Am I completely 100% insane or is this not a good idea...

[slapdash21]

State Champions? like to give the U.S. scene something that the euro scene doesn't really have, or maybe i just think it would be cool to like have regional tournaments to decide who the best in the state is. im not really sure because I= so forgive me if its retarded.

[Iron Clad Ben]

Sure! Host a state tournament, but just realize people may come in from out of state and steal the show. Ben Rinowski is the current Texas state champion, but he is from Oklahoma. He came down to Texas last fall and whipped everyone's ass.

[C-Fan]

There was similar opposition when Americans went to Euros and won. Eventually, the Europeans just got good enough that nobody cared. In fact, I think it can be good motivation for people to improve; if you don't want the US Champion to be Canadian/Czech/whatever, then Americans should push to get better.

But yeah, I think the way people treated Euros in the late 90s/early 00s was to give a trophy to the overall champ (usually an American), and then give a trophy to the European who finished highest. You could conceivably do that in "state championships" too.

In my honest opinion however, I don't think any state really has a big enough scene for a State championship to hold much meaning. Off the top of my head, here's a list of some of the country's best players, and the states they live in (by no means comprehensive)

Clavens-PA
Penske-Idaho
WDigges-NY
Landes-Oregon
Bevier-PA
Nate Linscott-CA
Luis Monhollon-OK

Are there any states that currently have 3 or more World-class players? I can't think of any off the top of my head. And so having a tournament where the top spot is only contested between 2 people is a bit pointless.

Maybe East/West Coast, or regional champs would have more meaning. Personally, I like the idea of a US champion, a Euros champ, and a World champ. I think it would be very cool if there would be a Pan-Pacific champ too, where NZ, Australia and Japan have a comp, but logistically this would be hard to manage.

[Outsider]

For the sake of the footbag player, winning a "State Championship" might not really mean anything more than winning any other small-to-mid-sized event. But for the sake of those who may be sponsoring the event it could be a good idea. If you were to get a little support from, say, your local municipality or chamber of commerce, they might prefer sponsoring the "Massachusetts State Footbag Championships" over, say, "Bowler's Bitchin' 'Bag Championships!"

A couple years ago, when Jack Keller and I ran the first "Jersey Spike And Shred" on the lawn of our local county courthouse, they liked our little tournament and seemed genuinely interested in the possibility that we could up the ante and bring "The East Coast Footbag Championships" to town at some later date. Official-sounding events are generally probably more appealing to the bureaucrats who hold power at your local government or school or whatever, and perhaps to other sponsors as well.

[Moxie]

FYI Nate Linscott now lives in Oregon so he no longer holds the CA title.

[ObArA'BaRs]

I dont know, i still think regional tournaments work out better. More people from more states will come and the events are crazier. Maybe there should be more regionals or something like that. Southern,western,eastern,northern,midwestern(go Illinois!) , and shit like that, but more of them(if that makes sense). More people representin yo

[dyalander]

You could do it so the "state champion" is the highest placed footbager from that state.
As a measure of which state is the best or which player is the best the way to go would be a National Championship event.
The more events the better - even if it is largely the same faces and the same outcome it gives people experience holding events - it gives judges experience they can't get any other way - and it gives players experience competing. If you attract and impress spectators/sponsors, and maybe recruit some new players thats an added bonus.

I think the way forward would be to establish an American Footbag Association primarily in charge of organising a national champs every year, and also in charge of sanctioning any "State Championships". More generally it would work like the ifpa is supposed to, organising footbag on a national scale - establishing standards for events, providing a way for players and organisers to connect with each other and with prospective sponsors. You'd need to set it up as a non-profit organisation, and you'd require that all competitors at sanctioned events are members. You charge a fee for membership and the money goes back into the events and the scene. You establish a national council or a board of directors elected from and by the members - with a limit on how many per state so one state can't dominate voting and monopolise the national event. Each year the association accepts proposals from prospective host cities for the national event. You could also have some mechanism to allow clubs within each state to decide how and where to hold their state champs. SInce the scene is small its easy to set up - its only going to be harder to get off the ground as the scene gets bigger.

[BenRea]

No, i Pick Matt Cross for NY not Wdigges, they should have a playoff for the title

[ObArA'BaRs]

Wow Dyalan that is a fucking great idea!
It seriously blew my mind.

[dyalander]

I can't take the credit, its pretty much based on how we run footbag in Australia. We don't have state champs though because each individual scene is too small, and the distances between scenes make it difficult to get together more than once or twice a year - so each year we have nationals, and usually one other jam that isn't quite as big. It's also how we keep http://www.ausfootbag.org up.
The thing to remember is that while the scene is small its easier to put the structures in place - this is balanced against the fact that only a few people are actively involved at any given time because there are only a handful of people with limited free time. Most importantly though, once there a lots of clubs and players it will be far more difficult to agree on processes and constitutions and it will be more dificult to get off the ground - but more necessary to run the sport.That's why I think its important you guys do this now and set it up in such a way so as to prepare the sport for the future.