Another Slinging World Cup is in the books. I didn't make it out with a trophy.
Our man Channing over at Practical Paracord did well though. He won 3rd overall, and also got a 2nd place trophy for tennis balls (I think, it might have been stones). We'll have all the results as soon as Pep sends them out.
Here's some other stuff about this years event worth mentioning (and some other related stuff):
* I think it was mentioned that the Balearic tournament was happening on the same weekend in Mallorca. So we knew that all the top Spanish slingers were going to be there instead. But Pep said he was going to bring the best, and holy heck did he come through! There was a group of actual shepherds (slingers, obviously) from Malaga (city in southern Spain). They were all amazing slingers! Especially with stones. It was pretty incredible to see them. It made it very clear to see what results can come from slinging as part of your life's work. I have some clips that will be coming, and no doubt there will be some other videos too.
* Everyone (more or less, there were a couple exceptions I think) was in the same hotel. It made it very easy to bump into everyone at breakfast, dinner, etc. Easy to hang out in the evenings too because everyone was at the same place.
* The schedule was held to very well this year. We got it pretty late, I think it was sent out the day before, but it was followed. There is only one instance I can think of where we missed it. On Saturday we did our tennis ball rounds on a beach in Santa Eulalia. We got there a little late and were only able to do 10 tennis balls instead of the planned 20 (which was no big deal). Although slinging on sand take a little getting used to.
* Previous years had a total of 40 shots. 20 tennis balls and 20 stones. This year it was doubled. 40 shots of each. Although tennis balls ended up being 30 because of 10 that were missed on the beach.
* Apparently there were some complaints last year about people being intoxicated. So the slinging areas were dry this year (and likely for the foreseeable future). You could still have a beer or whatever. But you had to go outside the slinging area.
* This was the last year for slinging tennis balls at 13 meters. Next year it will be increased to 15 meters. Stones will remain at 20 meters. I think women/children will move to 13m, but not positive. It might be 10m for tennis balls and 13m for stones. We'll get more info on that.
* The time of next year's event might change. At the end of the day Sunday, Pep had a meeting with some of us at the hotel. He brought up the subject of moving the World Cup to the Spring. Somewhere in March - May. The reason is to avoid all the craziness at the end of the tourist season that happens in October. I think he might want to get the date away from the Balearic tournament as well, not sure. He also talked about having it somewhere other than Ibiza. Basically somewhere else in Europe. Nothing decided on that yet either. If anyone has any input about the time of year or a potential location, you can reach out to Pep. I can also forward any thoughts to him if preferred.
* And last, there are going to be a lot of tournaments next year. For anyone who travels around to them, we're going to have some tough decisions. The guys from Guam are trying to schedule a tournament, as are the guys from Austria. The Austrian tournament could potentially end up being the World Cup. Although take that with a grain of salt. No decisions, it was only mentioned as a possibility in the aforementioned meeting. Assuming those are different comps, we're also going to have the World Cup and the Balearic tournament. Some of us were talking about trying to get into the Balearic tournament in Mallorca. We will have a couple here in the States too. Channing will definitely be doing the Down South tournament again, and we need to get some guys out to IronGoober's distance competition. So a whole bunch of options. Unfortunately too many, because speaking personally I know I'll never be able to get to them all.
I think that's it. Maybe some more stuff if I think of something. Other than all the above, it was a great time seeing some familiar faces and getting to know folks a little better. And to meet some new people too. Having a central hotel for everyone made things much easier not only for hanging out with everyone, but also getting picked up by the bus.
I'll post the scores as soon as Pep sends them out.
Cheers folks!
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5th Slinging World Cup in Ibiza - 2024 (Read 1765 times)
