2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations begin 3/6/2015

General footbag-related topics that don't fit elsewhere go in here.
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timvozar
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Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Feb 2010 08:15

2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations begin 3/6/2015

Post by timvozar » 05 Mar 2015 20:54

Footbag Players Worldwide,

The Footbag Hall of Fame is pleased to announce that we are now accepting nominations for potential candidates for induction into the Footbag Hall of Fame's class of 2015. The nominations process is open now until March 31st, 2015. The criteria for nominations and induction to the Hall of Fame is located here:

http://www.footbag.org/reference/-/Hall ... n_Criteria

Please review this information before nominating players. It's easy to nominate a player or offer testimonials or seconds. Just visit this link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MTTtPX ... 8/viewform

and fill out the form. If you want to nominate more than one person, please re-visit the form and fill it out separately for each person. Thanks to all footbag players for respecting the sport's history and roots as well as looking towards the future. We look forward to honoring the players who have devoted their lives to footbag and deserve the recognition that the Footbag Hall of Fame has to offer.

Tim Vozar,
Chairman Footbag Hall of Fame
Nominations Committee
Hof member

timvozar
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Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Feb 2010 08:15

Re: 2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations begin 3/6/2015

Post by timvozar » 05 Mar 2015 20:56

2014 had 3 nominations that made the final ballot and had enough votes to be carried over into the 2015 final ballot. Congratulations to Ted Fritsch, Eli Piltz, and Eric Bartholomay. Good luck to these nominees.
Hof member

timvozar
Hack Fiend
Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Feb 2010 08:15

2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations as of 3/14/15

Post by timvozar » 14 Mar 2015 19:42

Andy Linder nominates Fred Kipley
Fred was a significant footbag pioneer, especially in the midwest, where he co-founded an active club in Wisconsin, which came to Worlds several times. Fred was a good freestyler and one of the best net players in the World in the early 80s. He promoted the sport at many events, often using a lot of their own financial resources to do so. I believe Fred belongs in the Hof and is long overdue. He is a significant pioneer in our sport, promoting footbag to the masses during an important time period of footbag's growth. Sadly, Fred passed away about 2 years ago after an accidental fall, but his impact & inspiration remain strong with me & so many others. Fred was always kind, encouraging, & helpful to other players. He introduced many to the sport and helped multiple players develop.
Ted Huff 2nds Fred Kipley - Fred Kippley saw his first footbag in 1978, and joined the NHSA. In 1981 he quit his job and came to the 1st ever training camp for instructors, Portland, Oregon. He and his friend Gary Preston became the 1st ever 2 man tour team, and taught in over 700 schools in the midwest of the United States, also doing major events in Canada, and including halftime shows for the Chicago Bulls./NBA basketball. He attended worlds in the 80’s, and many other Footbag tournaments. His team efforts ended when Gary suffered a leg injury requiring amputation. Fred continued to do what he could for teaching in his community. The significance of "Iggy and Cruze, as legendary WFA co-founder Greg Cortopassi called them is all about their passion for the game and passing it on. Tragically, Fred died after a ladder fall at work in 2013. Fred gave all his passion to the growth of the game and sport he loved. That was very significant, and why I again nominate him for the HoF this year. I hope that you will join with me, and allow for induction in 2015.
Andy Linder nominates Gary Preston, 2nd by Ted Huff
Gary is a significant footbag pioneer in the Midwest. He co-founded an active club that traveled to Worlds multiple times in the 80s. Gary was a creative freestyler & a world-class net player. He promoted footbag at many events, often using their own financial resources in their travel & touring. Gary tragically had to have a leg amputated after a car accident, but despite this loss, continues to kick at events, inspire others, and promote footbag in Wisconsin. I believe Gary belongs in the Hof and is long overdue as a significant pioneer who promoted footbag during a significant period of the sport's growth. Gary was always kind, encouraging, & helpful to other players. He introduced footbag to masses of people & helped players develop.
Peter Irish nominates Steve Blough
Steve Blough is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in footbag. His nomination has been attempted to be actively blocked due to political reasons. Like him or not, he created his own style of footbag (bloughchi), created a tournament circut and wrote perhaps the first book on footbag. Regardless of controversy, his exclusion from the footbag hall of fame goes against the open spirit of footbag. It's like not letting someone in your hack circle because you don't like them. I don't know Steve personally, and I don't know what he did to piss so many people off, but you cannot deny what he did. Ignore the politics, and decide for yourself whether what he created is worthy of induction.
Peter Irish nominates Ted Fritsch(Ted automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)

Ted is an east coast legend, one of the most dedicated players and promoters in the sport, tirelessly spreading footbag, running tournaments and competing. He is still attempting to host the world footbag championships in NYC, and tenaciously promoting our sport. Ted represents the true spirit of footbag and deserves to be a HOF'r
Peter Irish nominates Eric (Bart) Bartholomay (Bart automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)

Bart is one of the greatest players and sponsors of his generation, running Kick in the Grass footbags and competing at the highest level. He left his mark on every player of his generation. A no brainer.
Ted Fritsch 2nd Eric Bartholomay-I always forget he was also a great freestyle player "Great net player and innovative freestyler." quote from Hall of fame member Sam Conlon. Below is a link to there 3rd place open team freestyle routine believed to be 1992 or 93
Peter Irish nominates Ethan "Red" Husted
Red is one of the great footbag freestylers of his time, helping to push the sport to new heights in the 90's with his aggressive style of play. He has remained dedicated to training the next generation of freestylers, and has been active in the Portland scene for years as a promoter and player. He is still active in all areas. His service and dedication deserve him a spot in the footbag HOF.
Alex Zerbe nominates Eli Piltz (Eli automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Eli Piltz’s contributions to the sport of Footbag are numerous and his impact on the sport continues to this day. I first met Eli at Western Regional Footbag Championships in 1999. At this point he was one of the top freestylers in the world and had been inducted into the Big Add Posse the previous year. In addition to being one of the best and most innovative Footbaggers of his era, he inspired a generation of freestlyers, with the footbag videos he produced and numerous other contributions that left his mark on the Footbag world. I had a hard time attempting to do justice to Eli’s Footbag legacy, but here goes…
FOOTBAG VIDEOS -In a time before the internet was ubiquitous, and even a three-minute video took a long time to download, Eli Piltz produced seven full-length videos that were available on VHS and later DVD. His videos were state of the art and featured the sport’s top players, who were all in North America in those days. Eli’s videos were watched repeatedly by up-and-coming players around the world, and were a major source of learning and inspiration. These videos pioneered the way footbag was filmed, and inspired other players to produce and sell their own Footbag videos pre-internet. Eli made a big sacrifice to produce these videos, paying his way to tournaments, investing in expensive equipment, forgoing the opportunity of playing in the best circles in order to film the best players, and spending countless hours editing and producing the final products. C’mon! He was editing reel-to-reel on VHS, that is hardcore! Here’s a list of the seven videos in order of release (does not include the shorter internet videos and tutorials he later produced, I’ll cover those in a later section). Rye Shred, Sultans of Shred, Reese's Pieces, Worlds ’99, Aggressive Grounds, The Sickening, Where the Ripwalk Ends
TOURNAMENT ORGANIZATION, Eli was the lead organizer of the first Colorado Shred Symposium (CSS1). This tournament went on to span 6 years, and for many of those years was the largest freestyle footbag event in North America. Eli was also a key organizer of the 2004 World Footbag Championships in Montreal. Among many other tasks, he spearheaded the media outreach and was responsible for projecting live video of the final round of freestyle on a huge screen behind the players as they performed, taking the production value of Worlds to the next level.
CREATION OF THE CIRCLE CONTEST-Eli, along with Ianek Regimbald, created the Circle Contest in 2006. The Circle Contest is a form of freestyle competition that most accurately reflects how the sport is organically played. Eli and Ianek spent a full year developing the new form of competition, which was enthusiastically received by the footbag community. The Circle Contest's first appearance at the World Footbag Championships was as an unofficial event in 2006. The following year it was added as an official event by the IFPA, and has been at every Worlds since.
DEMOS AND TV-Eli performed for tens of thousands of spectators over the years, with endorsements by such companies as Nike and K-Swiss. In 2001, after seeing some of Eli’s videos online, Nike hired Eli and a few other footbag players to represent their “Play” campaign. Together they performed high caliber freestyle routines for crowds of thousands of spectators across Southern California, and were showcased in videos on the Nike website. This campaign was the first time a major athletic company used the sport of footbag to endorse their products. Eli also appeared on a national cable show about action sports, and was featured in a K-Swiss shoe commercial in 2007, with world champion Vasek Klouda, which was broadcast internationally and has over 140,000 views on youtube. Check it out here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqldzoMHjBs. In addition, he frequently played in high profile public places, passing out fliers for upcoming tournaments and promoting his website, Flipsider.com
INSPIRATION, TERMINOLOGY, INFLUENCE and FLIPSIDER.COM-Eli fostered the footbag scenes in several different cities (Austin, Boulder, San Diego, Montreal, and Vancouver) as he moved around North America. It’s difficult to quantify Eli’s cultural influence on the sport. He invented the terms ‘flipside’ and ‘Atomic.’ It wasn’t so much that he invented footbag terms, lots of players did that, it’s that the terms and other contributions he brought to the sport stuck, and are still used today. Eli’s legacy continues to be a part of the sport we all love. In January, 2000, Eli launched Flipsider.com, a hip new Footbag company that featured an active footbag forum, videos of trick tutorials, player profiles, Footbag equipment (footbags, clothing, videos), and a plethora of information about the sport. He would even throw in a poster featuring one of the days' top players with your order. This site showcased Footbag as a young, hip sport. Flipsider’s vast and professionally presented library of trick tutorials was central to many players learning how to play, including now infamous Jorden Moir and future world champion Vasek Klouda. He also made a point of highlighting Women’s freestyle on Flipsider, an important contribution in this male dominated sport. Eli also helped push the level of the sport higher with his skill level, inventing no less than 32 unique tricks, ranging from 5 to 7 adds (See the list below). Some of these tricks have become standard, and are seen repeatedly in competition and circles everywhere. The guy was a beast with the bag, just watch… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHQrW6mNCuY Eli was a huge part of Footbag for many years but more importantly he helped shape the sport through his videos, his website and his personal participation. Through his tireless efforts, he pioneered an era of marketing and presentation of the sport that made it more appealing to future players. Footbag has always been cool. Eli Piltz made it cooler.
Here’s a list of the moves Eli invented: 5-add moves - Paradox Drifter Swirl (Paradox Swifter), In-spinning Paradox Drifter (In-Void), Ducking Paradox Drifter (Vertigo) [both sides], Ducking Paradox Barrage, Spinning Paradox Barrage [both sides], Spinning Far Double Pickup, Symposium Paradox Barrage, Symposium Gyro Barrage, Blurry Ducking Far Floating Pickup, Paradox Tapping Whirl, Paradox Tapping Drifter, 6-add moves - Spinning Ducking Paradox Drifter (Morpheus), Spinning Ducking Paradox Whirl (Maelstrom) [both sides], Symposium Gyro Diving Whirl (Colossus) [both sides], Symposium Tapping Symposium Whirl, Nuclear Whirl, Paradox Miraging Symposium Whirl (Paratoxic), Ducking Superfly [both sides], Diving Shaft [both sides], Gyro Shaft [both sides], Pixie Symposium Double-down (Pixie Dolomite) [both sides], Gyro Motion, Spinning Ducking Floating Osis (Osiris) [both sides], Blurry Ducking Osiris, Frontside Symposium RipWarrior [both sides], Frontside Symposium SpikeHammer, Gyro Drifter Swirl (Vortex Swirl/Gyro Swifter), Blurry Drifter Swirl (Blurry Swifter), 7-add moves - Montage [both sides], Nuclear Torque, Blurry Floating Blender, Blurry Paratoxic
Peter Irish 2nd Eli Piltz. His track record is huge, being the greatest footbag filmmaker in history, promoting footbag freestyle more than anyone in the 90's with Flipsider, the hippest footbag company of all time. He is also an innovator and one of the greatest freestylers in history. Once again, a no brainer.
Eurik Lindner nominates Grischa Tellenbach
He is the "Mister Footbag Europe"
Ted Huff nominates Steve Femmel
Steve "hotshot' Femmel began his play in 1978, and joined the NHSA that year, while he worked for the U.S. Forest service as a hot shot forest fire fighter. He traveled to Oregon City offices and learned the net game from Gar Bruce and John Stalberger. In 1979, Steve won the 1st ever Novice Singles Net Championships over his buddy Ted Johnson, and also won the Novice Doubles Net Championships. In 1981, he came to Portland to be in the 1st Certified Instructors camp. Then he began working with Rick Kaufman to form the East Coast Footbag Association, and helped with those championships, besides many other tournaments , and events, including the world championships. in 1984 while earning his masters degree at West Virgina University, he formed their Footbag club, and played in world championships. in 1989 the USFS moved him and his family to a very rural area of N. California, and that interrupted his playing and teaching. In 2005, he started training his daughter, Sarah, and taking her to the Beaver Open, and U.S. Open. Chris Seibert began calling him "the gatekeeper", as he won most intermediate net singles and doubles titles. and, has won the Beaver Open draw partners net tournament, and so has his daughter. Steve Femmel is significant as the first ever Novice Net champion, and significant for all his work to teach and develop the sport on the east coast of the U.S. in the 80's. Please join with me and endorse this nomination, and vote Steve "Hot shot " Femmel into the hall of fame, for induction at the Beaver Open in 2015.
Hof member

timvozar
Hack Fiend
Posts: 21
Joined: 13 Feb 2010 08:15

Re: 2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations update as of 3/26/

Post by timvozar » 26 Mar 2015 20:55

The following are the 2015 nominations and 2nds and testimonies. See details following this summary;
Andy Linder nominates Fred Kipley , 2nd by Vince Bradley, Ted Huff and Jim Caveney
Andy Linder nominates Gary Preston, 2nd by Ted Huff, 2nd by Vince Bradley and Jim Caveney
Peter Irish nominates Steve Blough
Peter Irish nominates Ted Fritsch(Ted automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Peter Irish nominates Eric (Bart) Bartholomay (Bart automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Peter Irish nominates Ethan "Red" Husted, 2nd by Ted Huff
Alex Zerbe nominates Eli Piltz (Eli automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014) , 2nd by Peter Irish
Eurik Lindner nominates Grischa Tellenbach
Ted Huff nominates Steve Femmel, 2nd by David Connell and Ted Fritsch
Scott Milne nominates Pauline Bechtel, 2nd by Lisa Monti
Jon Lind nominates Heather Cook, 2nd by Kenny Shults

Below are the details
Andy Linder nominates Fred Kipley , 2nd by Vince Bradley
Fred was a significant footbag pioneer, especially in the midwest, where he co-founded an active club in Wisconsin, which came to Worlds several times. Fred was a good freestyler and one of the best net players in the World in the early 80s. He promoted the sport at many events, often using a lot of their own financial resources to do so. I believe Fred belongs in the Hof and is long overdue. He is a significant pioneer in our sport, promoting footbag to the masses during an important time period of footbag's growth. Sadly, Fred passed away about 2 years ago after an accidental fall, but his impact & inspiration remain strong with me & so many others. Fred was always kind, encouraging, & helpful to other players. He introduced many to the sport and helped multiple players develop.
Ted Huff 2nds Fred Kipley - Fred Kippley saw his first footbag in 1978, and joined the NHSA. In 1981 he quit his job and came to the 1st ever training camp for instructors, Portland, Oregon. He and his friend Gary Preston became the 1st ever 2 man tour team, and taught in over 700 schools in the midwest of the United States, also doing major events in Canada, and including halftime shows for the Chicago Bulls./NBA basketball. He attended worlds in the 80’s, and many other Footbag tournaments. His team efforts ended when Gary suffered a leg injury requiring amputation. Fred continued to do what he could for teaching in his community. The significance of "Iggy and Cruze, as legendary WFA co-founder Greg Cortopassi called them is all about their passion for the game and passing it on. Tragically, Fred died after a ladder fall at work in 2013. Fred gave all his passion to the growth of the game and sport he loved. That was very significant, and why I again nominate him for the HoF this year. I hope that you will join with me, and allow for induction in 2015.
Jim Caveney 2nds Fred Kipley-This fine sport of ours began with a nucleus in the Northwest. Tentacles of energy then reached out and found early crusaders. Fred was one of these passionate early crusaders. I implore my fellow voting members, especially those who didn't have the opportunity to get to know Fred and all he did in such an early time for this sport ... welcome him with open arms. He deserves to be recognized for his contribution to the sport, recognition worthy of membership in the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Andy Linder nominates Gary Preston, 2nd by Ted Huff, 2nd by Vince Bradley
Gary is a significant footbag pioneer in the Midwest. He co-founded an active club that traveled to Worlds multiple times in the 80s. Gary was a creative freestyler & a world-class net player. He promoted footbag at many events, often using their own financial resources in their travel & touring. Gary tragically had to have a leg amputated after a car accident, but despite this loss, continues to kick at events, inspire others, and promote footbag in Wisconsin. I believe Gary belongs in the Hof and is long overdue as a significant pioneer who promoted footbag during a significant period of the sport's growth. Gary was always kind, encouraging, & helpful to other players. He introduced footbag to masses of people & helped players develop.
Jim Caveney 2nds Gary Preston- This fine sport of ours began with a nucleus in the Northwest. Tentacles of energy then reached out and found early crusaders. Gary was one of these passionate early crusaders. I implore my fellow voting members, especially those who didn't have the opportunity to get to know Gary and all he did in such an early time for this sport ... welcome him with open arms. He deserves to be recognized for his contribution to the sport, recognition worthy of membership in the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Peter Irish nominates Steve Blough
Steve Blough is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in footbag. His nomination has been attempted to be actively blocked due to political reasons. Like him or not, he created his own style of footbag (bloughchi), created a tournament circut and wrote perhaps the first book on footbag. Regardless of controversy, his exclusion from the footbag hall of fame goes against the open spirit of footbag. It's like not letting someone in your hack circle because you don't like them. I don't know Steve personally, and I don't know what he did to piss so many people off, but you cannot deny what he did. Ignore the politics, and decide for yourself whether what he created is worthy of induction.
Peter Irish nominates Ted Fritsch(Ted automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)

Ted is an east coast legend, one of the most dedicated players and promoters in the sport, tirelessly spreading footbag, running tournaments and competing. He is still attempting to host the world footbag championships in NYC, and tenaciously promoting our sport. Ted represents the true spirit of footbag and deserves to be a HOF'r
Peter Irish nominates Eric (Bart) Bartholomay (Bart automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)

Bart is one of the greatest players and sponsors of his generation, running Kick in the Grass footbags and competing at the highest level. He left his mark on every player of his generation. A no brainer.
Ted Fritsch 2nd Eric Bartholomay-I always forget he was also a great freestyle player "Great net player and innovative freestyler." quote from Hall of fame member Sam Conlon. Below is a link to there 3rd place open team freestyle routine believed to be 1992 or 93
Peter Irish nominates Ethan "Red" Husted
Red is one of the great footbag freestylers of his time, helping to push the sport to new heights in the 90's with his aggressive style of play. He has remained dedicated to training the next generation of freestylers, and has been active in the Portland scene for years as a promoter and player. He is still active in all areas. His service and dedication deserve him a spot in the footbag HOF.
Ted Huff 2nd Ethan Husted-Red is a significant player and tournament director. The U.S. OPEN FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS are a testament to his significance to the sport.
Alex Zerbe nominates Eli Piltz (Eli automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Eli Piltz’s contributions to the sport of Footbag are numerous and his impact on the sport continues to this day. I first met Eli at Western Regional Footbag Championships in 1999. At this point he was one of the top freestylers in the world and had been inducted into the Big Add Posse the previous year. In addition to being one of the best and most innovative Footbaggers of his era, he inspired a generation of freestlyers, with the footbag videos he produced and numerous other contributions that left his mark on the Footbag world. I had a hard time attempting to do justice to Eli’s Footbag legacy, but here goes…
FOOTBAG VIDEOS -In a time before the internet was ubiquitous, and even a three-minute video took a long time to download, Eli Piltz produced seven full-length videos that were available on VHS and later DVD. His videos were state of the art and featured the sport’s top players, who were all in North America in those days. Eli’s videos were watched repeatedly by up-and-coming players around the world, and were a major source of learning and inspiration. These videos pioneered the way footbag was filmed, and inspired other players to produce and sell their own Footbag videos pre-internet. Eli made a big sacrifice to produce these videos, paying his way to tournaments, investing in expensive equipment, forgoing the opportunity of playing in the best circles in order to film the best players, and spending countless hours editing and producing the final products. C’mon! He was editing reel-to-reel on VHS, that is hardcore! Here’s a list of the seven videos in order of release (does not include the shorter internet videos and tutorials he later produced, I’ll cover those in a later section). Rye Shred, Sultans of Shred, Reese's Pieces, Worlds ’99, Aggressive Grounds, The Sickening, Where the Ripwalk Ends
TOURNAMENT ORGANIZATION, Eli was the lead organizer of the first Colorado Shred Symposium (CSS1). This tournament went on to span 6 years, and for many of those years was the largest freestyle footbag event in North America. Eli was also a key organizer of the 2004 World Footbag Championships in Montreal. Among many other tasks, he spearheaded the media outreach and was responsible for projecting live video of the final round of freestyle on a huge screen behind the players as they performed, taking the production value of Worlds to the next level.
CREATION OF THE CIRCLE CONTEST-Eli, along with Ianek Regimbald, created the Circle Contest in 2006. The Circle Contest is a form of freestyle competition that most accurately reflects how the sport is organically played. Eli and Ianek spent a full year developing the new form of competition, which was enthusiastically received by the footbag community. The Circle Contest's first appearance at the World Footbag Championships was as an unofficial event in 2006. The following year it was added as an official event by the IFPA, and has been at every Worlds since.
DEMOS AND TV-Eli performed for tens of thousands of spectators over the years, with endorsements by such companies as Nike and K-Swiss. In 2001, after seeing some of Eli’s videos online, Nike hired Eli and a few other footbag players to represent their “Play” campaign. Together they performed high caliber freestyle routines for crowds of thousands of spectators across Southern California, and were showcased in videos on the Nike website. This campaign was the first time a major athletic company used the sport of footbag to endorse their products. Eli also appeared on a national cable show about action sports, and was featured in a K-Swiss shoe commercial in 2007, with world champion Vasek Klouda, which was broadcast internationally and has over 140,000 views on youtube. Check it out here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqldzoMHjBs. In addition, he frequently played in high profile public places, passing out fliers for upcoming tournaments and promoting his website, Flipsider.com
INSPIRATION, TERMINOLOGY, INFLUENCE and FLIPSIDER.COM-Eli fostered the footbag scenes in several different cities (Austin, Boulder, San Diego, Montreal, and Vancouver) as he moved around North America. It’s difficult to quantify Eli’s cultural influence on the sport. He invented the terms ‘flipside’ and ‘Atomic.’ It wasn’t so much that he invented footbag terms, lots of players did that, it’s that the terms and other contributions he brought to the sport stuck, and are still used today. Eli’s legacy continues to be a part of the sport we all love. In January, 2000, Eli launched Flipsider.com, a hip new Footbag company that featured an active footbag forum, videos of trick tutorials, player profiles, Footbag equipment (footbags, clothing, videos), and a plethora of information about the sport. He would even throw in a poster featuring one of the days' top players with your order. This site showcased Footbag as a young, hip sport. Flipsider’s vast and professionally presented library of trick tutorials was central to many players learning how to play, including now infamous Jorden Moir and future world champion Vasek Klouda. He also made a point of highlighting Women’s freestyle on Flipsider, an important contribution in this male dominated sport. Eli also helped push the level of the sport higher with his skill level, inventing no less than 32 unique tricks, ranging from 5 to 7 adds (See the list below). Some of these tricks have become standard, and are seen repeatedly in competition and circles everywhere. The guy was a beast with the bag, just watch… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHQrW6mNCuY Eli was a huge part of Footbag for many years but more importantly he helped shape the sport through his videos, his website and his personal participation. Through his tireless efforts, he pioneered an era of marketing and presentation of the sport that made it more appealing to future players. Footbag has always been cool. Eli Piltz made it cooler.
Here’s a list of the moves Eli invented: 5-add moves - Paradox Drifter Swirl (Paradox Swifter), In-spinning Paradox Drifter (In-Void), Ducking Paradox Drifter (Vertigo) [both sides], Ducking Paradox Barrage, Spinning Paradox Barrage [both sides], Spinning Far Double Pickup, Symposium Paradox Barrage, Symposium Gyro Barrage, Blurry Ducking Far Floating Pickup, Paradox Tapping Whirl, Paradox Tapping Drifter, 6-add moves - Spinning Ducking Paradox Drifter (Morpheus), Spinning Ducking Paradox Whirl (Maelstrom) [both sides], Symposium Gyro Diving Whirl (Colossus) [both sides], Symposium Tapping Symposium Whirl, Nuclear Whirl, Paradox Miraging Symposium Whirl (Paratoxic), Ducking Superfly [both sides], Diving Shaft [both sides], Gyro Shaft [both sides], Pixie Symposium Double-down (Pixie Dolomite) [both sides], Gyro Motion, Spinning Ducking Floating Osis (Osiris) [both sides], Blurry Ducking Osiris, Frontside Symposium RipWarrior [both sides], Frontside Symposium SpikeHammer, Gyro Drifter Swirl (Vortex Swirl/Gyro Swifter), Blurry Drifter Swirl (Blurry Swifter), 7-add moves - Montage [both sides], Nuclear Torque, Blurry Floating Blender, Blurry Paratoxic
Peter Irish 2nd Eli Piltz. His track record is huge, being the greatest footbag filmmaker in history, promoting footbag freestyle more than anyone in the 90's with Flipsider, the hippest footbag company of all time. He is also an innovator and one of the greatest freestylers in history. Once again, a no brainer.
Eurik Lindner nominates Grischa Tellenbach
He is the "Mister Footbag Europe"
Ted Huff nominates Steve Femmel
Steve "hotshot' Femmel began his play in 1978, and joined the NHSA that year, while he worked for the U.S. Forest service as a hot shot forest fire fighter. He traveled to Oregon City offices and learned the net game from Gar Bruce and John Stalberger. In 1979, Steve won the 1st ever Novice Singles Net Championships over his buddy Ted Johnson, and also won the Novice Doubles Net Championships. In 1981, he came to Portland to be in the 1st Certified Instructors camp. Then he began working with Rick Kaufman to form the East Coast Footbag Association, and helped with those championships, besides many other tournaments , and events, including the world championships. in 1984 while earning his masters degree at West Virgina University, he formed their Footbag club, and played in world championships. in 1989 the USFS moved him and his family to a very rural area of N. California, and that interrupted his playing and teaching. In 2005, he started training his daughter, Sarah, and taking her to the Beaver Open, and U.S. Open. Chris Seibert began calling him "the gatekeeper", as he won most intermediate net singles and doubles titles. and, has won the Beaver Open draw partners net tournament, and so has his daughter. Steve Femmel is significant as the first ever Novice Net champion, and significant for all his work to teach and develop the sport on the east coast of the U.S. in the 80's. Please join with me and endorse this nomination, and vote Steve "Hot shot " Femmel into the hall of fame, for induction at the Beaver Open in 2015.
David Connell 2nds Steve Femmel - Steve Femmel taught me how to play footbag and he taught me the right way. He stressed the fundamentals ("LEFT INSIDE, no, don't turn your body, LEFT INSIDE NOT RIGHT!"). We practiced constantly, in all sorts of weather and on all sorts of courts--the most famous, of course, being the "root court," a patch of ground that literally had some tree roots coming out of the ground. One end was slightly lower than the other. One fond memory is that of playing an exhibition game at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, which is right on the Ohio River. The spectators were four or five people deep around the court. No exaggerating! I was never really an athlete, but Steve pushed me into the best physical shape I had ever been in...in my middle thirties. I was strong and coordinated thanks to Steve and his persistent coaching efforts with me. I will always thank him for that.
Ted Fritsch 2nd Steve Femmel - I would like to second Steve Femmel for consideration to the hall of fame. I met Steve for the first time this past year at the Beaver Open. Steve is a tenacious competitor. He has a footbag history that dwarfs most people who are playing today. Steve is a true ambassador for the sport of footbag

Scott Milne nominates Pauline Bechtel
Pauline was very influential to the Footbag scene in Vancouver BC for many years. Her enthusiasm sense of humor and friendly personality drew new players into our group regularly. Pauline always helped out with organizing our tournaments and brought in a lot of the women that joined our club. She started playing before I did and still kicks today. Pauline deserves to be recognized and inducted to the Footbag Hall Of Fame.

Lisa Monti 2nds Pauline Bechtel. Pauline has been a long time player and promoter of Footbag in Vancouver BC. She was a Footbag freestyler, golfer and net player long before I started playing and she is still playing to this day. As an early and integral part of the Kitsilano Kickers Pauline was involved with all aspects of the sport from hosting the tournament to competing in it. Pauline is a tough competitor and still is underestimated as a wily master of placement and tenaciousness on the net court. Pauline certainly embodies the spirit of the game and should be recognized for her many years of playing and contributing to the promotion of the sport of Footbag.

Jon Lind nominates Heather Cook
I am officially and honorably nominating Heather Cook for the Footbag Hall of Fame. Heather first became introduced to Footbag in 1982. In 1985 she attended the WFA training camp, and she started competing all over the USA. She won and placed in countless of these tournaments, with the crowning jewel being the 1989 single freestyle world championship. That same year Heather set the first world record for timed consecutive’s, earning her a place in the Guinness World Record book. Heathers impact in pioneering women's Freestyle is undeniable. She had such an incredibly technical style of play that it pushed all of the top competitors of that era to learn all of the challenging dexterity driven tricks and combinations. I remember her being the first woman to hit Ossis, Double Around the World, and so many other technical tricks. Through all of this dedication and hard work on her freestyle game she was very inspirational and innovative, pushing the sport during this era of competition. Back in her home state of Arizona, she founded and anchored the influential Ariel Zone Footbag Club, AZFC, Training with many Footbag legends including Randy Mulder, whom she trained alone with for two years. This club was such a strong force for years in the tournaments producing many world champions, and incredible visibility for the sport in the Phoenix area. Heather was known by everyone in the Phoenix area as “hack sack girl”, and was always recruiting new players and promoting Footbag. Heather was so steadfast in her dedication that for ten years you could count on seeing her and the whole AZFC in the public eye with known and promoted events. All of this exposure led to earning key cooperate sponsorships that paid her way to travel to tournaments and do constant demos for public schools, districts and events. At this time of Footbag getting large sponsorships, was an innovative and rare way to expose the public to the sport of Footbag. During this time Heather also was teaching Footbag seminars to children through the parks and recs department, influencing a new generation to get involved in the sport of foot bag. In this ten year run of a demanding show, tournament, and demo schedule, Heather also traveled with skateboard teams, doing very high profile shows sponsored by Swatch. Including three malls a weekend to countless screaming kids, pushing the sport of Footbag in her region like no other. Heather was also a big part of the Flying Clipper teams we assembled during that era, and was partnered with Kenny Schults, together they were dubbed by Jim Fitzgerald and Reed Grey as “The Team”. It was through this involvement that I was lucky enough to become close friends with this exceptional person. I believe everyone on those early Flying Clipper teams are all members of the Footbag Hall of fame. Please join me in putting Heather Cook where she deservedly should be, by voting her into the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Kenny Shults 2nd Heather Cook - I would like to officially 2nd that nomination. Heather was the first woman that I remember doing double dexterity tricks. In the 80's she was the first woman freestyler to truly "shred". I don't know her full resume of tournament victories but she was a perennial finalist in women's freestyle at the world championships and led the way for players like Carol Wedemeyer and Tina Aberli. The footbag hall of fame is incomplete without Heather Cook.
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Re: 2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations begin 3/6/2015

Post by yyz » 31 Mar 2015 17:43

I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE HEATHER SQUIRES THOMAS. I ASKED HER TO PUT A BIO TOGETHER AND HERE IT IS:
Hi! I'm Heather Squires-Thomas. I've been playing footbag since 1983. My first tournament was in Houston, Texas at Memorial park in 1983. I hacked around in college, at The University of Texas at Ausitn, daily finding regular circles here and there, always with a footbag in hand. I moved back to Houston in the early eighties and continued to hack on the beach regularly where I met my fantastic husband Scott. I eventually obtained the Houston reputation as "The Hacky Lady."

My first world footbag tournament was in 1988 and I was hooked. After catching the footbag bug, I found myself designing Footbag t-shirts to promote the sport and support my Footbag traveling habit. I also found myself kicking in every spare moment. Traveling around the United States and Canada , I have had many great experiences competeing with a host of wonderful friends and aquaintances, managing to represent Texas women as well as acquire the practice I needed to be competitive with the best players around the world. For many years I assisted in finding local sponsorships for, and organizing tournaments in and around Houston.

I hold several Texas State and Southern regional women"s titles from 1987-2004. I also share the World's 1994 Women's Team Freestyle title with partner Julie Simon and a World's 1994 third place Women's Doubles Net with partner Laura Creigh, as well as the World's 2004 third place Women's Doubles Net with partner Tina Lewis.

Since 1994 I've had three beautiful children...Austin, Avery,and Ashley. Currently I'm an Early Childhood Educator and in my spare time I am a jewelry designer: Heathersquiresdesigns. I am proud of my accomplishments. Footbag taught me the life lesson that "If you put your mind to it , you can do it." I have been successful applying that theory to the rest of my life, and passing that message to my children, my students, and those around me.

I have come in and out of retirement, and hope to continue doing so. Footbag will always be in my blood.
I went to the 2002 Texas State, where I played open doubles with Tina Lewis and took third place. It was a great tournament at an awesome site in downtown Houston at the Westheimer Art Festival. A site to see!

Texas State 2003 was held in Austin,TX. What a great tournament. Chris Seibert and I won Mixed Doubles. Yey! Montreal, Canada for the 2004 World Footbag tournament was fun. I entered Singles Net-placed sixth, Doubles Net with partner Tina Lewis-placed 3rd, and Mixed Net with partner Chris Seibert- placed 5th. Didn't manage to freestyle much though!
Maybe next time.

I've continued my love for Footbag over the years. as life can get overwhelming, I can always find refuge in kicking. At least one passing, free styling, or kicking consecs. My love will always be playing net!! Competing in Footbag Net touches my soul and grounds me.

In 2005, I was compeled to help the Hurricane Katrina victims in anyway I could. I decided it would be a good idea to contact my footbag friends. I requested footbagers to send footbags to take to the teenagers, who were evacuated from New Orleans and surrounding areas, and relocated to Houston Convention Centers. I really only expected for friends to maybe send an old Footbag or so. Who knew? I was so overwelmed by the response from around the world. I received footbags from Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia, Canada, Poland, Russia, USA, etc. I was able to distribute approximately 3000+ footbags that were graciously donated. I was fortunate to represent the Footbag community, who are some of the most awesome, giving people. There was a great deal of happiness and appreciation that came from the thoughtfulness of fellow footbaggers. Thanks again to those of you who contributed.

Currently, 30* years later, I continue to freestyle, one pass, and kick consecs on the weekends at Herman park, Memorial Park, Discovery Greene, or wherever I hap upon a circle of people kicking a bag. Every once in a while I'll meet someone from the old days and they will still recognize and address me as "The Hacky Lady." A label and a complement I'll always treasure. As long as Im able , I will continue to kick!

Message to you: Keep growing our awesome sport, keep kicking, and never say "I can't "... YOU CAN!
see ya ted f

timvozar
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2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations update as of 4/9/15

Post by timvozar » 09 Apr 2015 10:12

As of 4/9/15 1pm, the following additional nominees will be added to the final nominee list later tonight before midnight on 4/9/15. Check back on the morning of 4/10/15 to see final list and give your testimonies on the nominees you support.
Peter Chris nominates Donofrio, Tuomas nominates Matti Pohjola, Tuomas nominates Ilkka Malin, Mag Hughes 2nds Stephen Femmel, Russ Weatherbee 2nds Steve Femmel, Steve Femmel adds details to his nomination, Michael Commons 2nds Steve Femmel, Joe Solonoski nominates Rob McCloskey, Ted Fritsch nominates Heather Squires Thomas, Tina Lewis 2nds Heather Squires Thomas.

From Tim Vozar
Chairman of Nomination Committee
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timvozar
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Update 4/12/15 - Re: 2015 Footbag Hall of Fame Nominations

Post by timvozar » 12 Apr 2015 17:26

Below is an update and complete list of nomination since the deadline of 3/31/15 for nominations;
The following are the 2015 nominations and 2nds and testimonies. See details following this summary;

Andy Linder nominates Fred Kipley , 2nd by Vince Bradley, Ted Huff and Jim Caveney
Andy Linder nominates Gary Preston, 2nd by Ted Huff, 2nd by Vince Bradley and Jim Caveney
Peter Irish nominates Steve Blough
Peter Irish nominates Ted Fritsch(Ted automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Peter Irish nominates Eric (Bart) Bartholomay (Bart automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Peter Irish nominates Ethan "Red" Husted, 2nd by Ted Huff
Alex Zerbe nominates Eli Piltz (Eli automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014) , 2nd by Peter Irish
Eurik Lindner nominates Grischa Tellenbach
Ted Huff nominates Steve Femmel, 2nd by David Connell, Ted Fritsch, Mag Hughes, Russ Weatherbee, Michael Commons, Steve’s daughter
Scott Milne nominates Pauline Bechtel, 2nd by Lisa Monti
Jon Lind nominates Heather Cook, 2nd by Kenny Shults, Vince Bradley , Tina Lewis
Peter Irish nominates Chris Donofrio
Tuomas Karki nominates Matti Pohjola, 2nds by Jukka Peltola and Justin Sexton
Tuomas Karki nominates IIkka Malin, 2nds by Jukka Peltola and Justin Sexton
Joe Solonoski nominates Rob McCloskey
Ted Fritsch nominates Heather Squires Thomas, 2nds by Tina Lewis

Below are the details

Andy Linder nominates Fred Kipley , 2nd by Vince Bradley, Ted Huff and Jim Caveney
Fred was a significant footbag pioneer, especially in the midwest, where he co-founded an active club in Wisconsin, which came to Worlds several times. Fred was a good freestyler and one of the best net players in the World in the early 80s. He promoted the sport at many events, often using a lot of their own financial resources to do so. I believe Fred belongs in the Hof and is long overdue. He is a significant pioneer in our sport, promoting footbag to the masses during an important time period of footbag's growth. Sadly, Fred passed away about 2 years ago after an accidental fall, but his impact & inspiration remain strong with me & so many others. Fred was always kind, encouraging, & helpful to other players. He introduced many to the sport and helped multiple players develop.
Ted Huff 2nds Fred Kipley - Fred Kippley saw his first footbag in 1978, and joined the NHSA. In 1981 he quit his job and came to the 1st ever training camp for instructors, Portland, Oregon. He and his friend Gary Preston became the 1st ever 2 man tour team, and taught in over 700 schools in the midwest of the United States, also doing major events in Canada, and including halftime shows for the Chicago Bulls./NBA basketball. He attended worlds in the 80’s, and many other Footbag tournaments. His team efforts ended when Gary suffered a leg injury requiring amputation. Fred continued to do what he could for teaching in his community. The significance of "Iggy and Cruze, as legendary WFA co-founder Greg Cortopassi called them is all about their passion for the game and passing it on. Tragically, Fred died after a ladder fall at work in 2013. Fred gave all his passion to the growth of the game and sport he loved. That was very significant, and why I again nominate him for the HoF this year. I hope that you will join with me, and allow for induction in 2015.
Jim Caveney 2nds Fred Kipley-This fine sport of ours began with a nucleus in the Northwest. Tentacles of energy then reached out and found early crusaders. Fred was one of these passionate early crusaders. I implore my fellow voting members, especially those who didn't have the opportunity to get to know Fred and all he did in such an early time for this sport ... welcome him with open arms. He deserves to be recognized for his contribution to the sport, recognition worthy of membership in the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Andy Linder nominates Gary Preston, 2nd by Ted Huff, Vince Bradley, and Jim Caveney
Gary is a significant footbag pioneer in the Midwest. He co-founded an active club that traveled to Worlds multiple times in the 80s. Gary was a creative freestyler & a world-class net player. He promoted footbag at many events, often using their own financial resources in their travel & touring. Gary tragically had to have a leg amputated after a car accident, but despite this loss, continues to kick at events, inspire others, and promote footbag in Wisconsin. I believe Gary belongs in the Hof and is long overdue as a significant pioneer who promoted footbag during a significant period of the sport's growth. Gary was always kind, encouraging, & helpful to other players. He introduced footbag to masses of people & helped players develop.
Jim Caveney 2nds Gary Preston- This fine sport of ours began with a nucleus in the Northwest. Tentacles of energy then reached out and found early crusaders. Gary was one of these passionate early crusaders. I implore my fellow voting members, especially those who didn't have the opportunity to get to know Gary and all he did in such an early time for this sport ... welcome him with open arms. He deserves to be recognized for his contribution to the sport, recognition worthy of membership in the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Peter Irish nominates Steve Blough
Steve Blough is perhaps one of the most controversial figures in footbag. His nomination has been attempted to be actively blocked due to political reasons. Like him or not, he created his own style of footbag (bloughchi), created a tournament circut and wrote perhaps the first book on footbag. Regardless of controversy, his exclusion from the footbag hall of fame goes against the open spirit of footbag. It's like not letting someone in your hack circle because you don't like them. I don't know Steve personally, and I don't know what he did to piss so many people off, but you cannot deny what he did. Ignore the politics, and decide for yourself whether what he created is worthy of induction.
Peter Irish nominates Ted Fritsch](Ted automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)

Ted is an east coast legend, one of the most dedicated players and promoters in the sport, tirelessly spreading footbag, running tournaments and competing. He is still attempting to host the world footbag championships in NYC, and tenaciously promoting our sport. Ted represents the true spirit of footbag and deserves to be a HOF'r

Peter Irish nominates Eric (Bart) Bartholomay ](Bart automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)

Bart is one of the greatest players and sponsors of his generation, running Kick in the Grass footbags and competing at the highest level. He left his mark on every player of his generation. A no brainer.
Ted Fritsch 2nd Eric Bartholomay-I always forget he was also a great freestyle player "Great net player and innovative freestyler." quote from Hall of fame member Sam Conlon. Below is a link to there 3rd place open team freestyle routine believed to be 1992 or 93
Peter Irish nominates Ethan "Red" Husted
Red is one of the great footbag freestylers of his time, helping to push the sport to new heights in the 90's with his aggressive style of play. He has remained dedicated to training the next generation of freestylers, and has been active in the Portland scene for years as a promoter and player. He is still active in all areas. His service and dedication deserve him a spot in the footbag HOF.
Ted Huff 2nd Ethan Husted-Red is a significant player and tournament director. The U.S. OPEN FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS are a testament to his significance to the sport.
Alex Zerbe nominates Eli Piltz (Eli automatically is on the 2015 final ballot since he got over 50% of the votes in 2014)
Eli Piltz’s contributions to the sport of Footbag are numerous and his impact on the sport continues to this day. I first met Eli at Western Regional Footbag Championships in 1999. At this point he was one of the top freestylers in the world and had been inducted into the Big Add Posse the previous year. In addition to being one of the best and most innovative Footbaggers of his era, he inspired a generation of freestlyers, with the footbag videos he produced and numerous other contributions that left his mark on the Footbag world. I had a hard time attempting to do justice to Eli’s Footbag legacy, but here goes…
FOOTBAG VIDEOS -In a time before the internet was ubiquitous, and even a three-minute video took a long time to download, Eli Piltz produced seven full-length videos that were available on VHS and later DVD. His videos were state of the art and featured the sport’s top players, who were all in North America in those days. Eli’s videos were watched repeatedly by up-and-coming players around the world, and were a major source of learning and inspiration. These videos pioneered the way footbag was filmed, and inspired other players to produce and sell their own Footbag videos pre-internet. Eli made a big sacrifice to produce these videos, paying his way to tournaments, investing in expensive equipment, forgoing the opportunity of playing in the best circles in order to film the best players, and spending countless hours editing and producing the final products. C’mon! He was editing reel-to-reel on VHS, that is hardcore! Here’s a list of the seven videos in order of release (does not include the shorter internet videos and tutorials he later produced, I’ll cover those in a later section). Rye Shred, Sultans of Shred, Reese's Pieces, Worlds ’99, Aggressive Grounds, The Sickening, Where the Ripwalk Ends
TOURNAMENT ORGANIZATION, Eli was the lead organizer of the first Colorado Shred Symposium (CSS1). This tournament went on to span 6 years, and for many of those years was the largest freestyle footbag event in North America. Eli was also a key organizer of the 2004 World Footbag Championships in Montreal. Among many other tasks, he spearheaded the media outreach and was responsible for projecting live video of the final round of freestyle on a huge screen behind the players as they performed, taking the production value of Worlds to the next level.
CREATION OF THE CIRCLE CONTEST-Eli, along with Ianek Regimbald, created the Circle Contest in 2006. The Circle Contest is a form of freestyle competition that most accurately reflects how the sport is organically played. Eli and Ianek spent a full year developing the new form of competition, which was enthusiastically received by the footbag community. The Circle Contest's first appearance at the World Footbag Championships was as an unofficial event in 2006. The following year it was added as an official event by the IFPA, and has been at every Worlds since.
DEMOS AND TV-Eli performed for tens of thousands of spectators over the years, with endorsements by such companies as Nike and K-Swiss. In 2001, after seeing some of Eli’s videos online, Nike hired Eli and a few other footbag players to represent their “Play” campaign. Together they performed high caliber freestyle routines for crowds of thousands of spectators across Southern California, and were showcased in videos on the Nike website. This campaign was the first time a major athletic company used the sport of footbag to endorse their products. Eli also appeared on a national cable show about action sports, and was featured in a K-Swiss shoe commercial in 2007, with world champion Vasek Klouda, which was broadcast internationally and has over 140,000 views on youtube. Check it out here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqldzoMHjBs. In addition, he frequently played in high profile public places, passing out fliers for upcoming tournaments and promoting his website, Flipsider.com
INSPIRATION, TERMINOLOGY, INFLUENCE and FLIPSIDER.COM-Eli fostered the footbag scenes in several different cities (Austin, Boulder, San Diego, Montreal, and Vancouver) as he moved around North America. It’s difficult to quantify Eli’s cultural influence on the sport. He invented the terms ‘flipside’ and ‘Atomic.’ It wasn’t so much that he invented footbag terms, lots of players did that, it’s that the terms and other contributions he brought to the sport stuck, and are still used today. Eli’s legacy continues to be a part of the sport we all love. In January, 2000, Eli launched Flipsider.com, a hip new Footbag company that featured an active footbag forum, videos of trick tutorials, player profiles, Footbag equipment (footbags, clothing, videos), and a plethora of information about the sport. He would even throw in a poster featuring one of the days' top players with your order. This site showcased Footbag as a young, hip sport. Flipsider’s vast and professionally presented library of trick tutorials was central to many players learning how to play, including now infamous Jorden Moir and future world champion Vasek Klouda. He also made a point of highlighting Women’s freestyle on Flipsider, an important contribution in this male dominated sport. Eli also helped push the level of the sport higher with his skill level, inventing no less than 32 unique tricks, ranging from 5 to 7 adds (See the list below). Some of these tricks have become standard, and are seen repeatedly in competition and circles everywhere. The guy was a beast with the bag, just watch… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHQrW6mNCuY Eli was a huge part of Footbag for many years but more importantly he helped shape the sport through his videos, his website and his personal participation. Through his tireless efforts, he pioneered an era of marketing and presentation of the sport that made it more appealing to future players. Footbag has always been cool. Eli Piltz made it cooler.
Here’s a list of the moves Eli invented: 5-add moves - Paradox Drifter Swirl (Paradox Swifter), In-spinning Paradox Drifter (In-Void), Ducking Paradox Drifter (Vertigo) [both sides], Ducking Paradox Barrage, Spinning Paradox Barrage [both sides], Spinning Far Double Pickup, Symposium Paradox Barrage, Symposium Gyro Barrage, Blurry Ducking Far Floating Pickup, Paradox Tapping Whirl, Paradox Tapping Drifter, 6-add moves - Spinning Ducking Paradox Drifter (Morpheus), Spinning Ducking Paradox Whirl (Maelstrom) [both sides], Symposium Gyro Diving Whirl (Colossus) [both sides], Symposium Tapping Symposium Whirl, Nuclear Whirl, Paradox Miraging Symposium Whirl (Paratoxic), Ducking Superfly [both sides], Diving Shaft [both sides], Gyro Shaft [both sides], Pixie Symposium Double-down (Pixie Dolomite) [both sides], Gyro Motion, Spinning Ducking Floating Osis (Osiris) [both sides], Blurry Ducking Osiris, Frontside Symposium RipWarrior [both sides], Frontside Symposium SpikeHammer, Gyro Drifter Swirl (Vortex Swirl/Gyro Swifter), Blurry Drifter Swirl (Blurry Swifter), 7-add moves - Montage [both sides], Nuclear Torque, Blurry Floating Blender, Blurry Paratoxic
Peter Irish 2nd Eli Piltz. His track record is huge, being the greatest footbag filmmaker in history, promoting footbag freestyle more than anyone in the 90's with Flipsider, the hippest footbag company of all time. He is also an innovator and one of the greatest freestylers in history. Once again, a no brainer.
Eurik Lindner nominates Grischa Tellenbach
He is the "Mister Footbag Europe"
Ted Huff nominates Steve Femmel, 2nds by David Connell, Ted Fritsch, Mag Hughes, Russ Weatherbee, Michael Commons, Steve’s daughter
Steve "hotshot' Femmel began his play in 1978, and joined the NHSA that year, while he worked for the U.S. Forest service as a hot shot forest fire fighter. He traveled to Oregon City offices and learned the net game from Gar Bruce and John Stalberger. In 1979, Steve won the 1st ever Novice Singles Net Championships over his buddy Ted Johnson, and also won the Novice Doubles Net Championships. In 1981, he came to Portland to be in the 1st Certified Instructors camp. Then he began working with Rick Kaufman to form the East Coast Footbag Association, and helped with those championships, besides many other tournaments , and events, including the world championships. in 1984 while earning his masters degree at West Virgina University, he formed their Footbag club, and played in world championships. in 1989 the USFS moved him and his family to a very rural area of N. California, and that interrupted his playing and teaching. In 2005, he started training his daughter, Sarah, and taking her to the Beaver Open, and U.S. Open. Chris Seibert began calling him "the gatekeeper", as he won most intermediate net singles and doubles titles. and, has won the Beaver Open draw partners net tournament, and so has his daughter. Steve Femmel is significant as the first ever Novice Net champion, and significant for all his work to teach and develop the sport on the east coast of the U.S. in the 80's. Please join with me and endorse this nomination, and vote Steve "Hot shot " Femmel into the hall of fame, for induction at the Beaver Open in 2015.
David Connell 2nds Steve Femmel - Steve Femmel taught me how to play footbag and he taught me the right way. He stressed the fundamentals ("LEFT INSIDE, no, don't turn your body, LEFT INSIDE NOT RIGHT!"). We practiced constantly, in all sorts of weather and on all sorts of courts--the most famous, of course, being the "root court," a patch of ground that literally had some tree roots coming out of the ground. One end was slightly lower than the other. One fond memory is that of playing an exhibition game at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, which is right on the Ohio River. The spectators were four or five people deep around the court. No exaggerating! I was never really an athlete, but Steve pushed me into the best physical shape I had ever been in...in my middle thirties. I was strong and coordinated thanks to Steve and his persistent coaching efforts with me. I will always thank him for that.
Ted Fritsch 2nd Steve Femmel - I would like to second Steve Femmel for consideration to the hall of fame. I met Steve for the first time this past year at the Beaver Open. Steve is a tenacious competitor. He has a footbag history that dwarfs most people who are playing today. Steve is a true ambassador for the sport of footbag
Mag Hughes 2nd Steve Femmel - Femmel gets my vote for the Hall because he has been an influential part of the sport since he burst on the seen at the National Hacky Sack Associations first training camp in 1981. His claim to fame is the "Gate Keeper," Mr. Intermediate Singles Net Champion. He has promoted the sport of Footbag Net everywhere. He is an excellent teacher of the game. Steve has always been an excellent ambassador of the game.
Russ Weatherbee 2nd Steve Femmel -I would also like to offer support for Steve Femmel. I have known Steve for over 20 years and can attest to his passion and strong support and commitment to footbag and, more specifically, netplay. In the time I have known Steve he has been instrumental in recruiting, training, and mentoring new players and helping the sport grow in our area. I also know that several of the players Steve has trained have gone on to do very well at significant netplay competitions. Steve has also been heavily involved in coaching other youth sports in the time I have known him and I wholeheartedly support his nomination.
Steve’s daughter - My dad has always been my own personal coach, whether it was catching for me during pitching practice or drilling my outside kicks over and over again. I remember the first time I ever played football, I was eleven years old at the Beaver Open. When I first told him I was going to sign up, he brought me to a court and helped me with serving and making sure I REALLY REALLY understood the right shots to use. Once I was hooked on the sport, my dad had another protege to work with. We balanced this with pitching workouts all through high school (and sometimes even had to convince me we could play net if I just went and pitched for an hour, which he always said with a giant smile on his face knowing he was getting a great deal). "THEE Steve Femmel" (as my friends and I call him) has always been very competitive, which I get from him. He's all about balancing the challenging aspects of the game with the fun of friendly competition. If I can say anything about his legacy as a football player, it is most definitely that he is one of the most natural teachers I've met. Random drawing one year at the beaver paired us two together. It was "show me a back kick, no, no, no you have to wait for the bag to drop lower, yeah, like that... turn your body more." We made it to the finals that year for his second year in a row and my first tournament second place. He is dedicated to playing as much as he can at tournaments with anyone who will take him on (getting their shot at the gatekeeper). At the US Open, even when I'm running around played three events at the same time as him, he'll find a time for us to have a father/ daughter kicking session (whether it's staying loose for matches or me on my quest to beat him). He was so proud when I finally did beat him, and looked at it as some newly fueled motivation to play all the time. He has a love for sports and always has, but footbag has held a special place in his heart since 1978. The Hall of Fame is lacking without THEE "hotshot" Steve Femmel.
Michael Commons 2nd Steve Femmel - I met Steve Femmel in the summer of 2001. We worked together for the National park Service in California. Within no time, somewhere between conversations about Dead shows and the Boston Red Sox, he inquired about my Footbag experience. I had never gone beyond semi-conscience kicking with a few friends in high school or as a way to pass time between making pizza deliveries. Yet when I showed the slightest interest in kicking, Steve’s eyes lit up—his mind was surely spinning as he began to plan his strategy. Before I knew it, Steve had enlisted me into his personal Footbag Net training camp. It had been quite a few years since he played. Out from the depths of a dark closet he pulled a box of footbags and memorabilia. The bags, dried from a decade of California air, were hard and unfamiliar. Steve worked with me for hours upon hours. His patience was proven by the hundreds of horrible kicks it took for me to be able to keep it up and over the net. Many mornings Steve would coax me from a weekend slumber, and force me to meet him for a match or two. He would convince me to go straight from work to the park and play in Redding’s raging summer sun. Every time, no matter how well I played I was grateful for my mentor, Steve Femmel. I was lucky to be with Steve for his first trip to the Beaver Open, where I got to meet the legends of Steve’s many Footbag stories. As with most souls lucky enough to experience the Beaver, I was hooked. I returned several times with Steve. One year we were teamed up together and won the tournament. It was a proud and heartfelt day for both of us. Steve had opened me to sports, taught me the fundamentals, trained me physically, and motivated me to compete. We traveled to Portland for the U.S. Open tournament where we played together in doubles intermediate. While we didn’t win the tournament, we did make it to the semi-finals. I cannot emphasize enough the sincere passion that Steve has for training and educating players of Footbag net. While I would be chasing the bag around the court, Steve was placing every shot precisely where I most needed improvement. Maybe it was all just fun game for him, but I believe he was playing only in part for himself, but largely he played to train me and other players that he embraced in his life. Even when we would play in a public park or the local middle school, he would reach out to passers-by, inquisitive kids, or skeptical athletes of other sports. We would take time from our games, share with the new acquaintances, letting them join us or simply letting them play with an extra bag while we continued our game. Steve took every opportunity to reach out and share the sport. I fully support the induction of Steve Femmel into the Footbag Hall of Fame. Steve Femmel is deserving of formal recognition for his contribution to the sport, especially through his natural and highly successful training, plus his long-time engagement with the sport, his legacy of competing, and his overall passion for Footbag.

Scott Milne nominates Pauline Bechtel, 2nds by Lisa Monti
Pauline was very influential to the Footbag scene in Vancouver BC for many years. Her enthusiasm sense of humor and friendly personality drew new players into our group regularly. Pauline always helped out with organizing our tournaments and brought in a lot of the women that joined our club. She started playing before I did and still kicks today. Pauline deserves to be recognized and inducted to the Footbag Hall Of Fame.

Lisa Monti 2nds Pauline Bechtel. Pauline has been a long time player and promoter of Footbag in Vancouver BC. She was a Footbag freestyler, golfer and net player long before I started playing and she is still playing to this day. As an early and integral part of the Kitsilano Kickers Pauline was involved with all aspects of the sport from hosting the tournament to competing in it. Pauline is a tough competitor and still is underestimated as a wily master of placement and tenaciousness on the net court. Pauline certainly embodies the spirit of the game and should be recognized for her many years of playing and contributing to the promotion of the sport of Footbag.

Jon Lind nominates Heather Cook, 2nds by Kenny Shults, Vince Bradley , Tina Lewis
I am officially and honorably nominating Heather Cook for the Footbag Hall of Fame. Heather first became introduced to Footbag in 1982. In 1985 she attended the WFA training camp, and she started competing all over the USA. She won and placed in countless of these tournaments, with the crowning jewel being the 1989 single freestyle world championship. That same year Heather set the first world record for timed consecutive’s, earning her a place in the Guinness World Record book. Heathers impact in pioneering women's Freestyle is undeniable. She had such an incredibly technical style of play that it pushed all of the top competitors of that era to learn all of the challenging dexterity driven tricks and combinations. I remember her being the first woman to hit Ossis, Double Around the World, and so many other technical tricks. Through all of this dedication and hard work on her freestyle game she was very inspirational and innovative, pushing the sport during this era of competition. Back in her home state of Arizona, she founded and anchored the influential Ariel Zone Footbag Club, AZFC, Training with many Footbag legends including Randy Mulder, whom she trained alone with for two years. This club was such a strong force for years in the tournaments producing many world champions, and incredible visibility for the sport in the Phoenix area. Heather was known by everyone in the Phoenix area as “hack sack girl”, and was always recruiting new players and promoting Footbag. Heather was so steadfast in her dedication that for ten years you could count on seeing her and the whole AZFC in the public eye with known and promoted events. All of this exposure led to earning key cooperate sponsorships that paid her way to travel to tournaments and do constant demos for public schools, districts and events. At this time of Footbag getting large sponsorships, was an innovative and rare way to expose the public to the sport of Footbag. During this time Heather also was teaching Footbag seminars to children through the parks and recs department, influencing a new generation to get involved in the sport of foot bag. In this ten year run of a demanding show, tournament, and demo schedule, Heather also traveled with skateboard teams, doing very high profile shows sponsored by Swatch. Including three malls a weekend to countless screaming kids, pushing the sport of Footbag in her region like no other. Heather was also a big part of the Flying Clipper teams we assembled during that era, and was partnered with Kenny Schults, together they were dubbed by Jim Fitzgerald and Reed Grey as “The Team”. It was through this involvement that I was lucky enough to become close friends with this exceptional person. I believe everyone on those early Flying Clipper teams are all members of the Footbag Hall of fame. Please join me in putting Heather Cook where she deservedly should be, by voting her into the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Kenny Shults 2nd Heather Cook - I would like to officially 2nd that nomination. Heather was the first woman that I remember doing double dexterity tricks. In the 80's she was the first woman freestyler to truly "shred". I don't know her full resume of tournament victories but she was a perennial finalist in women's freestyle at the world championships and led the way for players like Carol Wedemeyer and Tina Aberli. The footbag hall of fame is incomplete without Heather Cook.
Vince Bradley 2nd Heather Cook -I agree with Ken, the Hall of Fame has been incomplete without Heather Cook.
My encounters meeting Heather at events in the early 90s were always exemplary of the spirit of the sport, and she convinced me women didn't need their own division in freestyle.
Peter Irish nominates Chris Donofrio
WFA Tour Team Member from 1986-1989 over 1100 Footbag performances from school shows to festivals, concerts, arts and crafts shows, flea markets, soccer events, juggling events, you name it and he probably did it. Chris was the ultimate road warrior behind Jeff "Animal" Johnson. He would never turn down a gig if involved promoting the sport of Footbag. He has performed with such legends as Bruce Guettich, Greg Cortopassi, Jeff "Animal" Johnson, Jim Caveney, Randy Nelson, Jeff Haas. I perfomed/lived with Chris for 5 months traveling in a motorhome doing 3-4 school shows a day in the great northwest spreading the gospel of Footbag. He was extremely professional in everything that had to do with promoting the sport of Footbag, from being on time for a show, to his work on the microphone, his dealings with the school administrations, to dealing with a rowdy High School crowd. I was proud to have him as a working partner who I could rely on. I believe Chris Donofrio has earned a long over due spot in the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Tuomas Karki nominates Matti Pohjola, 2nds by Jukka Peltola and Justin Sexton
MATTI POHJOLA Matti Pohjola is one of the world’s most successful still active net players in the sport of footbag. Matti started his footbag career and his own footbag club (RBS Möhkäle) already back in 1999, in Turku, Finland. Matti has been a top-ten player for the last ten years and has won numerous singles, doubles, and mixed titles in Worlds and Euros during his successful career. As an organizer Matti has ran and been involved in a huge number of events from small tournaments to World Footbag Championships. Matti has organized annual Turku Opens since 1999 and numerous Finnish Footbag Opens. He was the main organizer of 2014 Euros in Turku and one of the main organizers of Worlds 2011 in Helsinki. Matti is also a regular net director or advisor in most of the major tournaments he attends. Matti is also a long term active member of FFA, IFC and EFC. As a person he is one the funniest guys you'll meet in footbag tournaments. He is well known and liked among current and former footbag players. It’s not very exaggerated to say that Matti has been one of the most influential person in the recent history of footbag, and he if someone has deserved a HOF nomination.
Tuomas Karki nominates IIkka Malin, 2nds by Jukka Peltola and Justin Sexton
IILKKA MALIN Ilkka started playing footbag in 1997. The same year he went to the Portland Worlds and also competed in freestyle in the first ever Finnish Footbag Open. Ilkka has always had a very unique and smooth style of freestyling which has won him many medals in Finnish footbag competitions, as well as in other European competitions. He is also the European Champion in doubles freestyle with Justin Sexton. He was one of the first new young generation in the Finnish Footbag Association doing shows and presentations for media. He has also been involved in organizing most of the footbag events held in Finland and is a long term member of the Finnish Footbag Association (FFA) board. Since 2013 he has been the president of the FFA. Ilkka was the freestyle director of 2005 Worlds in Helsinki and freestyle co-director of Worlds 2011 Helsinki. As the FFA president he also took an important role in organising the 2014 Euros in Turku. In addition to being the president of one of the longest running (and most successful) footbag associations in Europe, Ilkka also has a great skill of designing the coolest footbag t-shirts as well as many of the tournament medals and diplomas. He has been one of the most active players in promoting footbag in Finland and has done a lot of shows and freestyle demos during his footbag career. As he is now retired from the freestyle competitions he is a familiar
Joe Solonoski nominates Rob McCloskey
I would like to nominate Rob McCloskey, World Footbag Golf champion and staff member for the majority of the 25 Summer Classic Footbag Tournments. Rob always showed up days before the tournament to set up and stayed afterwards to break down. He was the first staff member on site for early morning set up, was the lead score keeper & official judge of most finals net matches and ran the sound system for most of the freestyle events. Most of our incredible staff have been inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame. Rob was co-founder of the Penn State Cow Invitational. He's kicked 1000 consecutives for 514 days. Holds several golf, consecutive, singles & doubles net titles. Rob is a Footbag kindred spirit who has taught Footbag to many.
Ted Fritsch nominates Heather Squires Thomas, 2nds by Tina Lewis
I would like to nominate Heather Squires Thomas. Here is a bio I asked her to put together;
Hi! I'm Heather Squires-Thomas. I've been playing footbag since 1983. My first tournament was in Houston, Texas at Memorial park in 1983. I hacked around in college, at The University of Texas at Ausitn, daily finding regular circles here and there, always with a footbag in hand. I moved back to Houston in the early eighties and continued to hack on the beach regularly where I met my fantastic husband Scott. I eventually obtained the Houston reputation as "The Hacky Lady." My first world footbag tournament was in 1988 and I was hooked. After catching the footbag bug, I found myself designing Footbag t-shirts to promote the sport and support my Footbag traveling habit. I also found myself kicking in every spare moment. Traveling around the United States and Canada , I have had many great experiences competing with a host of wonderful friends and acquaintance's, managing to represent Texas women as well as acquire the practice I needed to be competitive with the best players around the world. For many years I assisted in finding local sponsorships for, and organizing tournaments in and around Houston. I hold several Texas State and Southern regional women titles from 1987-2004. I also share the World's 1994 Women's Team Freestyle title with partner Julie Simon and a World's 1994 third place Women's Doubles Net with partner Laura Creigh, as well as the World's 2004 third place Women's Doubles Net with partner Tina Lewis. Since 1994 I've had three beautiful children...Austin, Avery,and Ashley. Currently I'm an Early Childhood Educator and in my spare time I am a jewelry designer: Heather Squires Designs. I am proud of my accomplishments. Footbag taught me the life lesson that "If you put your mind to it , you can do it." I have been successful applying that theory to the rest of my life, and passing that message to my children, my students, and those around me. I have come in and out of retirement, and hope to continue doing so. Footbag will always be in my blood. I went to the 2002 Texas State, where I played open doubles with Tina Lewis and took third place. It was a great tournament at an awesome site in downtown Houston at the Westheimer Art Festival. A site to see! Texas State 2003 was held in Austin,TX. What a great tournament. Chris Seibert and I won Mixed Doubles. Yey! Montreal, Canada for the 2004 World Footbag tournament was fun. I entered Singles Net-placed sixth, Doubles Net with partner Tina Lewis-placed 3rd, and Mixed Net with partner Chris Seibert- placed 5th. Didn't manage to freestyle much though! Maybe next time. I've continued my love for Footbag over the years. as life can get overwhelming, I can always find refuge in kicking. At least one passing, free styling, or kicking consecs. My love will always be playing net!! Competing in Footbag Net touches my soul and grounds me. In 2005, I was compeled to help the Hurricane Katrina victims in anyway I could. I decided it would be a good idea to contact my footbag friends. I requested footbagers to send footbags to take to the teenagers, who were evacuated from New Orleans and surrounding areas, and relocated to Houston Convention Centers. I really only expected for friends to maybe send an old Footbag or so. Who knew? I was so overwelmed by the response from around the world. I received footbags from Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia, Canada, Poland, Russia, USA, etc. I was able to distribute approximately 3000+ footbags that were graciously donated. I was fortunate to represent the Footbag community, who are some of the most awesome, giving people. There was a great deal of happiness and appreciation that came from the thoughtfulness of fellow footbaggers. Thanks again to those of you who contributed. Currently, 30* years later, I continue to freestyle, one pass, and kick consecs on the weekends at Herman park, Memorial Park, Discovery Greene, or wherever I hap upon a circle of people kicking a bag. Every once in a while I'll meet someone from the old days and they will still recognize and address me as "The Hacky Lady." A label and a complement I'll always treasure. As long as I'm able , I will continue to kick! Message to you: Keep growing our awesome sport, keep kicking, and never say "I can't "... YOU CAN!
Tina Lewis 2nd Heather Squires Thomas - I second the nomination of Heather Thomas. She represents the spirit and heart of Footbag and has been an integral and important part of Footbag in Texas from the beginning and continuing on to represent the outstanding women in the sport of Footbag. I say it is fitting that we induct two great Heathers - Heather Squires Thomas and Heather Cook.
Hof member

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