Rob Atha
Encyclopedia
Rob Atha is a table football
/foosball player from the UK, currently ranked 3rd in the world and regularly ranking in the top 5 of the International Table Soccer Federation
(ITSF) rankings. As of July 2011 Atha was ranked number #1 in the UK on all of the official ranking BFA ranking lists, a position he has maintained for a number of years.
He won his first Open Singles title at a UK ranking tournament at the age of 13, at the Earl Haig in Hounslow
. This and other early tournament successes led to Rob being dubbed the "Wonderkid".
Also at the age of 13, Rob appeared on British children's TV show Blue Peter to show off his impressive skills and would return to the show some years later.
He became the ITSF Doubles World Champion in 2009 along with fellow UK player Joe Hamilton. Following on from this success, Rob appeared on various British tv shows including Newsround on BBC1 and gained his second badge for appearing on the television show Blue Peter
on 21 April 2009. During this appearance a clip was shown of his first appearance, which was made as a result of his initial foos exploits.
Rob has been sponsored by various companies such as energy drink giant Red Bull and Heineken beer who recently published video footage on youtube of Rob demonstrating various foosball tricks.
Table football
Table football, also known as gitoni or foosball, is a table-top game and sport that is loosely based on association football.-Names:...
/foosball player from the UK, currently ranked 3rd in the world and regularly ranking in the top 5 of the International Table Soccer Federation
International Table Soccer Federation
The International Table Soccer Federation is a non-profit organisation based in France that promotes table soccer. The ITSF endorses soccer tables that meet requirements for international competition....
(ITSF) rankings. As of July 2011 Atha was ranked number #1 in the UK on all of the official ranking BFA ranking lists, a position he has maintained for a number of years.
Overview
Born in 1986, Rob is the son of former British Foosball Association (BFA) Chairman Boris Atha.He won his first Open Singles title at a UK ranking tournament at the age of 13, at the Earl Haig in Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
. This and other early tournament successes led to Rob being dubbed the "Wonderkid".
Also at the age of 13, Rob appeared on British children's TV show Blue Peter to show off his impressive skills and would return to the show some years later.
He became the ITSF Doubles World Champion in 2009 along with fellow UK player Joe Hamilton. Following on from this success, Rob appeared on various British tv shows including Newsround on BBC1 and gained his second badge for appearing on the television show Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
on 21 April 2009. During this appearance a clip was shown of his first appearance, which was made as a result of his initial foos exploits.
Rob has been sponsored by various companies such as energy drink giant Red Bull and Heineken beer who recently published video footage on youtube of Rob demonstrating various foosball tricks.