Success for Germany, Sweden and Russia in Minigolf Youth World Championships in Lahti, Finland.
The top youth Minigolfers competed in the Minigolf Youth World Championships at the Lahden Minigolfkerho club in Lahti with world titles decided in six categories.
The four-day event saw titles decided in strokeplay and matchplay events, among national teams and individuals for players under-19 years old.
Germany was victorious in both the boy’s and girl’s team tournaments, successfully defending the titles they won in Bad Münder, Germany.
Individual results
– Sebastian Piekorz of Germany won the male youth strokeplay title
– Jasmin Hansson of Sweden won the female youth strokeplay title
– Igor Pantelimonov became the first Minigolf champion from Russia when he won the male youth matchplay title
– Annika Dellmann of Germany won the female youth matchplay title
Further information about the event, including full results, can be found on the tournament website at http://www.minigolflahti.fi/index.php?id=56
Seventy-seven players from twelve countries competed in the event from Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Sweden in action.
One perfect round of 18-shots on the 18-hole Miniaturegolf course was recorded during the event, with Ondrej Skaloud of the Czech Republic achieving the feat. A total of nine rounds of 19 were scored during the tournament.
Pasi Aho, WMF Sport Director said "The Minigolf Youth World Championships were a great success. The minigolf facilities were in good shape and nicely challenging for the athletes. Many expected winners stood on the podium at the end, but the absolute highlight was the first ever international gold medal in minigolf to Russia with Igor Pantelimonov from Sochi winning the boys' matchplay title. It has been great to follow the development of the Russian youth team since the Youth World Championships in 2010 on home courses in Sochi. This shows what kind of boost a championship at home can give to a young minigolf nation."
"The Youth World Championships were the opener in a series of international minigolf championships to be held in the famous sports city of Lahti, Finland. The organisers and WMF received lots of valuable experience for the biggest event of the series, the World Championships for general class in 2015. Next year the number of participants will be twice as big as this year’s Youth Championship and this demands a bit different approach than the Youth Championships, with many more nations being represented at the event."
Four countries will host tournaments in the 2014 international minigolf season as European, Asian and World Minigolf Championships are staged in Finland, Germany, Iran and Sweden.
The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is the umbrella organisation of Minigolf sports association's worldwide and continental associations in Asia, Europe and America. The WMF currently has 46 member nations. There are four Minigolf systems recognised by the WMF – Concrete, Miniaturegolf, Feltgolf and Minigolf Open Standard (MOS).
WMF member, the USPMGA, is holding the US Open in New Jersey, USA this week, while the next big minigolf event in Europe is the EMF European Championships for general class players in Neutraubling, Germany from the 20 to 23 August.
For further information on the WMF and international Minigolf competitions please visit http://www.minigolfsport.com/
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