Novus

It is known that this game first appeared in 1925-1927 in Latvia and Estonia. The sailors, being in English ports in small zucchini, played a similar game there. And then, according to sketches taken from England, the first table was made in Latvia. Tables appeared in the ports of Ventspils , Liepaja , Riga and Tallinn , where the Novus game began to develop, as it was called in Latvia, or the corona, as it was called in Estonia.

The first tables in Estonia were 80x80 cm in size, and KALEV athletes competed in this game, but as a result of improving game practice, the table sizes were changed, and in 1929 the first industrial batch of sets of this game was released in the amount of 500 copies of 100x100 cm in size. that is the modern standard for gaming equipment. In the early years of this sport, there were no uniform rules. According to some rules, the winner is the one who for a limited time scored more pawns in the pockets, according to others - the one who scored all pawns in fewer hits. It was impossible to compare the skill of the athletes. Various options were combined into uniform rules, which first appeared in Latvia in 1932. Published them P. Tyutenikov. Then he wrote that this game in Latvia has been known for five years. The name has “novus” or “corona”, which once again proves the symmetry of the appearance and further development of this game in Latvia and Estonia.

The first professional competition was held in Riga in 1932. In 1940, sports sections of novus and coronas existed in most of the higher educational institutions of Tallinn and Riga, as well as in many large industrial enterprises.

After World War II , enthusiasts from the VEF factory began to revive the novus. The first Novus federation was formed in Latvia in 1963. At the same time, Novus was included in the register of sports of the USSR as a Latvian national sport. Male and female teams were created. The title "master of sports" began to be awarded since 1971. In 1980, 55 thousand people played in Novus sections throughout Latvia. Currently, regional, city, republican and international competitions are held. It is interesting to note that since 1993, Novus has remained in the top three most popular sports in Latvia.

Together with people from Estonia and Latvia, the game began to develop actively in America, Canada, Australia, England, Georgia, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Israel.

In 2008, the international federation of novus FINSO was created. At the end of 2012, it includes 6 countries: Belarus, Germany, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia. FINSO Applicant - UK. Since 2008, the European Cup for Novus has been held annually, consisting of 6–9 stages, taking place in all FINSO member countries.

The square-shaped game table is divided into four game zones, in which there are wooden pawns of two colors for each player. There are four pockets in the corners of the game table. Each player’s task is to drive their pawns, located at the opposite end of the table, into any of the four pockets using the game cue and the uterus cue ball . Pawn attacks are made in turn. The winner is the one who pushed all his pawns into the pockets first.

Novus combines such player skills that in other sports or games are shown only individually. Both two and four participants can play Novus at the same time.

For the manufacture of tables, real wood is used: a table is plywood with a thickness of at least 9 mm for standard tables and at least 15 mm for professional; a board is a knotless birch, beech or other tree that has similar properties. The sides should be grooved and have a groove for the plywood sheet. It is the groove joint and the side groove for plywood that allows the table to be a solid supporting structure. Tables are covered with special varnish in several layers - at least three.