The 6th Slinging World Cup in Ibiza will be on October 22-26.  It's certainly way too early to start planning, but I'm hoping to be there again.

The attached image isn't great.  I'll change it to the official flyer as soon as Pep sends that out.

---

Something else to note, last year the Balearic competition in Mallorca was held at the same time as the World Cup.  This year that won't happen.  The Balearic comp is the weekend before on the 18th and 19th.  So hopefully all the Spanish slingers will be back this year!

I'd love to do both comps but don't think I can be away that long.

Nice! Putting it on the calendar now!

Excellent. Hopefully will be able to make it again this year. It will be my 5th time attending.

Awesome guys!  Maybe this year we'll get a big crew built up again! :D

New flyer is posted!  I'm guessing we'll eventually get another one similar to last year that has all the competitions listed on it.  Probably not until we get much closer to the event though.

Some news on participants for this year's World Cup.  Pep sent out a message saying he had a meeting with the captain of the Almería (city in south-eastern Spain) sling team.  That crew will be at the WC this year.  I sent Pep a message and asked him about the shepherd slingers from Málaga who impressed the heck out of everyone last year.  He said those folks will be back too!

Sounds like the World Cup should be pretty competitive (and tough) this year!

Apparently Pep and his club on Ibiza broke away from the FBTF. Do you know why he did this? From what I've read in the article he posted and the protocols of the FTBF, it sounds like he didn't want to comply to the rules the clubs have established in the FTBF. And will this impact the world cup?

That's a question that could take pages to answer.  ;D
But let me try to provide some info.  There was a post on this forum about that separation.  It's here if you want to look at it (or you may have already): https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1636192449.  This indicates that Pep was not elected (re-elected?) as the president, and that's when the split happened.

That split makes things a little hard to track because names changed.  From what I can tell, what we might consider the first Slinging World Cup was still under the International Sling Meeting (specifically the 7th).  Here are the posts on that: https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1580141635 and https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1577049479.  That seems to line up because in the video included in the first link I provided above, Pep mentions that the event took place in Palma.  That was in 2020.

The second one in 2021 is the first one I see where the World Cup (Copa Del Mundo) was used, https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1617103242.  And then between that and the third year (https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1657804065) is when Pep and the Balearic Federation were officially separated.  So since the 3rd Slinging World Cup, it's been under Pep's control.

In regard to impacts we might see, I think it's already kind of happened.  The information I have on these things is minimal, but at the last WC Pep talked to us about his acceptance of different slings and styles that (according to some) don't really have a place in more traditional Balearic tournaments.  To be honest, I don't really disagree with that.  I understand the notion of holding on to certain historic traditions.  Just one quick example of this, I believe to compete at the Balearic tournament in Mallorca, you need to use a natural fiber sling.  I'm not 100% certain of that, so if I'm wrong someone please correct me.  But at the World Cup, anything goes.  As long as you're using a sling to throw a ball/stone at the target, any materials, types, and styles are fair game.  That's so individuals or groups coming in from around the world can do things in their own way instead of trying to adjust to the local way.

I know there's a lot more to it that I have no knowledge of, but the difference of opinion between adhering to certain traditions and expanding internationally to whatever might come along was part of the split.  I do remember someone saying once upon a time that Pep loves adding flags to the World Cup flyer.  While I think it's possible for anyone (meaning international people) to compete in the Balearic competitions in Mallorca, I don't think that's something that's really advertised anywhere.  Again, grain of salt because my knowledge is very limited.

Sorry for the long post.  Hopefully there was something interesting or useful in there. ;D

joe_meadmaker wrote on Feb 25^th, 2025 at 7:58pm:

That's a question that could take pages to answer.  ;D But let me try to provide some info.  There was a post on this forum about that separation.  It's here if you want to look at it (or you may have already): https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1636192449.  This indicates that Pep was not elected (re-elected?) as the president, and that's when the split happened. That split makes things a little hard to track because names changed.  From what I can tell, what we might consider the first Slinging World Cup was still under the International Sling Meeting (specifically the 7th).  Here are the posts on that: https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1580141635 and https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1577049479.  That seems to line up because in the video included in the first link I provided above, Pep mentions that the event took place in Palma.  That was in 2020. The second one in 2021 is the first one I see where the World Cup (Copa Del Mundo) was used, https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1617103242.  And then between that and the third year (https://slinging.org/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1657804065) is when Pep and the Balearic Federation were officially separated.  So since the 3rd Slinging World Cup, it's been under Pep's control. In regard to impacts we might see, I think it's already kind of happened.  The information I have on these things is minimal, but at the last WC Pep talked to us about his acceptance of different slings and styles that (according to some) don't really have a place in more traditional Balearic tournaments.  To be honest, I don't really disagree with that.  I understand the notion of holding on to certain historic traditions.  Just one quick example of this, I believe to compete at the Balearic tournament in Mallorca, you need to use a natural fiber sling.  I'm not 100% certain of that, so if I'm wrong someone please correct me.  But at the World Cup, anything goes.  As long as you're using a sling to throw a ball/stone at the target, any materials, types, and styles are fair game.  That's so individuals or groups coming in from around the world can do things in their own way instead of trying to adjust to the local way. I know there's a lot more to it that I have no knowledge of, but the difference of opinion between adhering to certain traditions and expanding internationally to whatever might come along was part of the split.  I do remember someone saying once upon a time that Pep loves adding flags to the World Cup flyer.  While I think it's possible for anyone (meaning international people) to compete in the Balearic competitions in Mallorca, I don't think that's something that's really advertised anywhere.  Again, grain of salt because my knowledge is very limited. Sorry for the long post.  Hopefully there was something interesting or useful in there. ;D

I also agree with you.

For the competitions I developed, one requires the use of natural fiber slings and projectiles, the other is open to any type of sling and the use of some exotic projectiles (ex: lead) not normally used in competition, if I can figure out how to get approval to use the bay(s) at the local gun range.

Reason for the difference is that the former would keep it more traditional for cultural competitions, like the Makahiki here in Hawai'i, or other Polynesian and Pacific games that utilize traditional elements and tools.

I would also love to ban tennis balls because they are the bane of my existence lol

Thanks for the info Joe!

Yeah, this is really helpful info. I had heard about some scuttles between the groups but never really had enough context to understand what was going on.

I've seen similar sorts of things in other niche hobbies I've been a part of in the past(yo-yo, for anyone who might be interested it's a ton of fun) and personally I think it's a good problem to have overall. It means there are enough people involved that feel strongly enough about their differing approach to stand behind it and build on it. Usually this benefits everyone by making the overall group bigger, even if there are some initial conflicts while the kinks get worked out.

I'm still gutted I couldn't make it last year. I'm really hoping to make it this year but I just can't make any promises. October is a difficult month to line up with the Finnish university calendar. I will be starting my Masters studies in the autumn so... I fear I'm going to be incredibly busy and unable to get away. I really hope I can manage it, but yeah we'll have to see closer to the time.

I was feeling depressed about missing Down South this weekend, so I booked my Ibiza flights  ;D

Any word on hotel yet? Maybe the same as last year?

Ah, jumping in early. :)

No, nothing on the hotel yet.  It will probably be a while before specifics start to come out.  I checked the messages from last year.  It looks like it was July before the location was announced, and August before Pep had things set up with the hotel so reservations could be made.

Have you established communication with Pep yet?  That's the first thing you'll want to do.  He'll add you to his WhatsApp group where all announcements are made.

Ha yeah I'm a planner. I would have booked when you first posted about it, but flights were pretty expensive then and fortunately have come down a lot.

I sent him an email a couple days ago asking about the hotel, no response yet. I'll try adding him on whatsapp, thanks!

Unfortunately I won’t be making it there again this year . I have 2 weddings that are scheduled the exact dates of the competition and I’m not able to get out of either .  Next year 2026 I might  hold an event in Australia in December if I can get something put together. .  And I’m also interested in attending one of the events either  the heritage cup in guam in march 2026,  Down south slinging contest 3 in may , goobers distance event , the Mallorcan  open competition or the World Cup in Ibiza.
There’s almost a world tour going now .

Aww, was hoping to meet you there this year! I'd totally be game for some down-under slinging next year though! Although I'm not sure how well I'd do slinging upside-down  ;)

@eric  Just fair warning, you may have minimal planning when dealing with Pep. He is a 'fly by the seat of the pants' kinda guy. He'll send details absolutely last minute. Seems like it is hit or miss if he is organized or not. I think 2024 and 2022 was better than 2023.

Ha yeah I got that idea from the last few years' threads. I'm all good as long as we'll have a hotel to go to, the rest I'm happy to do off the cuff. Gotta have somewhere to sleep!

erricrice wrote on Apr 29^th, 2025 at 8:16pm:

Ha yeah I got that idea from the last few years' threads. I'm all good as long as we'll have a hotel to go to, the rest I'm happy to do off the cuff. Gotta have somewhere to sleep!

In 2023, I landed in Ibiza not knowing where I was staying, or how I was to get there. ::)
Live in the present, and it’ll turn out fine.
Mañana is the Spanish way  ;D

Mersa wrote on Apr 28^th, 2025 at 11:36pm:

Unfortunately I won’t be making it there again this year . I have 2 weddings that are scheduled the exact dates of the competition and I’m not able to get out of either .  Next year 2026 I might  hold an event in Australia in December if I can get something put together. .  And I’m also interested in attending one of the events either  the heritage cup in guam in march 2026,  Down south slinging contest 3 in may , goobers distance event , the Mallorcan  open competition or the World Cup in Ibiza. There’s almost a world tour going now .

Are there wombats in the territory you plan on hosting in?

. [/quote]
Are there wombats in the territory you plan on hosting in? If I go to Australia, "meet a wombat" will need to be crossed off the bucket list before I leave.

Wanted to make it out to the world's this year, but I still need more practice.

Add Hawai'i to the world tour in the near future.[/quote]

As I understand it Wom is a sport played by people with sufficent time and intellect to understand the incredibly lengthy and hoplessly convoluted rules e.g.
" players may only take a tea break when the opposing team is constructing or has constructed their Matilda wither. Said tea may only be brewed in a standard issue billie. Choice of heating method is at the brewers discretion but should this entail conflagrations which accidentally (or deliberately) destroy any of the opposing teams offensive or defensive structures the match will be forfeit"

I understand the rules about bats are as complex as American baseball rules have been.

Good luck.

😁👍

xud9a - call me zud 👍 wrote on May 3^rd, 2025 at 11:31am:

.

Are there wombats in the territory you plan on hosting in? If I go to Australia, "meet a wombat" will need to be crossed off the bucket list before I leave.

Wanted to make it out to the world's this year, but I still need more practice.

Add Hawai'i to the world tour in the near future.[/quote]

As I understand it Wom is a sport played by people with sufficent time and intellect to understand the incredibly lengthy and hoplessly convoluted rules e.g.
" players may only take a tea break when the opposing team is constructing or has constructed their Matilda wither. Said tea may only be brewed in a standard issue billie. Choice of heating method is at the brewers discretion but should this entail conflagrations which accidentally (or deliberately) destroy any of the opposing teams offensive or defensive structures the match will be forfeit"

I understand the rules about bats are as complex as American baseball rules have been.

Good luck.

😁👍[/quote]


Wrong type of Wombat, Zud.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/10QeIV66dUxAgU/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952fki7vjegdqs9aa9o7tmnaw1146vns4m40tz1hqx1&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g

Damm, damm and damm again, so the fables of the furry haggis were true after all !!
😁👍👍

As a kiwi I couldn't let that Australian flag remain unchallenged ;D
I'm thinking of coming along as well, depending on costs etc

Won’t be there this year but be nice to have a fellow southern hemisphere  person to experience the distance traveled just to throw a few rocks.

I’m the Australian who put the flag on the championship

Well in that case I'm cheating a bit because I don't have to fly all the way from NZ, just over from mainland Europe ;D

There's also the Polish competition. I forget the organisers name but you can find them on YouTube. Uwe went to the last one.

Contubernium is the name of the YT channel. And he just joined the forum as well if you want to ask questions here.

My flights are booked.  Pretty much identical to the last two years.  I'll be arriving Wednesday a little after noon.  And flying back out on Monday morning.

I'll be in Tuesday and flying out Monday. Double layovers make for verrrry long flights, but it'll be worth it. See you there!

Definitely!  Looking forward to meeting you in person. :)

I almost forgot something else.  Assuming we don't get any others from the US (I know IronGoober is still on the fence), we'll still have enough for the team score.  It's broken up by country, and the team needs at least three members.  There's no additional slinging.  It's just the member's scores added up and another trophy is handed out to the top countries.  We were short last year because it was only Channing and me.

Likewise to you! And everyone else too, I hope we get a good turnout.

As for the team score, I'm not sure how much help I'll be but I am totally in!

My technique is still all over the place so I have some nasty bad streaks :D

erricrice wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2025 at 9:33pm:

As for the team score, I'm not sure how much help I'll be but I am totally in!

It's all good.  There's no choice. ;D
If Pep's doing it, everyone who qualifies is in.  So with three American slingers, we'll be in!  It's just another score tally of the rounds we do, so as mentioned nothing extra on our part at all.


And don't worry about performance.  There have been excellent slingers end up not doing so well, and some less-than-great slingers put up some nice rounds.  It's all about what you do when you step up to the line.  And being in the OSC is great.  Hands down the best training tool for the World Cup for those of us who aren't around other slingers.

New promo video for 2025 - some nice footage of last year!

@joe_meadmaker got some primo screen time :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ8AcCAbnQY

Ha!  That's pretty cool.

Pep sent this out.  The image isn't the best quality, but he's offering free hotel accommodations to winners of the Polish Sling Championship (I'm assuming winners even though it's not specifically stated) for the Slinging World Cup.

I don't know of anyone here this will directly effect, but I though it was a pretty cool thing for him to do.  I like the idea of attempting to get some crossover, and possibly establish a relationship.

---

Hey very cool! Yeah free seed for champs in local competitions makes sense. Maybe we gotta get him to do that for down south next year  ;)

Yes, judging by the description and the picture there are three "special invitations" that can be won at the Polish tournament.
I think this is a great idea from all sides!
It feels like this way participation in such large-scale events even becomes less unattainable.

erricrice wrote on Aug 25^th, 2025 at 7:56pm:

Maybe we gotta get him to do that for down south next year

He might actually.  Something to mention to him at the World Cup this year.



Pocket rock.et wrote on Aug 26^th, 2025 at 1:22am:

Yes, judging by the description and the picture there are three "special invitations" that can be won at the Polish tournament.

Good call.  I saw those cards but that meaning didn't even register for me.  ;D


In other news we got another member for the USA Sling Team!  I got a text from Channing tonight.  There's a guy named Jonathan from Alabama who was at the Down South Tournament both years.  He's coming to Ibiza!  The US team is now at 4 members!


Anyone else here know yet if they're going to make it.  I've got a couple guys in mind who reside in the UK...  ::)

For anyone who's not already in the whatsapp group, I got a message from Pep yesterday with the details on the hotel:


Quote:

Hello Slingers, Here I sent you the email for the hotel reservation. Is at the Hotel  Ibiza Playa. Is in Ibiza town infront of the beach. The cost of the rooms are special. Send email to Misses Fina: Ibizaplaya@verserhoteles.com Subject: Slinging World Cup With copie to me, but only the finale reservation: pepribasribas@gmail.com Its a 10 minutes from the centrum. The Ibiza playa will have open until Octuber 28. You better take the room with breakfast and dinner, llunch we eat out side all together. The costa is: 065 € For a single rooms. 110 € For a double room. 155 € For a triple room. Thanks Pep Ríbas Ribas

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This is a good check.  If you're going to the Slinging World Cup, but didn't get the hotel post from Pep, you're not in his World Cup group.  The flyer on the first post of this topic has his Whatsapp number.  Message him and ask him to add you.  That's how he does all his communication.  Even during the World Cup when we're all there, he'll send notifications about meet-up times, where the bus is picking us up, etc.

I hope you guys have fun, I won't be able to come this year after all.

We've reached that time!  I'm packing up right now.  Sorry to all the folks who wanted to go to Ibiza but can't make it.  We'll hopefully see you out there for another World Cup.  We'll have pictures and stories for everyone in a week.

Safe travels to everyone all over the world!

Good luck, Joe!

The 6th Slinging World Cup is in the books.  I got back home around 11:30 PM last night.  Great time, as expected!  Here's some recap:

We were all at the Ibiza Playa Hotel again.  It's so great having everyone at the same hotel.  It's easy to meet up with the other slingers and run into people randomly.  That's been the hotel twice in a row, so I won't be too surprised if Pep keeps using it.  It's a really nice place and very close to the airport, so no complaints from me.

I got there on Wednesday and that evening we went to the practice spot for stones at Sant Josep.  Channing won the practice competition there.  The only strange thing is the mosquitoes were really bad there this year.  I don't remember that happening before.

On Thursday we did some tennis ball slinging at a couple different schools (to show the kids).  I'm not sure what was done after that because I took off with some of the Austrian guys and we went a bar called Raco Verd for dinner and a whole bunch of drinks.

On Friday we had a speed round (just the most points you can score in 1 minute with tennis balls) and a practice tennis ball tournament.  Pedro from Málaga won the speed round and Jamie from Colorado won the tennis ball comp.

Saturday was all the tennis ball competition for the World Cup at Plaze Reina Sofia.  The whole thing was basically broken into two separate competitions with 20 balls each, so 40 total.  I say broken into two separate competitions because there was a trophy at the end for each group of 20.  At least I think.  The trophy ceremony was weird.  They didn't have some of the numbers tallied yet, so some weren't given out during the ceremony.  And the guys from Menorca had to leave to catch their ride home, so they were gone very early.

And Sunday was the stone rounds at the archery facility we always use out there.  Can't remember the name of it.  The total shots was the same, two competitions of 20 shots each.  It was a big change in the weather on Sunday.  The temp dropped to high 60s (F) probably.  And the wind was really blowing.  We had some gusts that had to be 40 MPH or more.  Everyone was freezing and bundling up with jackets and whatever they had.  I was loving the change though.  That was literally the only day I wasn't sweating like crazy. ;D

A couple other things to mention.  We didn't move back to 15 meters for the tennis ball range.  It was still at 13.  I don't know if it will back up to 15 next year or not.

The champion of the whole thing was Raul from Menorca.  2nd and 3rd place were two of the shepherds from Málaga.  Those guys were all still killin' it.

There were a bunch of new faces this year.  A few new guys from the US.  There were a few guys from the Polish Sling Championship too.  They were all really great slingers.  The legend Luis Pons Livermore was there, so got to meet him and see him sling in person.  I've seen that guy sling on YouTube videos lots of times.  Seeing it in person is crazy!  I also got to meet David Morningstar for the first time, which was awesome!  So great to hang out with him after all the interaction on the forum.

And the last thing, I didn't record enough video to actually put a YouTube video together.  But there are a few clips I want to share so I'll cut them together and put it up unlisted (and share the link here).

That'a about it for me.  Some of the other guys will likely be dropping in there thoughts.  Our member erricrice was there too (also awesome to meet him and hang out).

Yeah just got home myself, very nice recap, thanks Joe! That bit you missed Thursday afternoon when you went out for dinner was that we went to Sant Josep for a quick stone competition of 2 rounds.

It was great being able to meet everyone in person! Everyone in the group is fantastic, very friendly and of course tons of great slingers. Agreed on all being at the same hotel. Super convenient, and always someone around to hang out with and talk slings on the small bits of downtime we had.

I didn't get a ton of video, but I did get some nice slow motion of a couple guys and one of Pedro's winning speed round so I'll get that up on youtube and link it here. I know Channing's got a crap ton of video with his 360 camera, but I imagine it'll take him a bit to go through it.

Raul won! That's great. Thanks for the recap gentlemen! I hope I can go again, it just didn't work out this year.

Alright here's what I've got! Some videos and random photos from our various locations. And of course the slingers's paradise stone beach!

The winning speed round:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQgBQRygIGk

Some slow-mo of various incredible slingers from the week:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JET8KABVpUg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwReh72r31E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oBnsGftU3M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiIWGaY62RA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nozsHd6O64M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqsV-3MC9Es
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYryfZHQ9pE

The chamorro sling training drill (a count-off to help beginners learn to time their throws well). By the way, the kid's competition this year was absolute fire. All three were amazing slingers and kept one-upping each other for first place as the competition went on. They each got at least one well-deserved first place trophy. Their excitement for the sport was hugely contagious for the whole crowd!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRXWLgX5Hno

And lastly, we had some fun at the trophy ceremony ;D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAy4wT6qJGk

---

erricrice wrote on Oct 29^th, 2025 at 3:54pm:

The winning speed round:

Wow, he has some pretty consistent throws!
Thanks for the photos and videos, it was interesting to watch.
I hope there will be more material. :)

An article on the event with the list of winners (with scores) for men, women, and juniors.

https://esportbalear.com/6a-copa-del-mundo-de-tiro-con-honda-ibiza-del-22-26-octubre-2025

Looks like an absolute blast! I will have to try make a return next year. Hopefully will have a less crazy work schedule then...