Beginners at tournaments?

[Nitrox]

As some of you may know by now (I've been spending a lot of time on these boards the last few weeks) I am a beginner.
I can hit a few 2adds, can keep the bag off the ground for a few seconds, but really can't compete.

But, given that I don't have people to shred with here I kinda want to want to tourneys, seeing as from what I hear shredding with other people is one of the best ways to get better!

So basically is it worth it to drive across a few states to go to a tournament and just hang out? And what level is appropriate for intermediate, I don't mean to win but just to be able to compete at a decent level - strong tiltless? Guiltless?

Thanks!

[Asmus]

Hey! And welcome to our sport.

It is more than worth it to drive a few states to hang and play.
There are 2 main reasons for that:
1. Footbaggers are some of the coolest people in the world to hang out with
2. You will learn alot and be really inspired

Any level is appropiate for intermediate.
When I did my first routine I could probably do 5 different tiltless tricks. It will still a great experience.

Looking forward to hear more from you and see you become awesome at footbag.

[Outsider]

I'll second everything that Asmus just said. And I'll add some stuff too:

In this sport, we sometimes say that competitions are just an excuse for people to get together and play alot. That is, the main reason for a competition is not necessarily the competitive events themselves, but, all the jammin' we do all day and night before and after the competitive events. And also, the partying... Competing is also fun. Some people like it, some people don't. Some people are good at it, and some people aren't. Some of the best players I've ever known almost never actually competed, but... they traveled all the hell over the place going to tournaments and just jammin' and partying and hangin' out. There's nothing wrong with competing. I like to compete, and almost always do, but, its just a small part of why I go to competitions. As for yourself, you might want to watch one competition before actually entering one. I did this, years ago. I wanted to compete, but, never having seen an actual competition before, I thought I'd like to see one in order to better prepare myself for when I did actually enter a competition. On the other hand, one of the things I learned from my first competition (the first one I entered, that is, not the first one I watched) is that, no matter what preparations you might make for entering a competition, you probably cannot actually be ready to compete until you've already gotten some experience competing under your belt. In other words, one important component of preparing for a competition is having had previous competition experience. So, you might as well just jump right in and start getting that experience.

Good luck. And have fun (no question about that, you're sure to have a really good time) -- one other thing we sometimes say in footbag (well, some of us old-timers, anyway) is "Most Fun Wins." In other words, if you go to a competition and you have a really good time, you're winnin', even if you finish in, like, last place (actually, these days I'm often pretty out-of-practice, and everybody else keeps getting so much better, that my goal is often just to NOT finish in last place, and that, to me, is like a whole other kind of winning )

[mysterybagger]

definitely go to tournaments. even if it seems intimidating, it is helpful. my first tournament was worlds, and though iwas only tiltless then, i absolutley loved it.