2010 Footbag Hall of Fame nomination process begins!

[Iron Clad Ben]

From footbag.org:

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 2010. The nominations process is open now until March 31st, 2010. 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:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform ... dDNfYXc6MA

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 towords 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

I've nominated Red Husted.

[Rieferman]

I'm curious... do players find the footbag hall of fame to be interesting and relevant?

[Senor Grommet]

Every time this shit comes up I say the same thing. How do you know when a player has achieved 15 years of active involvement? I mean, I checked back in the .org archives of tournament results and it only goes back to 97, or so I've found, and the 15 years requires involvement since 1995 or earlier. So again, why is there not a masterlist published (by someone who knows more than I do about this subject) to tell all the voting members about which current and past players/promoters are eligible for the HoF?

To me, the HoF is fairly irrelevant, although I regularly play footbag with 2 HoF members.

[Iron Clad Ben]

I'm curious... do players find the footbag hall of fame to be interesting and relevant?

Almost everyone in Texas over 40 who still plays is HoF. So it's pretty cool. I think it keeps the older folks involved in the sport. It allows them to leave a legacy and is recognition for their hard work over the years (whereas BAP is all about reaching a certain skill threshold and not so much about work/involvement/leadership in the sport). To the folks in HoF, it means a hell of a lot. So I think it's relevant. But I don't think "gosh I hope I'm in the footbag hall of fame one day". That's too far off. But it helps build and maintain history for our sport. If you ever see Tim Vozar's portable footbag hall of fame museum that he tows with his truck from Houston to Austin (3+ hour drive) every year, it's quite a spectacle.

Every time this shit comes up I say the same thing. How do you know when a player has achieved 15 years of active involvement?

I think Kenny's rule was that it was from your first tournament. So Red said he started in '94 and was BAP by '97. Did he go to his first tournament in '95, I don't really know, stab in the dark. But the work the guy has done, I think there's no doubt in my mind he deserves it even if he's not eligible for another year or two.

[Jeremy]

I nominated Daryl Genz last year and have a few other players I plan on nominating in the near future, so I'm happy to participate in the process. However I personally tend to think that the hall of fame was introduced way to early in the history of footbag. When I look at other sports and organisations that I've been involved in, all the ones that have hall of fames introduced them well over 50 years after the organisation started. For example in the AFL they introduced their hall of fame when the national competition was 100 years old and the sport was 150 years old. I did a footbag demo for a performing arts organisation recently that was in the process of introducing a hall of fame in the near future, and was over 60 years old. I can think of lots of other examples as well, and no organisations with ages comparable with footbag that have a hall of fame.

The problem that I see this bringing is that it means a lot more people are in the hall of fame than otherwise would be, and this kind of diminishes the value of getting into the hall. Of course this is a fairly meaningless and trivial kind of complaint. All the people I know or know of who are in the hall of fame clearly deserve recognition for their efforts in footbag and this is a good way of recognising them. As Bob might be implying though, the footbag hall of fame is less relevant than hall of fames for other sports and organisations. I don't really even know if that's a real problem though.


edit; How do you know when a player has achieved 15 years? A few years ago when Daryl Genz sponsored an event I put on, as well as doing a lot of stuff that year, I sent him an email and asked him directly when his first tournament was. Somehow I managed to remember and nominated him a few years later when he was eligible.

[Rieferman]

Let me be clear that I haven't yet stated my opinion one way or the other on the topic. I'm just wondering if the players are interested, and if they think the hall of fame is relevant in any way.

Perhaps asking on Modified where there only appears to be about 15 people posting regularly (other than blogs) is a poor place for me to wonder about it though

[g00d33]

I do think it's relevant. But to be honest, I think my only reasoning involves the fact that I was able to attend the induction ceremony at funtastiks this past summer, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the history behind everything.

So just because I've experienced it, I feel it's relevant. If I had not, I think my opinion would have been indifferent. I know that beforehand, whenever the email would be sent out, I might've looked at the names but didn't really pay much attention to it. At this point, I'll probably care a little more and follow it a little more closely

[Frank_Sinatra]

I enjoy being able to say "yes there's a world championship" or "yes there are clubs" or "yes there's a hall of fame" when telling people about the sport.

[Eric Chang]

I enjoy being able to say "yes there's a world championship" or "yes there are clubs" or "yes there's a hall of fame" when telling people about the sport.

Also once you become a Hall of Famer, thats when you realize thats where all the money and women are in footbag.

But I think its nice to recognize people within our sport, so a few might read up and realize the hard work that many others have put into the sport.

[Jorden]

Yeah, Footbag Hall of Fame...

isn't it a tree-falling-in-the-woods situation?

[habitat]

I nominate Erik Chan.

[Eric Chang]

I nominate Erik Chan.

You done trolling me yet?

[habitat]

U mad.

[timvozar]

Below are the current nominations so far as of 03/31/2010.

Benjamin Benulis nominates Ethan "Red' Husted
Red has done a tremendous job carrying on the tradition of footbag in Portland and throughout the US. He's run the US Open (or at leas the freestyle portion) for several years. He has also taught his own footbag program at public schools. The amount of work he does for the sport is immense. Assuming he is eligible (not sure exact year of his first tournament)
Scott Milne (Hof member) nominates Jake "The Snake" Leong
Jake has been playing, organizing, and winning since the mid 80's. He has always been a key member and organizer of the Kitsilano Footbag Assoc. He has won countless events and made it to the finals at The World Championships many times. I don't think I've ever once beat him in a singles net game. (OK, so that's not saying much)Jake deserves to be inducted into the Footbag Hall of Fame.
Mike Stefanelli nominates Jake Leong
Jake Leong has been a significant member of the Kitsilano Kickers footbag club since its inception. Jake is an outstanding player and has played and done well in numerous tournaments around the world. He has played with and against some of the best kickers in the world. Jake is well thought of in the footbag community. He is an ambassador of the sport. He deserves to be in the footbag hall of fame...Dr. Mike
Juliet Pendray nominates Jake Leong
I've sent in detail testimonials before for Jake's nomination, actually I thought he had already been inducted! But a scan of the list tells me his name is missing. Will try to write up something, but I know you know who he is and why he is being nominated. He is Jake the Snake and responsible for many wonderful things in and for Footbag. cheers. - Juliet "Scrappy" Pendray
Asmus Helms nominates Ethan Husted
Ethan "Red" Husted has many accomplishments and done alot to the sport in a long career. He joined BAP in 1997. Invented the first 4 dex in 200 (Shooting Barfly). Since that time he has worked hard on promoting footbag. Helped relaunch the now probably biggest footbag club in the world (Sole Purpose in Portland). Was the main organizer for the first US Open (for freestyle) in recent times. Started a very serious footbag magazine/shop/website http://www.fourkast.com. He released a footbag DVD (Fourkast) back in 2004. He was part of the footbaggers that where included in the Hollywood film "You Dont Mess With Zohan".
Andre Lemaire nominates Jake Leong
He's been the top player in the Vancouver club for as long as I can remember. He is the one who showed myself and many others this crazy game of footbag. He is "Jake The Snake Leong"
Andy Linder (Hof member) nominates Lee Guenther
I have submitted a detailed testimony previously that may be on file. If not, and Lee makes the ballot, I will write another one.
Ken Hamric (Hof member) nominates Lee Guenther
Lee Guenther was the driving force behind forming Memphis Footworks, a footbag club which began in 1981 and is still active to this day. Lee served as the club's first president, and is responsible for bringing competitive footbag to the southern part of the USA, organizing many tournaments in the 1980's and influencing 2 generations of players with his love of the sport. Lee has the unique ability to relate to and bring together people from diverse backgrounds, and has been a true leader.
Jonathan Schneider nominates Richard B. Abshire
Richie Abshire has been playing footbag for a long time. He's a great freestyle footbag shredder. After all these years he still plays really hard. I don't even need all the fingers on one hand to count how many shredders of Richie's "vintage" that still play has hard and as well as he does, and those few who I can think of are already in the Hall of Fame, so it would seem natural that Richie should be in there with 'em. Personally, I draw real inspiration from the example he sets in regard to his dedication to continue to play at such a high technical level and with such a high intensity of effort. When I last visited with Richie in San Diego, I was HUMBLED... Furthermore, Richie has been and continues to be a mentor to many younger freestylers to a noteworthy extent. Its not simply a casual affair with him -- he has been putting real effort into enthousiastically schooling newer players both in his own locality and at a distances via internet and telephone. His dedication to helping other players to learn and to really push and improve their own games is highly commendable. Richie also sews footbags -- really great footbags, and in really great quantities. Richie's footbags are a mainstay of the sport used by many many freestylers (probably numbering in the THOUSANDS)on several continents. I know for a fact that his footbags are used by shredders in North America, Europe, and Asia, and I would be very sceptical if I were told that they were NOT being used widely in Australia/New Zealand and South America too. I have always known Richie to be quite generous with his bags as well. Richard has NEVER turned down my own requests to provide bags as sponsorship of the handful of tournaments that I have helped organize, and I have often seen his bags offered up as prizes at many other tournaments as well (I even won one recently). To sum up, I cannot think of ANYBODY more deserving of Hall Of Fame recognition who isn't already in the HOF. Anybody like Richie should be in the Footbag Hall Of Fame, except, I don't know if there even IS anybody else out there quite like Richie.
-- Jonathan Schneider
Ted Huff (Hof member) nominates Emanuel Bouchard
Manu requires no introduction. I do not feel his nomination requires a vote, as it should be unanamous by all Hall of Fame members. He is the greatest champion of our sport, period. The only questions is if he meets the 1st year of eligibility criteria. Otherwise, he should not even require a vote. I believe that the chairman can make that call in this special case. certainly, he has the support of all directors and founders of the sport, and hall of fame.
Vincent Bradley (Hof member) nominates Emmanuel Bouchard
Manu's first year in competition that I remember was in 1993. In 1998 he won the world championships in singles net, and hasn't stopped winning that title since. He holds the record for having the most world footbag net titles. He also owns footbagnet.com, making him a very active promoter of footbag in Montreal, and possibly the larger Quebec area.
Chris Ott (Hof member) nominates Bill Langbehn
I would like to take this opportunity to nominate to the Footbag Hall of Fame someone who has gone forgotten in this process. Bill Langbehn was stead fast in his commitment to the sport of footbag for over two decades a promoter, tournament player and exhibition athlete. Bill was an innovator in both footbag freestyle and footbag net when the sport needed innovation to stretch the limits of our sport. Bill had his own idea of what footbag meant and was not afraid to express himself with new moves and techniques.
Bill, known to all as “Camping Manâ€

[timvozar]

I'm curious... do players find the footbag hall of fame to be interesting and relevant?

Hi Rieferman,
That is a great question! As a Hof member myself, I really don't have to think if being in the Hof is interesting or relevent. To me it really does not matter what other players think about the Hof because my main goal is to continue to promote footbag in anyway possible that will introduce more people to footbag whether they are players or friends of players or fans of players. I think many of the Hof members love the sport so much that we continue to find ways to share our sport. The Footbag Hof is one way to help promote and share footbag with others. Footbag is a players sport from my prospective, so players like yourself will help define footbag to others through your eyes and actions and in the years to come I think you will be proud of yourself for whatever kind of footbag promotion that you have done, which can simply be kicking footbag with others. Thanks for kicking. Tim Vozar - Footbag Hof member 2003 (http://www.footbag.org/hof)

[Donovon]

Richard Abshire is not already in the HoF?

[C-Fan]

Manu is the greatest net player of all time. He should get more than a unanimous vote.

[Rieferman]

tim wrote:

As a Hof member myself, I really don't have to think if being in the Hof is interesting or relevent. To me it really does not matter what other players think about the Hof...

I can't tell your tone since it is in writing, but just in case you're being defensive (you're probably not being defensive), let me say again, that I haven't stated any opinion on the Hof, I was only asking for others' opinions.

Props to you for being selected, I'm sure it was deserving.

because my main goal is to continue to promote footbag in anyway possible that will introduce more people to footbag whether they are players or friends of players or fans of players. I think many of the Hof members love the sport so much that we continue to find ways to share our sport.

Hof or not, I think there are many players that can say the same thing.

But definitely props to anyone that's done good work for the sport whether they get "in" or not.

The Footbag Hof is one way to help promote and share footbag with others.

Cool, sharing footbag with others is a worthy cause

[timvozar]

You are correct, not defensive, actually enjoying talking to you about Hof You are correct, not defensive, in fact I'm enjoying talking with about Hof and footbag promotions, and speaking of promotions, I'm the treasurer of this years World Championships in Oakland CA, would be great to meet you there. August 1-7
Also, you are correct again, There are a lot of players/promoters of footbag that don't get recognized, I'm hoping to figure out how to find time to update my http://www.footbagmuseum.com website to create profiles of every footbag player that has all their footbag activities, even if it is just kicking with a group in their own city/town. That way you could search for a player and get the scope on that player.
Tim

[Wasabi]

Manu all the way.