, dominated the mid-eighties. He won the SFA cup four times out of five consecutive seasons. After Peter moved to Whitstable in the late eighties, the league stagnated for two seasons, with very little activity.
In 1990 the old Fivestar league merged with the young Southdown league (also from Worthing) under the Worthing Fivestar banner. Players like Simon Gale and Howard Price from the Southdown background emerged with credit and some major honours. Simon Gale shook the traditional Fivestar roots by winning the league's longest running competition, the SFA cup, in two successive seasons. Simon Gale now plays for Putney TSC.
Gale and Barnes simulated the entire world cup over the subbuteo board, starting with both legs of the CONCACAF preliminary qualifying round and finishing with Brazil winning the final. They operated a simple seeding structure. A similar system has been used on other occasions too, most recently in the summer of 2001 the current members of the Worthing Fivestar TFC played a seeded tournament representing 32 current and former members. Players were put into 4 categories and the seeding system gave a goal(s) start to simulate the advantage that the best players would be expected to have.
In the early nineties, the league hosted a national ranking open event on the seafront on the August Bank Holiday. The event was a huge success with players travelling from as far as Liverpool. Former (current?) "World Top Ten" player Brian Daley (Merseyside TSC) narrowly beat local player Craig Heward 2-1.
By the mid nineties the league had settled into a small, closely-knit unit of around six players.
In modern times, the league proper has been held during December, with each team player the others four times. These have usually been very close encounters especially as the League still uses 2 points for a win (in all its competitions). The traditional events were still held annually in the Autumn i.e. the Clifton Cup and the Knock-Out Trophy. In 2002 the League was split into two sections (June and December) and the Clifton Cup moved to it's new spring date. In 2003 the League was further revised with fixtures being scheduled on six occasions throughout the year. In 2004, an increasing number of players meant that two leagues would be played, during the period from August to December.
The SFA cup is traditionally played earlier in the year, often to coincide with the FA Cup final in the middle of May, between the best two players of the previous season. Each competition has "SFA qualifying points" attached to it, so there is no doubt who the best two were! However, for several years the SFA itself carried the most points by far, so this sometimes became a bit of a closed shop. The points system has now been revised to only include the League and the three cup competitions. The timing of the SFA cup has also been changed - it isnow played at the start of the Fivestar season - in January.
In recent years the Knock-Out Trophy has often lacked a bit of excitement. With only four players in the club, it has seemed to be over before it was started! However, in 2002, past Fivestar players, Ex-Boundstone players and other friends were invited to take part. The result was a staggering fourteen competitors, competing over two weeks. This event was a real success - both in terms of the event itself, but also in promoting the Club and the game. In fact, it has resulted in the recruitment of the club's first new player for three years - Jim Bernardin; a player with a great deal of natural ability and lots of potential for the future.
To provide ongoing interest throughout the rest of the year, a championship series is contested. The two most successful players of the previous two months compete in a Test Match. When the competition was first introduced in 1995 it culminated in a 5 match Test Series, but this often resulted in meaningless matches being played out simply to complete the 5 games, when one player had perhaps already won the series 3-0! Craig Heward has dominated this event. Since 1995 over 60 Test Series have been fought out, with Craig victorious in over 50 of them so far. In the 2001 season the format of the test series was changed. Instead of competing over one month, the qualifying stage is now two months, with each player playing each opponent eight times. The top two players at the end of the two months then competed in a three match Test Series. In 2003 the series was further revised so that each two month session culminated in a single Test match final. Qualification has also been modified. . Each weekly club meeting is now a 'Qualification Tournament' with qualifying points being awarded for your performance on the night - 1st = 3 points, 2nd = 2 points, 3rd = 1 point. Each player's four best performances from the 8 eight club meetings count towards their qualification. In 2004 it was decided to call a halt to the championship series - each eight week period is now used to rank players for the domestic cups.
The two players with the most improved monthly records competed in the 'Whitstable Cup', a one off handicap match, where upon scoring a team is reduced by two players. A match is automatically won if the last two outfield players are removed. Again, in 2001 this competition was changed as it was considered a little too silly to play a final under these circumstances. The "handicapping" nature of the competition has been retained, but there was now no final game played. Instead, at the end of each of the eight Championship series round robins, each player records one result - Steve Taylor gets his best result, Brian Barnes and Shaun Allison get their second best result and Craig Heward gets his third best (worst!) result. The winner is decided simply on a league basis. The "Whitstable Cup" gets its name from the Kent town of Whitstable. The Worthing Fivestar TFC played Whitstable in a inter-league competition in the early 90's and came back victorious!! The trophy gathered dust for a few years before being put to good use in this competition. The intention was to have a "handicapped" competition to allow the other members of the league to get their hands on some silverware, since the league was becoming a bit of a two horse race. This event was last played in 2001
2000 saw the introduction of a six-a-side Masters tournament, played on Woodentop Stada Pitches. This competition was given a more authentic feel by being based around veteran players, just like the real thing. Former fantasy favourites from the 80's and 90's plus current backroom boys are now seen adorning the green baize. The tournament is made up of four round-robin series, where everybody plays each other once. At the end of each series the winner is awarded four points, the runner up three points, etc. After all four series have been played, the winner will be the player with the greatest number of points (out of a possible maximum of 16).
The league has also adopted a new name. As so many different types of playing figure are now used within the league (Subbuteo (Hasbro & Parodi), Lunula (Sureshot & Advantage), Astrobase, Biemme, Toccer, SSTV Sports, Ultima Raptor) the name 'Worthing Fivestar Subbuteo League' seemed inappropriate. Therefore, the league was renamed 'Worthing Fivestar Table Football Club'. This also conincided with the weekly publication of 'Fivestar News'.
In 2002, the Worthing Fivestar TFC made a return to the UK competitive playing circuit - by playing in the London National Open. The club gave a good account of itself with Shaun Allison winning the Div 2 trophy and Brian Barnes taking the runner up slot in Div 3. This was also the beginning of the close links that have now developed between and Worthing and London TFC. In April 2003 and the London boys were invited down to Worthing for an inter club challenge match - they accepted the invitation and won! It is now hoped that this will become an annual event. Since 2002, the club has been represented at a number of national and international events including London, Wiltshire, Putney, Wolverhampton, Leeds, Peterborough and Prestatyn.
In the summer of 2003, Worthing hosted their own National Open Tournament - for the first time in ten years. The evnet was held at the Sidney Walter Centre in Worthing. The day was a great success, with other 30 players travelling to the south coast to take part. There was nothing but praise for the event - this has cemented Worthing's place in the English National Circuit. Worthing also competed in the 2003 London International Open - playing against and alongside some of the best players in the world was a fantastic experience for all the players involved - but none more so than young Fivestar player Matt Matten, who won the U15 cup. In 2005 the Worthing National Open moved to a new spacious venue - The Worthing Leisure Centre - in order to accomodate the large number of players that the tournament regularly attracts.
"Worthing is the most underated event in the UK and I can see this years event being even bigger and better than the previous events....and they were top notch."
- Nick McLaughlin (London TFC, August 2005)
The growth in members has also resulted in a change of tournament structure. A new tournament, the Fivestar Challenge Cup, has been added to the long established Clifton Cup and Knock out Trophy in 2004. The Fivetstar Challenge Cup will be a Swiss Ladder Event, with the top two playing off in a final. These three events will be played in the first half of the season, however, each will be preceeded by an eight week qualification period, which will be used to arrange the rankings for each event. On each qualification meeting, points will be awrded for 1st - 5th place, and at the end of the eight week qulafication period, each players best four scores will be recorded - this will then be used to rank the players for the event proper. The League will then be played in the second half of the season, with a first and second division running. Performance in the three domestic cups will be used to place players in the appropriate division.
2004 was an impresseive year for the club. In the last two years, club membership has risen from four players to thirteen! Four boards are now used on a regular basis and club nights are now very hectic. It seems that a number of local based collectors have now taken to playing the game - Peter Upton, Chris Stapleton and Ian Maskell - all of whom are welcome additions to the club. This new interest in playing from collectors meant that the 2004 Worthing National Open, also had a collectors fair running alongside it. Alongside these new players are a couple of talented young players - Matt Matten and John Wakefield. Both of these lads have the potential to go on to be something quite special. This influx of new players has really revitalsied the club. Shaun Allison also held a place on the ESTFA board in the 2004/5 season, as membership secretary.
The 2004/5 season was capped by long standing Worthing player Craig Heward winning the English National Circuit - this was down to consistent high quality performances at Worthing, Putney, London and Salisbury. Fellow Fivestar players have never doubted Craig's ability - it was great for Craig and the Club to see this rewarded with national honours.
To celebrate the end of a great year for the club - we hosted a friendly tournament - 'The Christmas Cracker' - one week before Christmas. This was a well attended tournament, played in a great spirit. Worthing player Shaun Allison won the event. It was hoped that this will become an annual event.
2005 has been another great year for the club. Two noteable new players have joined the club. Worthing based U15 player Brandon Lavender has improved massively in the few months that he been playing at the club. If he continues to play and improve at his current rate, he will surely be looking to beat the best players in the country in his age group. Maidstone based player Nicky Chappell has also made a huge impression on the club. His game has also improved rapidly since he has been playing at the club. In his first competitive tournament - the Yorkshire International Satellite - he reached the semi finals in the Veterans category - a great achievement for his first event. In the same season, Nicky also had noteable victories over seasoned players Tom Taylor and Colin Lewis at the Welsh National Open in Prestatyn. There is no doubt that these two players have the potential to represent England in their respective age categories. Other Worthing Players have also had a great season - Chris Stapleton continued to improve and was begnning to challeng the best players in the club. Veteran Dave Croucher continued to prove himself on the National circuit - most noteably by winning the Peterborough International Plate Competition.
At the start of the 2005/6 Shaun Allison stood down from his role on the ESTFA board, however, Club Chairman Brian Barnes was successfully appointed as Fixture Secretary on the ESTFA Board. On the Pitch, Brandon Lavender had a fantastic season - victories in the U15 Putney and Worthing Opens were good enough - however, the highlight of the season, was young Brandon being selected to play in the U15 England squad in the Worl Cup in Germany. This was an excellent achievement and made everyone at the club very proud of him. This made Brandon the first Fivestar player to get an England cap - the first of many no doubt!
The 2005/6 season also saw the resurrection of 'Fivestar News' - but in electronic version.
The 2006/7 season saw the dawn of a new era for the club. It started off very gloomily, with the departure of Worthing stalwart Craig Heward to Yorkshire Phoenix. Craig has been a loyal and well respected club member since 1982. However, last year his marriage to Caroline saw them starting a new life together in Yorkshire, hence the move to Yorkshire Phoenix. The club wish them both all the best for the future - Craig will be missed at the club. Chairman Brian Barnes stepped down from ESTFA, whilst Shaun Allison rejoined the ESTFA board as Southern Regional Director.
The major change for the club was this season begun with the new sponsorship deal with the San Siro Stadia Co. This resulted in a new name for the club - San Siro Worthing Fivestar. This relaunch of the club, which now had the backing of one of the most innovative and exciting Table Football equipment manuacturers in the world, attracted some high profile new signings for the club. In the summer of 2006, Worthing signed England internationals Chris Short, Chris Thomas and Peter Thomas, alongside Kasper Bennett, from EPL. These new signings caused a great deal of interest, not only within the Table Football fraternity, but also in the national media - there was an article in The Telegraph and an interview with new signing Kasper Bennett on BBC Radio 2.
The 2006 Worthing Open was also a huge success. Forty five players competed in the event, including a plethora of England Internationals and World No.1, Dutch Ace Eric Verhagen. Mark Adolph, son of Peter Adolph, was the guest of honour and presented the trophies to the winners. Mark was impressed to see how the game his Father had invented back in 1947 had moved on - he thought that his father too would have been impressed too. It was a great privellege to have Mark at the event. The event was again held in the excellent venue, the Worthing Leisure Centre, using the superb San Siro tables. Worthing did very well in the four events - Chris Short won the Open event; Brandon Lavender won the U19 event and Brian Barnes won the Plate. Dave Croucher reached the Veterans final, but was beaten by TSPA White Star's Jeff Jordan.
The Club currently meets on Wednesday nights from 7pm-10pm at Ian's house in Worthing, West Sussex. We are always interested in new players, so do feel free to get in touch.
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