Welcome to the IFPA Newsletter for June, 2106.
Welcome to a new footbag newsletter from the International Footbag Players Association (IFPA). We will be looking to keep you up to date through a weekly online newsletter with upcoming events, results and a look to players of the future and some from the past as well. Each issue of the newsletter will have some footbag trivia questions for you to answer.
Look forward to kicking in the future! Daniel Boyle Education Director IFPA
Upcoming Events
This section will cover a variety of jams and tournaments around the world, taken from the events page on footbag.org as well as other channels such as the Modified footbag forum as well as various social media platforms.
June 11 – 20th Annual Kansas Footbag Open
Net, freestyle, consecutives and golf in Goddard, Kansas. This is one of the longest running annual events. The major footbag events are coming up, with the trio of Euros, the US Open and the World Championships.
June 17-19 – 18th European Footbag Championships
The European Championships will be held in Frankfurt, Germany. Frankfurt was host to the 2006 World Championships and will see Europe�s finest compete in freestyle and net events.
June 25-26 – US Open Net Championships
Net and freestyle will have separate events for this year’s US Open, with the net events being held in Portland, Oregon. Portland will play host to next year’s World Championships, 45 years since the birth of the sport, and 20 years since the 1997 event.
July 2-3 – US Open Freestyle
The US Open for freestyle will be happening in Boise Idaho, with the Boise Footclan now hosting stars such as Evan Gatesman, Nick Landes and Jim Penske.
July 31 – August 6 – World Footbag Championships
After a successful edition in Copenhagen, Denmark, the World Footbag Championships will return to Europe, hosted in Trnava, Slovakia. This will be the first time Slovakia has hosted Worlds. The city will be able to count on government support, thanks to Mayor Peter Bročka.
Recent Events
The 17th edition of Todexon, the traditional Czech tournament was held as part of the Urban Cultura Games event, focusing on a wide variety of underground sports. Jindra Smola won routines, while Poland’s Rafel Kaleta brought home a bunch of medals including wins in Sick 3 and 4 Square.
In France, Arthur Ledain took out singles at the Championnat de Footbag de France 2016 beating Jean-Francois Lemieux. Jean Francois got the gold in doubles alongside Sebastien Maillet.
The PSU Jampionships has become a regular feature on the US footbag calendar, with the return of Nathan Pipenberg from New Zealand and visits from Canada’s Jorden Moir and Johnny Suderman a reason to celebrate. Kevin Hogan won the request contest, Cass Taylor the mirage race, and Nathan Pipenberg was best in Tiltless til you Drop.
Later in May, a small contingent gathered in Lake Erie for the net tournament there, with Daniel Greer taking the spoils, winning singles and then partnering up with Rob McCloskey for victory in the doubles.
Footbag in the News
Gizmodo was impressed by the skill on display in footbag routines, however the writer could have spent some more time researching before awarding the title to “Milan Brenda”
For Spanish speakers, there is a great article on Paloma Mayo and her quest to defend the Routines title won in Copenhagen.
Tina Aeberli is back into action after taking time out from the sport to have a second child. The Swiss Miss was part of the StreetFootballArt performance at the FIFA Museum as part of International Museum Day on May 22. The FIFA Museum has an interview with her.
Featured Player
Each issue of the newsletter will have a brief note on a player that has impressed in some way. It may be someone doing well in competition, a player to watch for upcoming competitions, an interview, or a look back at some classic names from the past.
Justin Dale – Seattle, USA
The first featured player is Justin Dale from the Rain City Shred crew in Seattle. Justin Dale has been on the scene for quite some time now, but some chronic back problems looked like they might knock him out of the sport. Justin has been giving some great details or his road to recovery and training concepts on his Modified.
Justin has also been pumping out videos at regular interviews, including his journey to the PSU Jampionships and a recent meeting with Allan Haggett. Justin has competed at many US Opens and World Championships.
Justin came out with an impressive medal haul at the 2007 US Open, including second place in Shred 30, Sick Trick and Sick 3. The combo of Shooting Butterfly>Food Processor>Mind Bender would still be highly competitive at most competitions today.
We wish Justin the best of luck in his ongoing recovery and look forward to seeing more video.
Footbag Trivia
- – Who won Routines at Todexon 1?
- – When was the last time there was a Consecutive Kicks event at Worlds?
- – What year was Tina Aeberli (Swiss Miss) inducted into the Big Add Posse (BAP)?