How do you support footbag??

bake · Post by **bake** » 17 Dec 2002 11:25

Well the sport of footbag right now is growing through what we do for it. I was wondering what you are doing to make the sport grow?? There is all this talk about it getting bigger but how can we get it bigger if you yourself are not doing anything to promote it. I am starting this forum so we can all get a idea what each other is doing, and have done to promote the sport. If you want it to grow it is on your shoulders. Please post anything either it kicking in public starting a club etc. There are few of us and we could probably all do a little better about promoting the sport.

Here are a few things I have done:

1.Traveled to Ireland and the Czech Republic for 4 months teaching kids about footbag 6 days a week. Holding competitions and exposing people like Vasek to the sport. Getting in various newspapers and t.v. spots in both country's.

2. Traveled around the U.S for 1 1/2 years doing school assembly shows teaching kids about footbag, net, freestyle in every show generally 3 shows a day. Estimate about 1200 shows. Anywhere between 10-900 kids a show.

3. Organized two tournaments one in Eugene Oregon the Eugene Freestyle Freekout and one in Seattle The Seattle Juggling and Footbag Festival. And helped organize another in Seattle.

4. Organized the Assembly of Shredders and ran that every summer in Eugene Oregon. Where twice a week we picked a trafficed spot and kicked trying to show people about it.

5. Done hundreds of street shows with my partner Alex Zerbe doing footbag in them exposing people to the idea that there is more than just kickin it.

6. Traveled to many tournaments and I am a IFPA member

Juana · Post by **Juana** » 17 Dec 2002 12:01

Props to you Matt Baker! This topic is difficult to not come off sounding like one is bragging...but here are some of the things that I have done for footbag:
I've worked for the WFA, done a hundreds of school assemblies demonstrating footbag and other alternative sports, am a member of IFPA, sponser tournaments with footbags and supply many shredders with hand-sewn footbags, hand out http://www.footbag.org business-size cards to interested spectators, sold hundreds of revolution shred bags to kids all across the country, am on Infinity Toy's Eclipse Footbag packaging & website, volunteered footbag demonstrations for alternative centers, performed at state hospitals, a drug rehab center, school for the deaf, and Mall of America (Games by James). I also participate in any events I can afford to attend and try to help out the event staff at tournaments. I suppose my main contribution to footbag is just being a girl...this exposes other girls to women freestylers so that they don't perceive it as just a "guy" thing. -Jane Oh, and I started the Rain City Shred club in Seattle with Zerbe

Dat · Post by **Dat** » 17 Dec 2002 13:11

I've helped Scott Cleere with an assembly at a middle school.

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 17 Dec 2002 14:38

I support footbag.

1) I stitch footbags
2) I am an IFPA member
3) I enter 4 or more tourneys a year
4) I have given an elementary school demo ( got paid 150 bucks!)
5) I preach the good word of footbag to all who listen to my wisdom

Senor Grommet

wicked · Post by **wicked** » 17 Dec 2002 14:46

w/ full hacks

Muffinman · Post by **Muffinman** » 17 Dec 2002 14:51

ive done paid demos. and i guess i organize the freestyle half of our club now.

hotstepper · Post by **hotstepper** » 17 Dec 2002 15:08

I geuss I have done alot of stuff

1) Toured Ireland and the Czech Republic with Matt.
2) Organized two tournaments in my home province
3) Give away my old pair of lavers to who ever wants them to keep people kicking in Saskatoon
4) at least a dozen local school and private function demos.
5) Created and help run saskatoon hotsteppers

Good to see that you are still your self Matt. Mike

ToeGuiltless · Post by **ToeGuiltless** » 17 Dec 2002 22:59

i teach footbag for a living.

QuantumBalance · Post by **QuantumBalance** » 17 Dec 2002 23:55

full hacks take the CAKE!

QuantumBalance · Post by **QuantumBalance** » 17 Dec 2002 23:55

oh yeah but i co teach with pinky

bazroberts1984 · Post by **bazroberts1984** » 18 Dec 2002 04:05

So when did you go to Ireland Matt and Mark? Was there any interest in the sport there? Made any contacts? Did you go to any other part of the UK?

bake · Post by **bake** » 18 Dec 2002 10:55

It can come off as bragging I can see that. I am just interested to see how others go about promoting the sport. I do not do school assembly's as much anymore and am curious on how I can still promote footbag other than tournaments etc.

Chris, How and where do you teach footbag? Explain?

In Ireland Mike and I (not mark) were part of a team with many other footbag players from all over. Frank and Yves from Paris and tons of canadians. There were tons of interest in Ireland. Football is such a big thing there that footbag was just a biproduct of that. Where as in the Czech hockey is bigger there in my opinion so footbag caught on as it's own seperate thing. I doubt anyone plays in Ireland though. There was a club for a while there but then dissapeared.

bake · Post by **bake** » 18 Dec 2002 10:56

Mike you are busting it out in Saskatoon. You are the reason Footbag exists there!! Good job man!!

bazroberts1984 · Post by **bazroberts1984** » 18 Dec 2002 14:14

Sorry, I'd just done an all-nighter to get some work done for uni (I'm dopey with names!)

ToeGuiltless · Post by **ToeGuiltless** » 18 Dec 2002 17:01

i met this crazy old soccer guy. he appears to be pretty involved with soccer, and doing the soccer tricks. he's got a HUGE portfolio. Now i play hack with him, and he talked to this woman who works for the city of glendale, and they arranged for me and sam to teach footbag for money. we have a nice article in the city's class schedules, and will probably even get a local commercial for this class.

sacktreter · Post by **sacktreter** » 19 Dec 2002 07:47

compared to you guys i feel like doing nothing for footbag. ive never held a tournement or jam and im not even an ifpa member. but i love the easiest way of promoting the sport: playing in public. i can really shred better in front of people who have never seen footbag before. but everyone who showed interest and wanted to learn it gave up practicing because he thought he would never learn it when seeing me shred, although many of them hit clippers and mirages after like 2 weeks. i tell them how i started, how long it took me to learn these tricks, but most dont have the necessary endurance to keep on skooling. how can i encourage them? i love teaching footbag to others...but it seems it leads to nothing.

NotHisRealName · Post by **NotHisRealName** » 19 Dec 2002 14:53

I help organise a Club which is the most active club in Queensland.
We were giving free lessons at one stage, but everyone's schedule got a bit buisy, so we've put that on hold for a few months. We also held the FIRST footbag comp in Queensland, and we all try to shread in public as often as possible.
But, yeah, I think just shreading in public is a great form of advertisment for the sport, and it's great for newbies. Especially when you hit a clipper and on-lookers are like "Wow! That's amazing. You must be the best in the world!"
Always makes me laugh when people say that.

Zerbalicious · Post by **Zerbalicious** » 20 Dec 2002 23:23

-Trained Matt Baker on how to perform a full length school assembly

-(Co)Founded the Rain City Shred Footbag Club
-Directed a tournament
-Co-Directed the Seattle Juggling and Footbag Festival

-Said, "Hackey Sack is a name brand and Footbag is a sport" about a million times
-Toured for Creative Athletics for 5 months
-Toured for Infinity Toys for 6 months with Jane Jones
(Well over 100,000 kids were exposed to freestyle)
-Competeted in 4 World Championships (and Euro 2000) as well as many other tournements
-Performed footbag in many Street and Theater shows with Matt Baker
-Mentored Justin Dale (who is now better than me

)
-And some other stuff that's too small to mention

That last one's a joke.

Nothing's too small to mention

NotHisRealName · Post by **NotHisRealName** » 20 Dec 2002 23:51

Ha ha ha.
If I had a dollar for every time I've explaned the difference between Hackysack and Footbag....

bake · Post by **bake** » 22 Dec 2002 12:35

So now that we have established what we have all done for the sport.
The question now is what can we do to take it to another level?
Should we write letters to ESPN, Olympic committee, Extreme Games? Should we start doing more demo's? What can we do to expose the sport to the mass population? I think that stree hack and jumping off of stuff is where the future is at. I think that is what is going to appeal to ESPN and the Extreme Games. But how can we put our collective minds together and get this sport bigger. Support the IFPA for one! Organize a tournament and attend as many as possible. Any ideas?

Your right Alex nothing is to small to mention. You also forgot to mention Alex that you are the 8th best in the world

Peace

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How do you support footbag??

What do you do to support footbag?

How do you support footbag??

supporting footbag