It is with great pleasure that I invite all Gateball teams, from whatever country they may come, to participate in what will be the second Swiss International Gateball Championship to be held here in Geneva, Switzerland. The first, was way back in 2013, when Gateball had only just made its appearance in Switzerland, since then we have steadily progressed in the development of this sport, both here, and Europe in general.

Through this tournament we aim to demonstrate that, yes, we have progressed, but still have a long way to go. We need further inspiration, encouragement and competition with those who have been playing for many more years than ourselves.

We do not wish to be isolated from the much wider world community of Gateballing Nations, we want to embrace them and play our part in the future of this truly equal opportunity sport, in which there is no restriction of age, gender, or belief. A fully integrated sporting society which prides itself on bringing people together in a friendly atmosphere of camaraderie.

The format is ‘Classic’ with teams of 5 players, and while it is preferable to have teams that are representative of one Nation, they may also be composed of a mixture of Nationalities as wasour ‘Gateball Friends’ team in the recent Thai Gateball Championships.

The event is organised and hosted by the Swiss Gateball Association in collaboration with both the CERN, and Swiss Croquet Associations. As such you will have the opportunity to visit the CERN Research Installation and try your hand at croquet, the forerunner of Gateball itself.

The Tournament will be played on the lawns of the CERN Croquet Club which offers an excellent surface on which to play, maybe too perfect !!. However it is limited in size, only allowing for 3 Gateball courts, although possibly a fourth with a squeeze.

I believe this is sufficient for easily handling a Championship of 12 teams, and maximum of 16.

The format of the Championship will be initial ‘round robin’ Blocks, with each team playing one game against the other teams in that block, followed by ‘knock out’ games leading toChampionship Final and Championship positions. Aiming to have as many games as possible.

All matches will comply with the 2015 Official Rules of the World Gateball Union. The referees will be the players themselves under the supervision of a nominated Referee of the Tournament.

The Registration fee for each participating player will be 60 Swiss Francs, which will cover all food, water and soft drinks throughout the Championship days.

Attached you will find a schedule of the Event, a Registration Form, and suggested Hotels.

Deadline for submitting your team’s Registration form is the 30th June, but at this time I would appreciate it, if you can inform me as to whether you are at least considering participation in this event, and if you require any additional information.