The First Annual U.S. Open Footbag Freestyle Championships (IFPA 
Sanctioned) is taking place at McCormick Place in Chicago (as a part of 
"Holiday Sports Festival"), Illinois on December 27-29 (This event may 
move around the country and not stay in Chicago every year). Actual 
competition will all take place on Saturday, December 28th.  Please join 
us on Friday the 27th of December for footbag exhibitions (including 
samples of the new event called Flow Freestyle, and its scoring 
system), demonstrations, clinics and random shred sessions all day. 
Saturday will be competition all day.  Sunday will be a big shred day!

The Mayors Office of Special Events is hosting this event, which will 
draw over 15,000 people each day with peak attendance on Saturday.  
They have included Footbag in their brochures, in the map, on the 
website and even in their promotional video that will air twice a day every 
day from December 1 to 29.  Air times to follow, it will be on our local 
Cable Access Channel in Chicago (ch.23).   The website for the Holiday 
Sports Festival is, http://www.cityofchicago.org/SpecialEvents/
SportsFest2002.html).  This is an 
event designed to introduce all kinds 
of sports to the general public, and each sport has an interactive area 
where kids can try them out.  Some sports also have major 
tournaments going on, such as Volleyball, Soccer and 3-on-3 
Basketball (and now, Footbag).  With Free Parking and Free Admission 
to the event, this is a great event to bring the family to (Derrick?), it's lots 
of fun for all!

We have a great sound system from Communications Direct, and we 
are working on stadium bleachers around our carpeted area.  Our site 
is right next to the BMX Bikes area, so we will be adjacent to a similar 
demographic.  This will be a great event, don't miss it!  
  
The past two years of this event have been strictly shredding.  This year 
we are inaugurating a long overdue national freestyle comptition, and 
dedicating Saturday to footbag freestyle competition, and we 
have plenty of events to run.  Free Novice Competition with plenty of 
prizes for just about everyone!  Intermediates and Pro's receive our 
players packs that will include a long sleeve shirt with killer art by our 
local artiste (and shredder), Air Zeke.  We get all the competition over on 
Saturday, so we can shred our brains out on Saturday night and 
Sunday!!!  No need to hold back!

This event is designed to be fun for the players, and exciting for the 
spectators.  And with over 20,000 people expected on Saturday, in half 
the space from last year (only the North hall will be used for the entire 
event), we are sure to have plenty of onlookers in our bleachers 
watching our show.  Please study the detailed schedule below to see 
how the event will run.

Please make Chicago your destination after Christmas and before New 
Years.
Mark your calendar, make plans and be there!

Free Parking  (Very Close to the Competition)
Directions/Parking Information: Directions to Lot A ...
Exit onto Martin Luther King Drive from I-55 northbound, turn left and 
follow the parking signs. 
From downtown, take Michigan Avenue, Indiana Avenue or State Street 
south to CermakRoad and turn left (east) to Prairie Avenue. Turn right to 
lot entrance or, take southbound Lake Shore Drive to I-55 South. Exit at 
State Street. Turn right and go three blocks to Cermak Raod. Turn right 
to Prairie Avenue and follow the parking signs. This lot is handicapped 
accessible to all buildings.  This lot is across from the Hyatt Hotel, but is 
probably not available for overnight parking (I'm checking on it).

Host Hotel: Hyatt Regency 
(Has a pool and is adjacent to the site via indoor walkways)
Call 1-312-567-1234 and ask for "Reservations"...
Tell them you are with the:  "Holiday Sports Festival Group"
Cut off date for reservations is December 6th.
Rooms are available for the nights of Dec 25th - 30th (but our event is 
Dec 
27-29, and no competition is happening on Friday the 27th, so that day 
is 
optional for competitors)
Rates have gone up a little bit over last year (but it's still super cheap), 
and be careful to tell them there will only be 2 people in the room, even if 
you will have 4 or more (but don't tell 'em I told you that)
$75 - 2 person
$95 - includes continental breakfast in restaurant (for 2)

$95 - 4 person
$115 - includes contental breakfast in restaurant (for 4)



In a nutshell, our schedule is:
Friday, December 27th: Clinics, Demo's and Fun
Saturday, December 28th: Freestyle Competition All Day - All Levels
Sunday, December 29th: Freestyle Shred sessions all day, Clinics and 
Demo's

OFFICIAL SCHEDULE:
Friday 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p.m. - Pre-registration & Shred All Day!
No Competition on Friday!
1:00 - Freestyle Competition Rules Clinic
2:00 - Novice Players Clinic (Improve your game)
2:45 - Freestyle Event Demonstration
3:00 - Intermediate Players Clinic (Q & A, plus skool school)
4:00 - Check into hotel.

Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 
Competition All Day Saturday!
10:00 - Check-in
11:30 - Players Meeting (Mandatory)
11:45 - Freestyle Demonstrations by top players (to set the mood)
12:00 - Intermediate Shred 30
12:30 - Novice Freestyle Circle Shreds, Round 1
 1:00 - Intermediate (1 Minute, 30 Seconds) "Composition" Routines - 
        (IFPA Worlds Style Scoring)
 1:45 - Novice Freestyle, Round 2
 2:00 - Intermediate (2 Minutes) Flow Freestyle (New event, see rules)
 2:30 - Results for Novice and Intermediate Announced
 2:45 - Pro Warm-up and Intermediates assemble for judging
 3:00 - Pro Shred 30
 3:30 - Pro Flow Freestyle (New event, see rules below) 
 4:00 - Pro Freestyle Routines
 4:30 - Awards Ceremony - All prizes and Prize money distributed
 5:00 - Shred 'til you drop!  No more pressure, the tournament is OVER!

Sunday - Noon - 5:00 
10:00 - The floor opens, but don't count on any shredding starting until 
noon.
12:00 - Shred floor is open to all.  Shred on! Four Square All Day Also!
 1:00 - Footbag Clinic for kids and spectators
 3:00 - Footbag Clinic for kids and spectators
 5:00 - Have a safe trip home!


Competition Format and Rules
Open - Shred 30.  30 seconds or two drops.  To provide "real 
time" feedback to the crowd, we are going to release unofficial scores 
after each competitor finishes.  The crowd will not understand 
"Uniques" 
and scoring adjustments, so we'll count adds as we go and announce 
those scores after each player finishes.  We will be video taping the 
open 
level players and will perform a complete scoring analysis after the fact 
to 
determine the true champion.  Same scoring methods as usual.

Intermediate.  Shred 30.  Most adds in 30 seconds.  We want to 
encourage the intermediate level players to keep the ball off the floor - 
and the best way to win this event is to keep the ball up (drops don't 
count as tricks and they waste time, so they hurt you a lot).  That said, 
we'll NOT be factoring in unique tricks nearly as heavily as for the open 
players.  Only if two players are dead even in scoring will we resort to 
considering uniques.  In other words, intermediate scoring will be 
based 
solely upon total adds performed in 30 seconds minus a substantial 
deduction for drops.  Your goal as an intermediate in this particular 
competition is to keep the ball up, and do your bread and butter tricks.

Novice Freestyle Circle Shreds. 
Round 1: Players are grouped into fours and all groups go at the same 
time on the main floor.  Players each shred until they drop ("the's" are 
ok) and pass to the left.  Play will continue for 10 minutes or until the 
judges have calculated who the best two from each circle are.  Two from 
each cirle advance to the next round.
Round 2: Players are placed in random order and each has :45 
seconds in front of judges to show who has the best combination of 
variety, difficulty and execution.
Everyone wins something!

Open and Intermediate FLOW FREESTYLE (New Event)
FLOW FREESTYLE (New Event)
Official Rules
Players supply their own music.  20 Points for Presentation, 10 Points 
for Execution and 10 Points for Composition.
Two Presentation Judges will give a point for each element of 
presentation they see in a routine, up to 200 and divide by 10 for a final 
score.  The two judges scores will be averaged for a total presentation 
score not to exceed 20 points. See Example A below.
One Execution Judge will deduct from the possible 10 points in this 
category, 2 points per Drop and 1 point per Slop.  A dropless and 
slopless routine will get 10 points with no deductions.
One Composition Judge will determine if the simple requirements were 
satisfied (the requirements are so easy to fulfill, we expect that everyone 
will get the full 10 points in this category) and will make deductions as 
appropriate.  See Example B for a more detailed explanation.

EXAMPLE A: (PRESENTATION JUDGING EXPLANATION)
Imagine a Presentation judge sitting there about to watch a 
routine.  They have a pen in their hand and a sheet of paper with a blank 
column for the player they are watching.  The judge is going to make a 
?hash? mark each time they see an element of presentation as listed 
below and by using their inner sense, or ?gut feeling.? When done, the 
judge simply counts the number of hash marks for that player, and 
divide by 10 to get a total score with a maximum of 20.  So if a player 
were to score 185 presentation elements in their routine, they would 
score 18.5.  The two judges scores will be averaged for a total 
presentation score.
	In the above system, JUDGES REWARD FOR EACH INSTANCE OF:
	Engagement with Audience
	Confidence
	Syncronization with music
	Travel in available space (we should make a recommendation for size 
of space)
	For mixing up the use of low, medium and high vertical space
	Creativity
	Originality
	Command
	Gut feelings
	Note: Judges will be rewarding points in this category for each instance 
of any of the above categories.

EXAMPLE B:	 COMPOSITION EXPLAINED
-Composition requirements are designed to be easily satisfied, easily 
judged and generally easy to max out for most players.
Requirements are:
5 Required Difficulty Strings worth 2 points each
- Each string is 4 contacts, each contact is minimum 3 adds
- Each contact is worth .5 point, i.e. a missed contact is a .5 deduction
- A deduction of .5 point is taken for bobbled execution of Difficulty 
Strings, in addition to Execution deductions which are separate.
- A deduction of 1 point is taken for each required string that is exactly 
duplicated in an attempt to qualify for the minimums.

This system allows for a low number of judges, no add counters (just 
need to verify that they hit their required difficulty strings) and fast results 
based primarily on Presentation issues.


Prizes
Open level.  80% of Open Entry fees go to the prize money pool, plus 
50% of the Intermediate entry fees.  Any additional funds from sponsors 
that are not allocated to tournament expenses will go to prize money as 
well.  We estimate over $1000 prize money.

Novice and Intermediates.  We'll have footbags and prizes for the top 
three places in each of these categories.

Women.  We have plans for separate categories in each division for 
Women competitors, we just need enough women to enter so we can 
justify a separate category for them (i.e. 2).  Prizes for all, or money if we 
are honored to hold a pro category for women.

Entry Fees 
Free Admission to the Holiday Sports Festival, and Free adjacent 
parking!
No charge for spectators (or for novice competitors)
Novice = Free, Includes Players Pack with No Shirt
Intermediate = $25 Includes Players Pack and Shirt
Professional = $50 Includes Players Pack and Shirt
Preregistration DOES NOT REQUIRE PRE-PAYMENT!  Simply reply by 
email that you will be attending (with your shirt size), and I'll make sure 
we have a long sleeve custom printed limited edition T-Shirt featuring 
artwork from local artist AirZeke ready for you to pick up when you 
register and pay on-site.

Other Notes
Every player will need to sign (or have their parent or guardian sign if 
you're under 18) a waiver.  The waiver is standard and basically 
removes 
liability from the event organizer (me) and from the venue.  If you are 
under 18, please print out the liability waiver below and have your 
parents sign it and bring it to the event with you.  If you are under 18, you 
cannot compete without consent of your parents.

All collected fees will be directly used to pay event costs.  The Illinois 
Footbag League will not profit in any way from this event, any proceeds 
will be donated to the IFPA.

*****************************************************************************
If you are under 18, make sure you print this out, get it signed, and bring 
it with you to check in.

WAIVER
                        Waiver For Participation
I, ______________________, hereby wish to participate in the U.S. 
Open Freestyle Championships at its set and agreed upon entry fee. I 
understand that this entitles me to participate in all events entirely at my 
own risk and cost. I also vow to conduct myself in such a manner that is 
within the guidelines set forth by the Footbag governing bodies. I 
understand and hereby authorize any party to use any and all film and 
video tape taken of me during this event, to be used for any purpose. In 
consideration of your accepting my (my child's) entry, I hereby, for myself 
(my child), my heirs, executors and administrators, waive and release 
any 
and all rights and claims for damages I (my child) may have against the 
Footbag governing bodies, the event sponsors, the event organizers, 
the 
Metropolitan Pier Authority, McCormick Place and their representatives, 
successors and, assigns for any and all injuries suffered by myself (my 
child) at any activity sponsored by these groups.

Printed Name_________________________

Signature___________________________

OR

Guardian's Printed Name __________________________

Guardian's Signature ___
_
________________________


If you are under 18, make sure you print this out,
 get it signed, and bring it with you to check in.
**********
***********************************************
********************

For more information and directions, check out: 
http://www.cityofchicago.org/SpecialEvents/SportsFest2002.html

Sponsors of the Holiday Sports Festival 
include:
Athletico 	
Chicago Transit Authority 	
Citysearch.com 
Coca-Cola 	
Communications Direct 	
ESPN Radio 1000 
Extra Bilingual Newspaper 	
FOX Chicago 
FOX Sports Net 
Hilton Chicago 	     
Hyatt Regency 
McCormick Place 	    
Ice Mountain Water Company 
Stepfamily Magazine 	
Chicago Sun-Times 	
WSNS Channel 44, Telemundo 

Our sponsors are:
Communications Direct
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, http://www.mccormickplace.hyatt.com/
Freedom Footbags, http://www.footbag.tv

Hope to see you there!

Best regards, 
Scott Davidson
enlightener@footbag.org