Footbag in ...

Working on a footbag-related project? Ask for help, get feedback/advice here.
boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 09 Jan 2020 18:48

Hello everyone

I have a little idea which I hope to develop further throughout the year and maybe further into the future. I would like to do a little profile on the scene in each country. For bigger places I will probably break that down further. It would be great if you could help me fill in some of the gaps in here.

- How is the scene at the moment (early 2020) -
- where are people playing and who are the most regular players?
- Is there any regular meeting
- Who are the pioneers of footbag in your country
- Who are the key organisers?
- Who is the "underground hero" - they may not have been to big events or in videos but are kind of legendary in their own way
- What's the most important footbag event in your country
- Are there any young players coming through the ranks?
- Are any active players from your country living elsewhere?
- Are there any traditional games similar to footbag in your country?
- When was the peak time for footbag in your country?
- Who are the most successful players in terms of competition?
- How do you see the coming years for footbag in your country?

Feel free to add anything more. I'm planning on doing this on one of the Modified blogs when you enter the site at www.modified.in - I think this could be quite a fun project. It would be great to have a bit of a "World snapshot"
Last edited by boyle on 10 Jan 2020 20:54, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Asmus
Ass Moose
Posts: 3773
Joined: 13 Jun 2004 08:18
Location: Copenhagen
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Asmus » 10 Jan 2020 00:37

Great idea!

I wrote my answers here: https://modified.in/asmus/2020/01/10/ne ... ld-tricks/

Hope it works :)

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 10 Jan 2020 20:56

Here's the answers from Asmus

– How is the scene at the moment (early 2020)

I wouldn’t say we are going strong, but we are still going.

– where are people playing and who are the most regular players?

There is only players active in Copenhagen as far as I know. A couple of players are located in Aalborg and Svendborg and we even have a former player on Greenland at the moment.

– Is there any regular meeting

Yes, we play every Thursday. It’s rare that there are nobody there.

– Who are the pioneers of footbag in your country

The original pioneers are Allan Petersen and Torben Wigger.


The godfathers of the current generation are Mads Hole and Mads Neuhard.


– Who are the key organisers?

We are an officially recognized organisation in Denmark. The board consists of Nis Petersen, Mathias Blau, Kim Mortensen, Rasmus Rendsvig, Frederik Mens and me.

– Who is the “underground hero” – they may not have been to big events or in videos but are kind of legendary in their own way

There is a couple but I think recently the most prolific one is Frederik Mens – editor in chief of the club’s magazine “Pdx Talk”.

– What’s the most important footbag event in your country?

Danish Championships which has been running since 2003. We also have a yearly general assembly and christmas lunch.

– Are there any young players coming through the ranks?

There is not, but for the first time in a while we have a new player Ole Kuplikum. Not exactly a spring chicken, but it’s nice to have some new blood.

– When was the peak time for footbag in your country?

It must have been right after Euros in 2004.

– Who are the most successful players in terms of competition?

Mathias Blau and Allan Petersen

– How do you see the coming years for footbag in your country?

I don’t see us stopping any time soon, but I also don’t see a big renaissance coming.

I just added a new question about similar traditional games.

Here's a link to a video Mads Hole posted - https://www.facebook.com/mads.hole/vide ... 907839256/ - 1995 Euros.
Last edited by boyle on 11 Jan 2020 20:25, edited 1 time in total.

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 10 Jan 2020 21:20

Here's some thoughts from me on the current moment in Australia.

- How is the scene at the moment (early 2020) -

Not very active. I play regularly in Canberra. Guys like Nathan Cope and Dyalan Govender play a couple of times a year. Dan Ednie and Janis play occasionally in Melbourne as well as Albert from Vietnam. There are a few freestyle football players who do a little bit of footbag. It seems Jesse Malouf in Brisbane is getting back in the game too.

- where are people playing and who are the most regular players?

That's pretty much answered in the last question.
- Is there any regular meeting
No, not really.
- Who are the pioneers of footbag in your country
Lynton Stephens and Brendan Erskine were the main guys pre-2000. Lotus has also been around a long time, while guys like Dan Ednie and Jeremy O'Wheel reached quite a high level.
- Who are the key organisers?
We used to be a lot more organised, but there's not much to organise at the moment. Over the years this guy Steve Ramsey was very involved in the early days. Scott Kirchner did a lot in Melbourne and Ian Pritchard was very involved when we had a few nationals in Sydney. Nowadays I can occasionally get some of the others to kick if I am in their part of the world.
- Who is the "underground hero" - they may not have been to big events or in videos but are kind of legendary in their own way
Maybe Lotus would fit best into that category.
- What's the most important footbag event in your country
We used to have an annual Nationals that was quite a big deal. The Narooma Jam has also been a good one, hopefully we can do one of them this year.
- Are there any young players coming through the ranks?
No not really. I am trying to get some of the freestyle football players interested, and also going in at the much younger level, in primary school.
- Are any active players from your country living elsewhere?
Caroline is in England and still representing at Worlds and a bunch of other events.
- Are there any traditional games similar to footbag in your country?
Apparently so. https://healthandfitnesshistory.com/anc ... ggabaliri/
- When was the peak time for footbag in your country?
Either around 2001-2 when guys like Lynton were at their peak, or in the late 2000s. Dan reached finals at Worlds in 2007. We had a bunch at Worlds in Berlin. We also had a few international visitors, many of whom arrived being top level players, and left (or didn't leave at all) with a different obsession. Max is still in Sydney but is very into golf. Andrew Grant came out and went back big into surfing. Actually I'm going to say that was the big year - 2009. We had Narooma jam with international guests, nationals with international guests (Phil with dropless routine), good turnout at Worlds.
- Who are the most successful players in terms of competition?
Caroline has a large collection of medals from Worlds, Polish champs and maybe a few others. Dan Ednie is the only one to reach finals at Worlds and has a pretty good record along the way at Nationals. Unfortunately Lynton never got to compete at a Worlds. Australians often like to claim successful New Zealanders as their own, so maybe we can choose Phil Morrison for this award...
- How do you see the coming years for footbag in your country?
Hopefully a little more active, but I wouldn't count on it. I will still be playing but hopefully I will have a little company along the way.

User avatar
Asmus
Ass Moose
Posts: 3773
Joined: 13 Jun 2004 08:18
Location: Copenhagen
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Asmus » 11 Jan 2020 00:53

There is no traditional sport in Denmark which is like footbag.
However there are more than 350.000 registered football / soccer players in Denmark out of the 5.6 million inhabitants.

Maybe you should ask people to answer this based on their for the US?

User avatar
SlashC
Egyptian Footgod
Posts: 1402
Joined: 24 Jan 2004 16:58
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by SlashC » 12 Jan 2020 01:29

Here are my answers for the province of Alberta in Canada. I'll probably do one for all of Canada too, but I thought I would start with my province since it is geographically quite large (about the same size as France) and also quite isolated.

- How is the scene at the moment (early 2020)
Unfortunately, there isn't really a scene in Alberta anymore. The last time I played with other freestyler players in Alberta was probably 2015. I ran a circle kicking club for a while after that with maybe 2-3 other kickers who would occasionally come out, but eventually that also lapsed as some of them moved away and I started having trouble with injuries that were exasperated from playing on slippery surfaces.

- where are people playing and who are the most regular players?
I am mostly playing in my home city of Edmonton in the footbag studio in my apartment. I am lucky that the floors in my building are made of concrete, so I don't bother the tenants below me (we did a jump test with them before moving in) and also covered with a thin carpet that has the perfect amount of grip and cushion. I also occasionally play on the recreation floor of my building which has a nice carpet and a dead end hallway without too much foot traffic where I can play music. During the summer I also enjoy playing outdoors at festivals with my favorite location probably being the Alberta legislature grounds. During the winter I sometimes also drop in and play at a local flow jam at a school gym where most people juggle or spin hoops/staff/poi.

- Is there any regular meeting
A few years ago I was playing 2-3 times a week, but in recent years I am now playing 1-2 times per week and then replacing the other session with a rehab/strengthening session. This seems to be the magic ratio of playing/training that helps me continue to play while minimizing injuries.

- Who are the pioneers of footbag in your province?
My cousin Andrew played all through the 90s and was pretty active in the local hack scene. He was the first one that I saw freestyle and who originally got me into the sport when I was just finishing high school. Kevin Regamey was also a huge early influence and the first modern freestyler that I had a chance to play with. Another pioneer in the Edmonton area was Ben Cochrane who freestyled and played net and was instrumental in setting up the early scene here. He also went on one of the early starburst tours where they went and promoted footbag in Ireland and some other european countries. In Calgary there was a club called Shred Zero that was run by Rob Fuller and which was really active until about 2003. I think Rob Fuller was also one of the original founders/early contributors to modified.

- Who are the key organisers?
Ben Cochrane helped with quite a bit of the organization early on even going as far as to founding a provincial association for footsports. In terms of club and tournament organization I was the main organizer, but Kevin and Byrin also helped out as well. We ran the ShrEdmonton tournament 4 years in a row between 2005-2008 drawing players from all around North America.

- Who is the "underground hero" - they may not have been to big events or in videos but are kind of legendary in their own way
I think between 2004 - 2009ish the main underground hero in our club was Byrin Wylie. He was the best all around player in our club and generally improved at a much faster rate than the rest of us and made the biggest splash at the tournaments that he attended. That being said Kevin was also quite famous because of his specialization in toe tricks eventually becoming the first (and only?) player to hit a toe beast. After they both retired I eventually became a bit of an underground hero in my own right. I was always very consistent with what I thought was a gradual progression, but from 2011 to 2013 I took a break from attending jams/competitions. This didn't mean I took a break from footbag though. In fact I was playing more than ever having finally moved out on my own and created a dedicated footbag studio in my basement suite (literally underground). I think some people were surprised when I started showing up to events again in the 2013-2015 range because they hadn't seen me in some time and it maybe seemed like suddenly I was much better. However, from my point of view it was still a gradual improvement.

- What's the most important footbag event in your province
From 2002-2003ish I think the Shred Zero event in Calgary was the big thing. I remember watching videos from some of the early tournaments that Sam Colclough and Erik Chan shot and edited and being blown away at their shred (especially all the shuffle that was popular at the time). From 2005-2008 it was all about our ShrEdmonton event. We mostly had people coming out from western Canada and the United States, but occasionally we would also get players from eastern North America. We decided to eventually finally stop running the tournaments because by the end it was just Edmonton players visiting Winnipeg players (from Hackrifice) and vice versa.

- Are there any young players coming through the ranks?
We've had maybe 3 players since I started playing in 2004 that have reached a tiltless level in the Edmonton area and actually attended tournaments or jams. As far as I know none of them are playing any more. From about 2006-2009 we ran a footbag drop in class at a local YCMA and taught hundreds of kids how to do basic kicks and toe stalls, but none of them ever seemed to be interested in progressing beyond that.

- Are any active players from your province living elsewhere?
Kevin lives in Vancouver now and runs an audio production company for video games, but I don't think he really plays anymore. Byrin still lives in Edmonton and we still hang out occasionally, but mostly we play board games or foosball. He went on after footbag to be a competitive body builder and then power lifter and now he is a personal trainer.

- Are there any traditional games similar to footbag in your province?
Not that I know of.

- When was the peak time for footbag in your province?
I think it was in the 2003-2007 era. This is when we had the highest influx of players and the greatest frequency of session (playing 1-2 times per week). By 2008 things had kind of started slowing down and Kevin had retired and eventually a few years later Byrin retired too. It has been mostly just been me playing in the area since then although a few other players have popped in for a while including Kyle Warren in the 2010-2011 period and Verena Lenneis for a semester in 2015.

- Who are the most successful players in terms of competition?
Byrin was really good at sick1/sick3/sick30. He tended to do pretty well at regional tournaments, but then not so well at larger tournaments. Notably he made finals at shred30 at Orlando in 2007 only to have his bag bust a hole in the middle of his shred30 which dropped him down to 12th. That worlds he also managed to get a bronze medal in sick3, but it was a bit controversial because most people thought he should have gotten gold. I usually did the best at routines which was the discipline I started focusing on in 2006. My best finishes were 4th place at the 2013 US Open and 9th place at Worlds in 2013. I'm also the best at randomly doing well at competitions I've never tried before. This includes a 1st place in sick3 at the first ShrEdmonton in 2005, 2nd place at 2 square at Worlds in 2013, and 2nd place at footbag golf at Worlds in 2015.

- How do you see the coming years for footbag in your province?
I don't really see things picking up anytime soon. I think even at our height we only barely had critical mass and once you get down to 1-2 players it is really hard to build it up again. I don't let that discourage me though. I plan to keep playing for as long as possible even if it is el solo. I'm having a lot of fun right now just visiting players in other countries/provinces and working on video projects.
Rory "Tophat" Dawson

---

"You can ask a stranger, my legs is fast and danger!"

User avatar
Tjuggles
Flower Child
Posts: 1746
Joined: 27 Mar 2005 20:03
Location: Wellington, NZ
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Tjuggles » 18 Jan 2020 14:57

Aotearoa New Zealand

- How is the scene at the moment (early 2020)
Freestyle scene is pretty much non-existent. I play regularly and Phil M. may do, but he is on the South Island and we still haven't met up. That being said, I meet up with the Hack crew about once a week for hack.

- where are people playing and who are the most regular players?
I play at uni mostly. Hack creq usually plays downtown Wellington in the Central Business District, at Briscoes.

- Is there any regular meeting
Freestyle? No, other than the by-myself meetings twice a week at uni.
Hack? Once a week, as previously mentioned.

- Who are the pioneers of footbag in your country
Hmm...Phil Morrison, Floyd Morgan, Jonny Murphy, Adrian Dick, Nic Bathgate...Maybe I am missing some people

- Who are the key organisers?
Since I am not from here it is difficult to know, but I think the people mentioned above, especially Floyd, did a lot of organizing.

- Who is the "underground hero" - they may not have been to big events or in videos but are kind of legendary in their own way
Pass

- What's the most important footbag event in your country?
I think the old crew held tournaments/jams called Just for kicks. Incidentally, the footbag club I started at uni uses the same name.

- Are there any young players coming through the ranks?
Nope

- Are any active players from your country living elsewhere?
Nope

- Are there any traditional games similar to footbag in your country?
Nope

- When was the peak time for footbag in your country?
Early 2000s I reckon.

- Who are the most successful players in terms of competition?
Phil Morrison and Johnny Murphy?

- How do you see the coming years for footbag in your country?
Similar to how they are now, depending on how much traction the uni club gets.
TJ Boutorwick

"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 25 Jan 2020 21:01

Thanks guys for the reports - hey TJ - what about some update from Japan of late?

I reckon Phil would definitely have been more successful in comp - he had a lot more Worlds to choose from as well. I never made it to an NZ champs, I wasn't really in the scene so much when they were a big deal (up to about 05). I know Dan Ednie went one year and Ian Pritchard also went over. A bunch of the NZ guys came over to Aus in the early days too. I was around at some of them but I was very new and still a teenager so I was pretty much scared of everybody.

Floyd was massive for the organising of things in those days - early 2000s is pretty much spot on for the peak time. The Auckland guys (Adrian Dick and some others I believe) made the backbone of the footbag.org moves list. Ken spent some time in NZ around that time too, not sure if he went to any comp?

I reckon Byrin probably fits that "underground hero" of the world scene. Although he is pretty well known, but whenever you hear anything about him people are always very excited.

Rory - your game was looking great around Worlds in Denmark and from the videos I've seen in the last few years it's getting even better. Seems the Toronto area scene is going pretty strong therse days, hopefully Erik can give us some more info on that.

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 25 Jan 2020 23:02

Started looking into the NZ glory days a bit more - https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0302/S00299.htm - in 2003 you had Ryan Mulroney playing hack on the steps of parliament. I didn't know about that at all...

User avatar
max
Australofrenchbrityorkus
Posts: 3751
Joined: 24 Apr 2002 00:12
Location: Bondi Beach, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by max » 27 Jan 2020 14:46

boyle wrote:
10 Jan 2020 21:20

- When was the peak time for footbag in your country?
Either around 2001-2 when guys like Lynton were at their peak, or in the late 2000s. Dan reached finals at Worlds in 2007. We had a bunch at Worlds in Berlin. We also had a few international visitors, many of whom arrived being top level players, and left (or didn't leave at all) with a different obsession. Max is still in Sydney but is very into golf. Andrew Grant came out and went back big into surfing. Actually I'm going to say that was the big year - 2009. We had Narooma jam with international guests, nationals with international guests (Phil with dropless routine), good turnout at Worlds.
Waaaay too many opportunities to golf in Sydney. Weather is perfect too!
Havnt kicked a footbag in years. But I have become a pretty good golfer :D

2009 Narooma Jam was awesome!
Maxime Boucoiran
French ConneXion
BFC

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 28 Jan 2020 12:27

That was a super fun one! Such a great spot. A friend had a bucks party there last year and we went out on the BBQ boat. Good times.

Would be great to have a catchup sometime - with footbag or not!

User avatar
Tjuggles
Flower Child
Posts: 1746
Joined: 27 Mar 2005 20:03
Location: Wellington, NZ
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Tjuggles » 30 Jan 2020 16:28

boyle wrote:
25 Jan 2020 23:02
Started looking into the NZ glory days a bit more - https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0302/S00299.htm - in 2003 you had Ryan Mulroney playing hack on the steps of parliament. I didn't know about that at all...
Wow I had no idea, great find!
TJ Boutorwick

"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson

User avatar
Tjuggles
Flower Child
Posts: 1746
Joined: 27 Mar 2005 20:03
Location: Wellington, NZ
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Tjuggles » 30 Jan 2020 16:31

boyle wrote:
25 Jan 2020 21:01
Thanks guys for the reports - hey TJ - what about some update from Japan of late?
I'll get on it, good idea. I know Taishi is kicking butt out there promoting, and even has a few students!
boyle wrote:
25 Jan 2020 21:01
Floyd was massive for the organising of things in those days - early 2000s is pretty much spot on for the peak time. The Auckland guys (Adrian Dick and some others I believe) made the backbone of the footbag.org moves list. Ken spent some time in NZ around that time too, not sure if he went to any comp?
Floyd is all about organising. I think he just organised some sort of day-long activity involving outdoor activities. He said there will be video soon...
TJ Boutorwick

"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson

User avatar
C-Fan
Rekordy Polski
Posts: 11366
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 23:51
Location: Denver
Contact:

Make these into videos

Post by C-Fan » 31 Jan 2020 09:38

First off, great thread and great idea.

I was lucky to go to NZ 3 years in a row, back when I lived in Japan. It worked out perfectly that it was summer there during my freezing winter breaks from Japanese school. Floyd was definitely the driving force for promotion and organization. For "underground hero" I'd throw Johnny Murphy in there, since for the longest time he was one of the 2 best players in the country but seemed to play mostly in isolation.

What I'd really like to see come out of this thread, would be a series of videos. People could either make them themselves and share here, or somebody could make a series of these at Worlds. The questions are straightforward and short, and it wouldn't take long to shoot a bunch and put together.

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 06 Feb 2020 03:43

That would be really cool. We've never really had (I don't think) in footbag a "video magazine" series. Say in rollerblading there are the VG series which are like a classic thing these days, I'm sure there's similar around skateboarding and BMX too.

Did you go to the comps each year, or just go to hang out?

User avatar
C-Fan
Rekordy Polski
Posts: 11366
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 23:51
Location: Denver
Contact:

Video magazine

Post by C-Fan » 11 Feb 2020 13:00

Yeah, there are so many formats for footbag content that still are basically unexplored. I really liked the idea of a footbag podcast, but too many factors worked against it (ROI for the time spent was too low, required at least one other person to talk to to generate content, audience too limited, etc.). I think the vlog and video magazine format have a lot of potential, but only a handful of people have done them (you, me, Medellin).

I never went to a NZ footbag comp. I just really liked the Wellington crew, so I went to hang out more than anything. Those guys were awesome, crazy, and crazy awesome.

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 13 Feb 2020 23:58

I remember hearing a few stories back in the day. I was a bit younger so I didn't get to spend much time with them. I'm hoping I get a bunch of Aus and NZ players together next year, we'll see what happens.

User avatar
Tjuggles
Flower Child
Posts: 1746
Joined: 27 Mar 2005 20:03
Location: Wellington, NZ
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Tjuggles » 29 Feb 2020 16:00

boyle wrote:
13 Feb 2020 23:58
I remember hearing a few stories back in the day. I was a bit younger so I didn't get to spend much time with them. I'm hoping I get a bunch of Aus and NZ players together next year, we'll see what happens.
The crew here is awesome, and crazy for sure.

I would love to get together with Aus and NZ shredders next year. Can we make this happen? I wonder if Floyd would be keen to help host something... Daniel keep me in the loop on this!
TJ Boutorwick

"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson

boyle
Post Master General
Posts: 3146
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 23:42
Location: Canberra, Australia
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by boyle » 01 Mar 2020 22:38

I had a brief chat with Lynton and Brendan, very briefly on Facebook. My idea is to do something in late November-early December in Sydney to mark 20 years since this - http://www.footbag.org/events/show/996293200

It would also be good to do something in NZ - maybe the following year? There's a few names on the list who are still around and some that probably haven't had anything to do with footbag since those days, so some may be harder to find than others.

User avatar
Tjuggles
Flower Child
Posts: 1746
Joined: 27 Mar 2005 20:03
Location: Wellington, NZ
Contact:

Re: Footbag in ...

Post by Tjuggles » 08 Apr 2020 13:13

boyle wrote:
01 Mar 2020 22:38
I had a brief chat with Lynton and Brendan, very briefly on Facebook. My idea is to do something in late November-early December in Sydney to mark 20 years since this - http://www.footbag.org/events/show/996293200
This sounds like a great idea, although with worlds now supposed be around the same time, it may pay to have another think...
boyle wrote:
01 Mar 2020 22:38
It would also be good to do something in NZ - maybe the following year? There's a few names on the list who are still around and some that probably haven't had anything to do with footbag since those days, so some may be harder to find than others.
I'm down to help out however I can. Floyd may also be down to get a jam together.
TJ Boutorwick

"You can do anything" -Greg Nelson

Post Reply