"Foosball" Players from Around the World to Compete for Masters Title at Tornado Table Soccer Championships in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, GA – Even now, hundreds of athletes from around the world are training intensively to compete in a truly unique sports event: the Tornado National & Masters Singles Championships… of table soccer. Also known as "foosball," this tournament is one of the largest of its kind, and is set to take place June 18-21, 2009 at the Hilton Atlanta Airport.

All eyes will be on members of the U.S. National Table Soccer Team, as they face many top international rivals in singles events for the first time since the USA's decisive first place finish at the World Cup of Table Soccer held in France last January. Premier players such as world #1-ranked Frederico Collignon of Belgium, #2-ranked Chris Marks of Germany and many others are anticipated attendees, giving American "foosers" an ideal opportunity to revalidate their table skills against some of their most likely competition throughout the second half of the 2009 World Tour.

As an International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF) sanctioned tournament, competition is expected to be fierce. In addition to the tournament's cash and prizes, the top finishers in Open, Women's, Junior's and Senior's Singles will automatically qualify to compete as a member of Team USA at the ITSF World Championships Finals in Europe at the end of this year's tour. All participants in both Men's and Women's Singles and Doubles events will also earn rankings points towards expense paid trips to the World Championships.

The tournament is further sanctioned by the United States Table Soccer Federation (USTSF), and all competition will take place on Tornado Table Soccer™ tables, made by Valley-Dynamo, LLC of Richland Hills, TX. The event is open to all comers, with categories available for men and women and beginner through Master. There are entry fees for players who wish to compete in an event, but there is no admission fee to enter the tournament room. Most finals will be held on Sunday the 21st – both press and spectators are welcome to visit at any time.

Other ITSF 2009 World Tour events are scheduled for Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, the UAE and the UK, among many others. In fact, this year's tour may be the largest world table soccer pro tour ever!

For additional details about the event and the sport of table soccer, please see the following websites:

www.vifa.com - VIFA league and USTSA tournament information site
www.ustsf.org - USTSF official web site/U.S. National Team and tour event sponsorship opportunities
www.table-soccer.org - ITSF official web site/international rankings/news
www.foosball.com - General information about the sport of table soccer

For more information, photos, or for an electronic version of this release, please contact:
Brian Elliott, Tour Director, Tel: 1-800-544-1346; Email: info@vifa.com
Dave Courington, V.P. of Sales, Tel: 1-972-595-5311; Email: dave.courington@valley-dynamo.com
Larry Davis, Executive Director, USTSF, Tel: 1-563-580-9485; Email: larry.davis@ustsf.foosball.com

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