Hello stitchers,
I want to make an official announcement that there will be a footbag stitching contest at the US Open in Portland, Oregon, USA, July 24-25. Up to two footbags can be submitted and must be received by me, no later than Saturday July 24, at 3:00 p.m. (1500). If you want to participate in this contest but will not attend the US Open, you may mail me your footbag, but I must receive it two days prior to the event (Address available upon request).
The footbags will be judged by a number of judges depending on number of volunteers at the tournament. The judges will be balanced primarily with skilled/ experienced footbag freestyle players, but there will also be an opportunity for people who just stitch and people who just like to hack to voice their opinion. I am sure that I will be among the most meticulous judges, and I will offer a workshop or seminar session on good verses bad qualities to help decision making.
Judging will be based upon playability and aesthetics of the footbag. These two categories will be broken down into some detail to justify the vote and to give some guidelines for judging and stitching. There will be 6 points possible in each category (i.e. symmetry for up to 6 points)
Aesthetics:
1.) symmetry
2.) color and design
3.) originality
Playability:
1.) stall potential
2.) set potential
3.) trick string potential
(There might be a couple of small extra considerations added later, but these will be the primary focus of the scoring)
The bags can not have any sort of label or logo to identify it, but you may use your personal style to make a footbag however you do it best.
You may decide if you want your footbag to be given to the winner of the stitching contest or mailed back to you, but I will need $5.00 if you want it returned back to you.
I will be submitting a footbag or two, but I will be automatically disqualified for being a judge (judges can submit a bag but are not permitted to vote on their own footbag).
If you have any questions feel free to ask.
The list of stitchers in this event as of June 17, 2010.
Brian B.
Holly M.
Will T.
Waylon L.
Aaron S.
Footbag Stitching Contest - US Open July 24-25
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Aaron Shepard
- Shredaholic
- Posts: 123
- Joined: 03 May 2006 19:13
- Location: Washington State
Footbag Stitching Contest - US Open July 24-25
Last edited by Aaron Shepard on 23 Jun 2010 15:43, edited 1 time in total.
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Aaron Shepard
- Shredaholic
- Posts: 123
- Joined: 03 May 2006 19:13
- Location: Washington State
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JoshP5agek
- Hack Fiend
- Posts: 20
- Joined: 05 Jun 2010 08:19
Re: Footbag Stitching Contest - US Open July 24-25
Well now its just a waste of my facileAaron Shepard wrote:
The list of stitchers in this event as of June 17, 2010.
Brian B.
Holly M.
Will T.
Waylon L.
Aaron S.
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brianbear
- Egyptian Footgod
- Posts: 1048
- Joined: 05 Aug 2008 20:31
- Location: Bay Area (MV), Cali
- Contact:
seriously top notch stitchers soo far 
this will be interesting!
this will be interesting!
brian "bear" sherrill
buy my footbags
via freedom footbags
or on occasion (also for fabrics) thru modified
buy my footbags
via freedom footbags
or on occasion (also for fabrics) thru modified
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Aaron Shepard
- Shredaholic
- Posts: 123
- Joined: 03 May 2006 19:13
- Location: Washington State
Cool!
Brian, glad you are still interested in participating. Good luck. I know you are capable of producing some really amazing bags and I for one am very interested to see what you come up with.
akalazou, my best idea (Red I think actually suggested this) is that the winner takes all the footbags entered. That would be the grand prize. I also have a couple other ideas planned.
JoshP5agek, if you stitch, your footbag will get treated with respect. As with kicking, the best way to improve is to work with people with experience or go to a tournament. I am sure that you would get some positive feedback on your work and it would not be a waste of facile. I would also encourage you to compete, even against a top player. Go for it dude.
Brian, glad you are still interested in participating. Good luck. I know you are capable of producing some really amazing bags and I for one am very interested to see what you come up with.
akalazou, my best idea (Red I think actually suggested this) is that the winner takes all the footbags entered. That would be the grand prize. I also have a couple other ideas planned.
JoshP5agek, if you stitch, your footbag will get treated with respect. As with kicking, the best way to improve is to work with people with experience or go to a tournament. I am sure that you would get some positive feedback on your work and it would not be a waste of facile. I would also encourage you to compete, even against a top player. Go for it dude.
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Zac Miley
- Post Master General
- Posts: 5953
- Joined: 04 Jun 2006 12:11
- Location: Kansas City, MO
- Contact:
0.0Aaron Shepard wrote:
akalazou, my best idea (Red I think actually suggested this) is that the winner takes all the footbags entered. That would be the grand prize. I also have a couple other ideas planned.
Jay (8:06:01 PM): Bu-bu-buu-buug--Looks up, and the feeling goes away like a sneeze-bu-buuuh-BULLLSHITTT
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*
Jay (8:06:14 PM): *wipes bellybutton*
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Mossflower
- Circle Kicker
- Posts: 16
- Joined: 28 May 2010 23:03
- Location: Portland, OR
i was also sort of wondering about that. ideally i think they would all have to be broken in ahead of time, but that would lead to discrepancies with how each was broken in, how broken in they were, yadda yadda. so i'm guessing brand spankin new is the only fair way.
i also encourage anyone and everyone to enter! since nobody using the bags will know who made what, there won't be any preconceptions about which bags are the highest quality. it will be based purely on performance and how they look. everyone is guaranteed to get lots of feedback from a wide range of players, which can only lead to even better bags in the future! ENTER! DO IT!
still trying to think up a good way to handle prizes, i'm half baking an idea where the winner gets the 2nd place bag, 2nd gets the 3rd place bag, etc etc, but then it is more like a swap meet rather than a competition because everyone would go home with a bag. anyone have any suggestions?
i also encourage anyone and everyone to enter! since nobody using the bags will know who made what, there won't be any preconceptions about which bags are the highest quality. it will be based purely on performance and how they look. everyone is guaranteed to get lots of feedback from a wide range of players, which can only lead to even better bags in the future! ENTER! DO IT!
still trying to think up a good way to handle prizes, i'm half baking an idea where the winner gets the 2nd place bag, 2nd gets the 3rd place bag, etc etc, but then it is more like a swap meet rather than a competition because everyone would go home with a bag. anyone have any suggestions?
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brianbear
- Egyptian Footgod
- Posts: 1048
- Joined: 05 Aug 2008 20:31
- Location: Bay Area (MV), Cali
- Contact:
hmmm. I don't like the idea of winner take all. That's pretty intense.
at the same time, I think the winner should still get something extra.
I like Will's idea, but maybe the winner chooses their favorite and gets to keep their winning bag. The other bags get donated as prize bags.
Any feedback?
at the same time, I think the winner should still get something extra.
I like Will's idea, but maybe the winner chooses their favorite and gets to keep their winning bag. The other bags get donated as prize bags.
Any feedback?
brian "bear" sherrill
buy my footbags
via freedom footbags
or on occasion (also for fabrics) thru modified
buy my footbags
via freedom footbags
or on occasion (also for fabrics) thru modified
I want a Fourkast jersey and/or pair of shorts, please.
Waylon Lew - maker of Wasabi bags
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
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PegLegHolly
- Swashbuckler
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: 02 Aug 2006 17:43
- Location: Cleveland, OH
- Contact:
This sounds like a white flag to me.Alf wrote:so you're asuming you're winning?I want a Fourkast jersey and/or pair of shorts, please.
not with me my dearfriend,... ...NOT WITH ME!!!!!
to Aaron:
I try to send you one of my bags, but don't know if I have enough time tostitch one!!!
could you pm me your adress, please?
I'll get the bag(s) to you before the due date, Aaron.
Waylon Lew - maker of Wasabi bags
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
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Aaron Shepard
- Shredaholic
- Posts: 123
- Joined: 03 May 2006 19:13
- Location: Washington State
Hello,
The USO is getting very close! I want to welcome everyone who is going to make the trip, and the stitchers who are going to participate in this event both local and afar. I encourage everyone to do both because there will be a lot of really good things going on at this event and the Portland area is really spectacular. Thank you for your support and feedback on the stitcher competition.
I have received many letters in regards to broken in footbags in this event. People fear that their footbag plays worse if it is not broken in. This is a difficult issue to address, but this is my plan. The aesthetics/ beauty portion of this event will be held promptly after registration Friday night, and the bag needs to be in near brand new condition especially if you are at the USO. Then, the footbag will be given back to the stitcher and they will have a one day opportunity to break in the footbag. The playability portion will be judged Saturday after the bag has been prepared at the USO.
Mailed footbags get a little tricky. My plan is to allow the stitcher to provide me with break in instructions on how their bag needs to be treated and I will try my best to do it correct and equally. I also think that stitchers from afar need to get special treatment in this respect and it will have to just be something that the stitchers at the USO accept. I hope that is fair.
I also think that there should be a projected lifetime category. This has always been really important to me because I have always thought footbags are expensive, and if someone buys one of my bags I want it to last a long time. During the first few years I was a stitcher, I put durability above cosmetics, but that was just me. Let me know if this is an important category to other people and I will see if I can add it in to one of the categories.
Next matter of discussion has been the prizes. All of the footbags going to the winner I think is a great prize, but some people really need to sale their bags, and this could deter stitchers who feel their bag will not win. What I think there needs to be is a donation release waiver option. The winner gets to take two footbags, then the 2nd gets to pick one, and finally the third takes one. This is a risk people entering have to face - that your bag may be one of these four bags. The rest of the footbags can be returned to the stitcher, or the stitcher may donate them to the competition and we will continue down until there are no more footbags. This is not as grand as winner takes all if you are in it to win it, but I am sure the gratification you receive from winning this will be nice as well. I also have a couple things that I think a stitcher might like that I would like to award as prizes.
As far as judging is concerned, I am constructing a score card that will have each of the categories and a list of things to look for in each category. We can also have a judgers meeting and maybe take a look at examples of bags on this thread.
I hope you are all as excited about this as I am. Thank you for your consideration, interest, and support. I will post a list of the footbags with their picture on modified so you can all get a look when it is over. Take care and good luck. Happy stitching!
Sincerely,
Aaron
The USO is getting very close! I want to welcome everyone who is going to make the trip, and the stitchers who are going to participate in this event both local and afar. I encourage everyone to do both because there will be a lot of really good things going on at this event and the Portland area is really spectacular. Thank you for your support and feedback on the stitcher competition.
I have received many letters in regards to broken in footbags in this event. People fear that their footbag plays worse if it is not broken in. This is a difficult issue to address, but this is my plan. The aesthetics/ beauty portion of this event will be held promptly after registration Friday night, and the bag needs to be in near brand new condition especially if you are at the USO. Then, the footbag will be given back to the stitcher and they will have a one day opportunity to break in the footbag. The playability portion will be judged Saturday after the bag has been prepared at the USO.
Mailed footbags get a little tricky. My plan is to allow the stitcher to provide me with break in instructions on how their bag needs to be treated and I will try my best to do it correct and equally. I also think that stitchers from afar need to get special treatment in this respect and it will have to just be something that the stitchers at the USO accept. I hope that is fair.
I also think that there should be a projected lifetime category. This has always been really important to me because I have always thought footbags are expensive, and if someone buys one of my bags I want it to last a long time. During the first few years I was a stitcher, I put durability above cosmetics, but that was just me. Let me know if this is an important category to other people and I will see if I can add it in to one of the categories.
Next matter of discussion has been the prizes. All of the footbags going to the winner I think is a great prize, but some people really need to sale their bags, and this could deter stitchers who feel their bag will not win. What I think there needs to be is a donation release waiver option. The winner gets to take two footbags, then the 2nd gets to pick one, and finally the third takes one. This is a risk people entering have to face - that your bag may be one of these four bags. The rest of the footbags can be returned to the stitcher, or the stitcher may donate them to the competition and we will continue down until there are no more footbags. This is not as grand as winner takes all if you are in it to win it, but I am sure the gratification you receive from winning this will be nice as well. I also have a couple things that I think a stitcher might like that I would like to award as prizes.
As far as judging is concerned, I am constructing a score card that will have each of the categories and a list of things to look for in each category. We can also have a judgers meeting and maybe take a look at examples of bags on this thread.
I hope you are all as excited about this as I am. Thank you for your consideration, interest, and support. I will post a list of the footbags with their picture on modified so you can all get a look when it is over. Take care and good luck. Happy stitching!
Sincerely,
Aaron