HO 2011 in english and other languages

[georgy]

Hmmm, bad news!

Should not you try to advertise the tournament a bit more?
Or is it too late anyway? (I guess airplane tickets are going to be expensive 3 weeks before the tournament)

How many Finns do you think there will be? Did you find any "new blood"? 

I feel bad that you will have to speak in English just for me !!!
My finnish is not as good still!

Anyway even if we are a few we are certainly going to have fun and hopefully sauna afterwards (... with chicken wings  )

[Rossonero]

Maybe we should advertise. But we've had interest as before. It's just that most people can't make it after all.

I think the main problem is that this time of the year is not so good to get people here. Too many "rival" tournaments. For example the germans have their big non-FISTF tournament a week after Helsinki Open, and they have a lot of organising there.

I hope we get many finns at least. On Saturday we'll have a bigger tournament, but some of the newer players only play Saturday. Pasi is also trying to get his 2 friends to come. They started playing this winter. And at least one new player from Jyväskylä is coming.

Most certainly we'll have a brilliant tournament with lots of fun. As always!

And Sauna afterwards. About chicken wings, I don't know, but we can bring a bottle of Tabasco to spice things up!

Have you booked flights already? What is your schedule, do you only stay a couple of days?

[AriFerra]

we can bring a bottle of Tabasco to spice things up!

This is better: Blair's 16 Million Reserve
http://www.scottrobertsweb.com/scoville-scale.php
http://www.poppamies.fi/product_info.php?products_id=255

[georgy]

I arrive thursday night 23:59  
and I fly back on Monday at 6pm.
We have taken the decision to move to Finland, but we need to find job  
I do not know how easy-difficult it is at this point because of the global crisis.
It would be easier to do the searching from there than here.
Anyway, I guess it will also be a good opportunity to discuss with all of you in person
the possibilities to find job in Finland. It's a big step for us because we pay house loan here in greece and I have
a permanent teaching position, so it is not easy to leave everything behind without securing jobs first.

Vesa send me your mobile   (not mob) number!

[Rossonero]

Great news! Three danish players are coming to Helsinki! Anders Buhl Hansen, Kristian Staal Nielsen and Rasmus Fini Lund will play in the open category on both days. It's brilliant, because we can also discuss with them about the possibility of more co-operation in Scandinavia.

[Rossonero]

Daniel Fox from England is coming, too. He'll play only on Saturday or Sunday, not both.

[georgy]

Excellent news about the foreigners!

Just 2 comments, because I checked the site.
1) My team name is "Olympia CS" not "ITEC Olympia" anymore
2) You put the same ranking for me in Veteran and Open category. In veteran cat. I am much lower

Why Karhunen's name is not there? He is not coming?
Are you going to have veterans competition or not? (Hopefully yes  )

Vesa, I guess your mobile number is the one you have posted in the site?
I might need to contact you on Friday.

Can you please tell me again the bus stop (name, buses which go there etc)?
I haven't arrange yet where I will stay (possibly Myyrmaki near Louhela station).
I will inform you when I finalise things.

Cheers!

[Rossonero]

1) My team name is "Olympia CS" not "ITEC Olympia" anymore
2) You put the same ranking for me in Veteran and Open category. In veteran cat. I am much lower

Will be corrected. I'll check the information on the site during the weekend.

Why Karhunen's name is not there? He is not coming?
Are you going to have veterans competition or not? (Hopefully yes  )

Veterans will be played on Saturday (GP), but most probably not on Sunday. If we get 4 vets for Sunday, we can think about it.

Last information is that Karhunen is not coming. But there is still time to register, so I don't know the final participants yet.

Vesa, I guess your mobile number is the one you have posted in the site?
I might need to contact you on Friday.

I'll send it by pm to you.

Can you please tell me again the bus stop (name, buses which go there etc)?

You can choose the stop "Tilkka" or the stop "Ruskeasuo". Tilkka is closer to the city center. They are about the same distance from the venue. Below the schedules for Ruskeasuo stop.

http://aikataulut.hsl.fi/pysakit/fi/1160207.html

[Zinga]

Draw for GP:

GROUP A   
   PAPADOPOULOS, George (GRE/ocs)
   REPO, Arto (FIN/-)
   NEVALAINEN, Mikko (FIN/lyn)
   GRÖNFORS, Kai (FIN/sis)

GROUP B   
   SIHVOLA, Teemu (FIN/sis)
   DE BRUIJN, Sami (FIN/-)
   LUND, Rasmus (DEN/ode)
   PIETILÄ, Pasi (FIN/-)
   
GROUP C   
   KOUVONKORPI, Vesa (FIN/hes)
   KATILA, Henri (FIN/psk)
   BUHL HANSEN, Anders (DEN/ode)
   HANTUNEN, Jarkko (FIN/sis)
   
GROUP D   
   SIHVOLA, Juho (FIN/sis)
   KATILA, Petri (FIN/psk)
   KATILA, Miko (FIN/psk)
   STAAL NIELSEN, Kristian (DEN/ode)

A1   -   C2
B2   -   D1
C1   -   A2
D2   -   B1

[georgy]

Back to Greece!

Just a few words from me!
First I want to thank you all again for the weekend (games-fun-sauna-"gay friendly" atmosphere   )
As you understand I am very happy because in my 3rd visit I managed to win the GP, and I think Pasi (Vesa said that he donated the trophy)  
should know that I appreciate it's value-symbolism much more than the "average" foreigner.

Next year I am certain that you will have at least 30 participants (this should be your goal  ) which I think is an easy target, because everyone who visited has enjoyed the tournament.
If I am not there for good I will certainly try to come, and hopefully bring more with me. What Vesa proposed about staying in the school premises could increase the possibility for people
coming, since the flying tickets are expensive so Greeks find it difficult to come.
I also think that if you plan it ahead, you could try to organize a team tournament, think about it.

And a few comments-advice from me about individual players. I already think that your level is getting better and better, so only small details make the difference.

1) Juho. He plays well in defence, and does not make mistakes when he has the ball. His disadvantage is the poor shooting. I think he should try to concentrate there. He lost against Lund because he did not
take advantage of his chances. I think (am sure) that his long nail makes it more difficult to chip the ball, as well as have strong shots. On the other a long nail has some advantages!

2) Kaitsu. I played him twice. Both times he gave me presents! 1st time he lost the ball in his defence and I scored and he also did a penalty (I lost it but the penalty itself was BIG mistake for no reason)
2nd time he tried something almost impossible instead of the obvious, I got a free kick, scored -> 3-1, instead of the fragile 2-1.
We are almost at the same level, so these mistakes are a definite factor for me to win. Still, from last year he has certainly improved! And I think that since his team shoots very well (I was amazed about the
way it chips the ball!) he should also concentrate on shooting, because he also has long nails which make it a bit more difficult to find the correct technique. On the other hand the bases makes it very easy to shoot well.

3) Kari. He has improved (at least from my point of view) comparatively the most. I played him, and I was the ref when he played Juho. He does not lose the ball easily any more, he creates more chances, and I think that he has to be more confident about himself and his abilities.

4) Vesa. I made 2 big mistakes in the tournament. One against him that I did not finally pay and one against Kristian that I paid! I am amazed that against Lund he lost comparatively easily, while with me
it was very tight, especially the second match. I think probably it might mean that my playing style fits his more than Lund's. Our first much was a bit crappy at the beginning, and I just won because I was more experienced. In the 2nd I scored in less than one minute and it was a huge mistake that instead of trying to "press him" mentally, I relaxed a bit, so he managed to score and then it was quite open.
He also plays better than last year and I think he also has to concentrate a bit on his shooting (when the ball is still).

5) Teemu. He is certainly the most experienced of all tactically. I think at this level he should try to spice up his game with a few different "moves". When he was down against me  he started playing faster, which
was good and he almost could have scored in the end of the 1st half, because of this. I think a good player should be able to combine both slow and fast pace and alternate.

About me (from my point of view). I write the following in case they might be of help to any of you.
On Saturday against Vesa and Teemy and Anders, they all had first a chance to score first. Things would have been different!!!
About Anders, I think it might not be a coincidence (as the Danes said) that he has not won a tournament. Against me he had a huge chance since I had to play with a different team than the one that I use.
I was very bad in the beginning and he lost 2-3 chances, but since the time that I scored he got very stressed and made mistakes. In the second half he did not have a real chance and he only scored 20 secs
before the end when I was certain winner and did not try hard any more. Actually this was the only goal that I conceded on Saturday!!!

The funny thing is that on Saturday overall I played worse than on Sunday (more mistakes) but still I won! This is something you all should take it into consideration!
On Sunday overall I felt that I played better, I had the control of the matches. I prefer generally not to try many difficult shots rather than a few but with better chances of success. This on the
other hand might mean that I might lose the ball when trying to create the "better chances" instead of shooting! Others prefer a different approach.
My 2nd goal against Kaitsu on Sunday was scored like that, and I was really proud about it, because I kept calm (I had the ball for long time) and tried to shoot with a better possibility of success.
Think that if you play against a player who is supposed to be the favorite, then the longer you have the ball, the more stressed he becomes. So do not give him presents! And a difficult shot with small
chances of success is usually a present!

My 2nd big mistake, which cost my the final on Sunday was very big, and it was a real lesson for me, which I hope that I learned!  
I had (in the 2nd half) the possession of the ball most of the time against Kristian, because I did not want to give him chances, since he was the underdog (at least I thought so).
He was clever enough not to play me the way I show him playing with others (fast etc). Against a good player this style is risky if you are not a top defender. On the other hand if you are Flores it is
ok  
So finally I managed to score less than 3 mins before the end. My mistake? I thought it was over, because I thought that he (as the underdog) would not have real chances.
And it was true! He lost the ball  almost immediately. I got the ball 2 mins before the end. At this point, any experienced player has won the match 100%. My mistake?
I thought "ok lets play fair", so since Kristian moved his player from the defence and let me shoot!!! I went for it! MISTAKE!!!! I shot on the post, and he got the ball, and he score 20 secs before the end.
As my teamate Kechris said to me today, I would have been "unfair" if I would spend 5 secs for each move. If on the other hand the defender does not press you, then you should play the ball around.
I should have tried for example not to shoot from far but shoot from near in order to get a corner.

I said all this in order to give you an insight and hopefully help the less experienced players, not make similar mistakes.
You are allowed to make these mistakes ONLY against me  

Once more, thank you all for the tournament, CU soon!

[Zinga]

Yrjö, Thanks! Your wisdom is very welcomed. Next time I only play fast against you. 

[Epis]

Thanks George! I already wrote (in finnish) that i made so bad mistakes that i kinda felt embarrassed. I also wrote that i was more than pleased about the advices and help that you and the danes told me. Hope to see you and next time we meet you won't get away so easily as those the presents i gave to you last weekend will be last presents (yeah right, but atleast it hope so)!

We were also wondering would it be possible to advertise Helsinki Open as a gay-friendly tournament/happening. Hönkki was against it, even tho he's the guy who tries to make eye contact with others while eating a banana.