An early mention of an international tiddlywinks association was found in a letter from Peter Downes, the Secretary of ETwA, to David Hirschfeld of Harvard’s Gargoyle University Tiddlywinks Club. According to that letter, dated 5 April 1963:
I have been giving serious consideration to your request to become affiliated to the English Tiddlywinks Association, and have decided that the best thing to do would be for you to found an American Tiddlywinks Association, which could then in its turn become a member of F.I.Tw.A. (the Federation of International Tiddlywinks Associations). This new body, which is not officially in existence yet, is now required to meet the expansion of Tiddlywinks throughout the world. We intend to set up F.I.Tw.A. at a Tiddlywinks Congress this summer, details of which are enclosed.
This Second International Tiddlywinks Congress was held on the weekend of 15-16 June 1963, at the Cobden Hotel on Hagley Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. According to the program for this congress, attending were winker delegates representing ETwA (including Peter Downes), Bristol, Aberdeen, Gipsy Hill, Cambridge (including long-time winker Charles Relle), London, Altrincham Grammar School, George Dixon's Grammar School in Birmingham, Manchester, and Belfast. The first day was devoted to talks and discussions including “Tiddlywinks–the past, the present, and the future”, “The financial position of Tiddlywinks”, and ETwA's new constitution. After dinner, a tiddlywinks tournament was held along with attempts at breaking records.
The second day, 16 June 1963, focused on discussing “International Tiddlywinks and the possible creation of F.I.Tw.A.", "International matches and Tournaments”, and “International Rules, interpretation and clarification”. It was on this day that IFTwA was founded through the approval of the following motion:
That an International Federation of Tiddlywinks Associations be formed, consisting of a Secretary-General plus one representative from each National Tiddlywinks Association, for the purposes of encouraging the enjoyment and development of tiddlywinks throughout the world, and arranging international events. This body is responsible for the International Rules.
A month later, on 31 July 1963, Guy Consterdine, the new ETwA Secretary, wrote back to Dave Hirschfeld:
Have you followed up [on] Mr. Downe's suggestion of taking the initiative in calling a conference to set up an American Tiddlywinks Association? I feel sure that this is the way for tiddlywinks to develop: as interest in it grows in a country, it becomes necessary to create a National Tw Assn), for the sake of internal efficiency; this can then join the international body, I.F.Tw.A. (International Federation of Tw Assns), which was brought into being at the Congress in June, by the English, Scottish, and Irish Tw Assns.
A Constitution for IFTwA was drafted and proposed by the Irish Tiddlywinks Association, as reported in Winking World 15, July 1969, page 1. This proposal and others (including disbanding IFTwA) were discussed and voted on at the Sixth International Tiddlywinks Congress held at Manchester University on 18–19 April 1970.
... the Irish Tiddlywinks Association proposed that Congress set up a new International Federation of Tiddlywinks Associations. Congress consented 27 for and 11 against. The Constitution for the new Federation was determined by a discussion of the draft proposal made by Ireland.
IFTwA Secretary-Generals
The head of IFTwA bears the title: Secretary-General. Following is a list of known IFTwA SecGens:
- Rick Tucker (NATwA), 2010 to present
- Nick Inglis (ETwA), from around Spring 1996 to 2010
- Jon Mapley (ETwA), from 1990 or earlier to around Spring 1996
- Dave Lockwood (NATwA), from 17 July 1976 to 8 September 1987
- (vacant as of January 1975)
- Martin O’Shea (IrTwA) from 1 October 1970 to (unknown)
- Nigel Shepherd (ETwA), from 4 April 1965 to 18 April 1970
- Norman Bardsley (ETwA), from 16 June 1963 to 4 April 1965