Buffalo’s Table Hockey Festival, Exhibits, and Championships

–Updated 02 November, Saturday

On November 2, the Player List below was updated.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — OCTOBER 10, 2019. The World Table Hockey Association (WTHA), published its list of players registered for the Professional Division of WTHA’s upcoming table hockey tournaments in Buffalo, New York, November 22-24, 2019.

Pro Division of Tournaments

To learn more about the Pro Division click here, or to go straight to Registration for the Pro Division, click here.

Amateur Division of Tournaments

There is also an Amateur Division, that newcomers, novices, those curious and more can compete for medals and prizes. To learn more about the Amateur Division click here. Or, to go straight to the Amateur Division’s Registration page click here.

Buffalo RiverWorks, Venue

Buffalo RiverWorks is the venue hosting the WTHA’s numerous events and activities. RiverWorks is located at 359 Ganson St, Buffalo, NY 14203. As the name implies, it is located on the Buffalo River, which flows into Lake Erie. Within walking distance is the home of the Buffalo Sabres, Key Arena. RiverWorks is also about four miles from the Peace Bridge connecting the USA and Canada.

– Wondering if the Venue Has Room for Hundreds of Players, Exhibits and the Public?

Photo from above at diagonal to audience during concert at Buffalo RiverWorks
Buffalo RiverWorks, Photo (C) by C.P. Abbott

We know RiverWorks can hold a lot of people, but suppose those of you from out of town do not know that. Well, it is said, a picture is worth a thousand words. Here you go!

Player List

– How Many Players Have Signed Up for the Tournaments?

Currently, there are twenty-five (25) thirty (30) players who paid and are registered for the Pro Division’s Table Hockey Tournaments. The Pro Division is limited to 64 players per tournament. There are four tournaments featuring the following table hockey games: Stiga, SuperChexx, SoHo “S” Classic, and SoHo “Pro.”

We have been told or maybe warned that many, many others are poised to register. So, if you have not registered yet, you might want to do so now! Click here to Register.

– How Many Out of Town Visitors Can Buffalo Expect?

Fifty-six percent (56%) As of 27 Oct., 70% of the players registered are traveling from out of town to visit Buffalo.

We wonder if other communities members of the Sports Events and Tourism Association (Sports ETA) in the USA or the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA) in Canada are reading this statistic?

The WTHA is a member of both Sports ETA and CSTA.

Avid Table Hockey players are traveling from as far west as California and Arizona! — as far south as Florida! –as far east as Connecticut! –from America’s heartland, Missouri! –and as far into the Great White North as Toronto, Ontario, and Montréal, Québec, Canada!

Europeans?

Maybe someone steps up to travel a little further, so our statement, “as far east as Connecticut” becomes something a little further like…eastern Europe? –Hint, hint.

Speaking of Europe…we received the following observations from Gustaf Hermansson, Sweden. For readers who may not know, the area of northern and central Europe and into Russia has a HUGE table hockey community and fanbase. Far exceeding that in North America. So, it is quite the compliment to have received his kind words.

Gustaf Hermansson, wrote, “I have to say that I admire the ‘festival and exhibitions’ part of this tournament. In Sweden where I live, we have a great tradition of table hockey tournaments.

Usually we just get to the venue, play the tournament (for several hours) and then we go home.  Of course we have a chat with other players (mostly the ones we already more or less know) between games or during breaks. But very much focus is on the competitive aspect. 

I have the impression that in North America tournaments are not only competitions, but also a great chance to hang out with other table hockey nerds 🙂

I guess we Swedes/Europeans can learn from you guys and maybe create more of events/festivals (rather than just tournaments), where we can offer some additional value apart from just competing.”

Thank you Gustaf Hermanson!

Hotels

If you are interested in attending, please continue to check this link to HOTELS for discounts. We have more deals coming and will post this weekend.

The Player List

27 Oct., Updated. Many people wanted to know exactly who is going to be in Buffalo, how many people are signed up for a particular table hockey tournament, etc. So, we added more categories.

An email went out 27 Oct., to players 1-24 to learn if they want to play in the other tournaments, as our original registration didn’t capture that information. It is the same price whether a player plays in one or all four of the Pro Division tournaments.

Like musicians in an orchestra, this is an opportunity for musicians of one instrument to meet musicians of another instrument. It can be argued audiences come to see whole orchestra, not just one section of instruments. Something to ponder.

There are players who have transferred a play from one game type to another. So, in addition to building friendships across game-types, Buffalo’s Table Hockey Festival presents an opportunity to cross-pollinate plays from one game type to another.