Just over a week has past now but Jam Camp spirit lives on. This jam report covers the jamming, and the competition on day 2. First, the competition. Students and teachers alike were ranked and then split into teams of four, each containing a pro, advanced, intermediate, and beginner. Teams had 1.5 hours to eat lunch and plan their routines. It was great fun for me to find out what my teammates had learned and then work that into our choreography. A few memorable moments from the competition; Raj hitting a nice brush, then two nice brush passes ending in my gitis, Hos, Lori, Brian, and Cade’s awesome juggling opening ending in nice catches by all, Tita filling in on the last team at the last minute and then shredding, and Ryan’s smooth counter under the leg passes.
As the competition wound down there was a buzz among the instructors. “That guy behind the tree. Is it? Could it be? It is! Krae van Sickle!!!” All of us became a little gaga and suddenly jam camp had to be over fast so we could jam with Krae. Z and I even got a little speed flow in with him before the closing ceremony.
The first jam was very official. We had a signed disc and at least 6 world champions playing with it. It was a bit of a publicity stunt. However the pressure was too much and the disc was too dry…not much happened. The group split up and Z grabbed a new disc. Then it was Z, Stork, Hos, Doug, and I. Things started heating up. Every time the disc went by Stork he would touch it ever so gently to change the attitude or to pass it back. This got us all fired up and we began hitting hoops, roll outs, and big catches.
Eventually we tired out and took a break. As I walked to my water I saw huge mob-op. Everyone was converging on Krae. I needed a piece of that so I took a swig and ran in. This jam was awesome. Krae was so graceful as he spun into an indigenous. Cindy Kruger hit a crow brush. Dave Lewis was again all over the field and hit combo after combo. Jason hit some nice tip back passes and catches. Lori also hit nice catches and was on most of the brushing runs, feeding everyone for huge catches. I am probably only remembering half the people in the jam…it was epic! At one point Krae had to step out to…get this…put on some nails!
That jam stayed together for a while but eventually people began peeling off to cool down and Krae was no exception. However, some of us kept on jamming. At some point I looked over from the jam and spotted someone playing catch with Krae. He was spinning into under the leg catches like a dancer, leg over his head and toes pointed. Whoa, who was that!? I looked closer and it was Raj! How’d he learn to do that!?
What an epic end to a wonderful day. Oh, I almost forgot, move of the day. That goes to Luke. See, earlier in the day Dave Lewis gave us all a talk on connectivity. Luke took that to heart. During the competition he kept getting counter throws…he’s a clock jammer. So as soon as he got a clock throw he took advantage. He took the disc directly off the throw on an under the leg reception, set it directly out and then did an arvand pull. He then immediately set it up into a behind the head catch. It had flow, style, grace, and was fully connected…no reception the’s. OOoooos and Aaaaaas were heard throughout the crowd.
So, there you have it. Jam Camp is a huge success as measured by the quality of the competition and the jams.