Open Pairs
Women’s Pairs
Open Pairs Semifinals Pool A (top 4 advance)
Open Pairs Semifinals Pool B (top 4 advance)
Women’s Pairs Semifinals (top 4 advance)
The WFDF 2017 Freestyle Event starts tomorrow (July 28 @14:00 (UTC +0)). You can watch it live here. Jason Salkey took the time to share more information about the event.
Jake: Tell me a little bit about Basingstoke and what inspired you to hold the competition there?
Jason: The inspiration all came from Robb Hamilton, intrepid member of the Basingstoke Golf Club. UK Jammers have, of course taken charge of the Freestyle element. Possibly Robb was inspired by the fact that Liz Hurley is a native Basingstokie. I’ve also heard the local music festival called Basingstoke Live used to be called Jammin’ in the Park. A bit of subliminal inspiration perhaps!
Jake: Being an FPA Major Class event, the standard FPA competition format will be used. Which divisions will be a part of the event?
Jason: This year at WFDF 2017 there will be two division Women’s pairs and Men’s pairs.
Jake: What is the venue for the event?
Jason: The Basingstoke Rugby Club has kindly let us stage this year’s WFDF. The competition will take place on the grass in the centre of the practice track. Which is superbly flat and open, it was previously thought we could do the rounds on the rugby field, but the grass is little rutted and divot strewn.
Jake: How many Freestyle teams do you expect? Are there any top teams we should be watching out for?
Jason: We are hoping see the largest gathering of top freestylers since Jam Britannia II. As is the custom, freestylers are fairly relaxed about getting registered, but I can throw out a few names to savour:
Tom Leitner, Bianca Strunz, Dan O’Neil, Larry Imperiale, Ilka Simon, Paul Kenny, Sophie Rickers, Juliana Korver, Ryan Young, Charlene Powell just to name a few. That should make for strong competition and sweet, sweet Jams.
Jake: Anything else you’d like to add? Anyone you’d like to thank?
Jason: Thank you to all freestylers from around the world who are coming or thinking of coming to Basingstoke. These shores haven’t hosted a WFDF since Colchester 1989 where Adrian Wainwright and Konn Cummings came away with the freestyle title. So we really want to host a successful event and confirm the UK as a top freestyle destination. Big thanks to Robb Hamilton for successfully bidding for WFDF 2017 and the Rugby Club for hosting us. See you on the field and remember to pencil Jam Britannia III in to your jam diaries (11/12 Nov).
Freestyle Frisbee can be a lifelong sport. Many players start in their teens or early twenties and continue to play into their seventies. Freestyle Frisbee also attracts players of all ages. I know of many players who started in their forties and as we saw in the “how old are you?” poll, people’s ages span sixty years.
Now, let’s gather some data on when people started playing Freestyle Frisbee. In which decade did you start?
[poll id=”28″]
The The Freestyle Players Association World Championships for 2017 (FPAW2017) will be streamed live by Frisbeeguru. You can watch here.
FPAW2017 takes place on Aug 3-6 in Udine, Italy. FPAW2017 is the premier annual freestyle Frisbee event. In attendance will be at least 70 of the best players from around the world showing off their most advanced skills and choreography, vying for a world championship title. To help get you excited for the event, I thought I’d pick out some of my favorite teams.
In attendance will be the winning co-op team for 2016; Florian Hess, Christian Lamrad, and Alex Leist. These guys put on an amazing show in 2016, and have attacked 2017 with even more intensity. They took co-op at Frisbeebeer 2017 co-op and the German Championships so look for them to be in full performance mode in an attempt to defend their title. However, this may not be an easy task. The team of Randy Silvey, James Wiseman, and Ryan Young have been preparing all year and put in a few wins of their own: namely at Virginia States and AFO 2017. Randy is known for putting on exciting routines and Ryan and James are hungry to take the world of freestyle to new heights.
In the mixed division, look out for the team of Matt Gauthier and Lisa Hunrichs. Though they have not played together in a mixed division this year, they have won the mixed division for 4 years running. They always come with a fun routine full of creativity, difficulty, and emotional engagement. Also on the hunt in this division are Paul Kenny and Ilka Simon. They took the Frisbeer mixed title and are set to put on a show at FPAW. Other teams to watch that of Lori Daniels and James Wiseman and Eleonora Imazio and Fabio Sanna. Lori and James are both top players with the skills to throw down some shred. Elle and Fabio are a veteran team with a previous win and always have great chemistry and imagination in their choreography.
In the open division, there are so many great teams to choose from. I can’t pick a favorite. James Wiseman and Ryan Young have been on fire, taking The Jammers and AFO 2017. They are both playing out of their minds, practicing daily in preparation. However, there team of Paul Kenny and Merdad “Graf” Housanian won pairs at Frisbeer and have the 2015 title as a pair. These guys have experience on their side, not to mention that Paul and Graf are two of the most innovative players competing at the top level today. Then you have Tommy Leitner and Daniel O’Neil. Tommy won open pairs last year with Christian Lamrad. Tommy is one the all-time heinest players and certainly has the most competition experience of anyone in this division. Daniel is a just a joy to watch, with buttery flow, yet explosive movements. These guys are playing at WFDF to warm up and could put on a show that brings the house down. And the list keeps going. There’s Christian Lamrad and Florian Hess, Jakub Kostel and Freddy Finner. All 4 of these players are at the peaks of their game.
Finally we have the women’s division. Interestingly there are no teams from the recent competition history so this really could be anyone’s division. The team to beat is probably Lisa Hunrichs and Bianca Strunz. Both these women have world women’s titles under their belts. Both have mad freestyle skills. And, they are the top ranked team according the FPA rankings. However, it won’t be a gimme. The teams of Ilka Simon and Sophie Rickers, and Lori Daniels and Anna Merlo both have one world champion and one up-and-comer who is hungry for their shot.
You can check the list of players and teams for FPAW2017 here, and the FPA rankings here. You can also see event results and some performances from earlier in the year here. I’d love to hear your analysis of FPAW2017. Who do you think you will win and why? Let me know in the comments below.
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Jake, Randy, & Bill have a conversation about introducing new people to Freestyle and some of the reasons it’s so hard. It is more than teaching, it is inspiring people. When you find someone that has “the bug” you can see it, and it’s so cool! They also chat about the past and how Whamo managed to attract such big crowds to events. Oh, the good ol’ days of yesteryear….
How many people have YOU converted to Freestyle? We’d love to hear your success stories!
When I first tried on fake nails, I was instructed to wear 4 nails – 2 on each hand; 1 on each index and 1 on each middle finger. Soon, however, I found it difficult to tip with all those nails. Tom Leitner explained to me that he wore nails only his index fingers for just that reason. I quickly made the switch and never looked back. However, many others (like Paul Kenny) wear even more than 4 nails; and find they have more intimate delay control.
This Poll asks the question: On Which Fingers Do You Wear Fake Freestyle Nails? Please select all that apply. Just so there’s no confusion, check the graphic for the name of each finger.
[poll id=”27″]
The WFDF Overall Championships for 2017 is coming up soon – taking place in Basingstoke, UK for six days of all-day Frisbee/flying disc games; from July 24th-29th. The Freestyle part of the Overall games will be during the final days of the week: July 28th and 29th. This will be the first time in many years that the WFDF Freestyle event will garner Pro-level (“major”) ranking points, especially since competitors are vying for the WFDF World Freestyle title. The current list of participating competitors includes some of the best women, men, and junior-level freestylers in the world, from at least 12 different countries, and many of whom are preparing for the following week’s premier freestyle event: the FPA World Championships in Udine, Italy (Aug 3rd-6th).
The WFDF World Freestyle event will include both open pairs and women’s pairs, and will use the standard FPA competition format. Ryan Young will be there to head up the judging with his tablet based system.
Being an Overall flying disc event means that points are earned by disc players in every disc game played throughout the week, including Freestyle. Therefore, numerous “hidden” jammers (i.e., disc golfers, double-disc court players, discathon runners) will be putting on nails and competing in freestyle with routines filled with creative ideas and tricks.
There’s a lot to see throughout the week, if you can come and watch the action. Can’t be there in person? Well, no need to fret! For the first time ever, Jakub “Mystiq” Matula will be live streaming both days of freestyle! Check it out here.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Jeff remembers some of the important, but forgotten players from his generation. He shares his perception on how the game has changed over the years and although the moves have become more technical, he questions the overall direction. Being asked to be in the Hall of Fame was meaningful for Jeff and he appreciated hearing that he’d made an impact on people’s lives. He now uses his passion for Freestyle to make the world a better place through his V-Disc Project. Here is the link to learn more.
Opinions about the best shoes for Freestyle are varied. In Matt Gauthier’s article about Freestyle Frisbee equipment, he writes that wearing shoes one size too small helps with kick brushing control. Conversely, Larry Imperiale recommends one size too big. Donnie Rhodes and Ryan Young like jamming in Ballet shoes for maximum foot articulation, while Lori Daniels like high tops for ankle support.
In this week’s poll, we search for common characteristics that define the best Freestyle Frisbee shoe. Choose your top 5 answers.
What are the 5 Most Important Characteristics of a Freestyle Frisbee Shoe?
[poll id=”26″]
If you’re looking for shoes, here are 2 suggestions. Note: these are affiliate links so FrisbeeGuru gets a small cut if you use the link and make a purchase:
