Thirty-four jogglers entered the 2004 IJA Joggling Championships, held on Tuesday, July 13, at the Johnny V. Wiley Sports Pavilion in Buffalo, just a few minutes away from the festival site. The weather was overcast and mild when the first race began at 10 a.m., but the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly and hotly on runners competing between about 11:30 and the end of the meet at about 12:30. The track had a rubberized surface, and was in very good condition. A full set of concrete stands ran along the front stretch, affording excellent views for the handful of fans who accompanied the runners. About eight non-runners volunteered as timers and judges. The meet director was Bill Giduz, and the head judge and timer was Andy Howard. Contestants competed in four age divisions in eight events. The divisions were: youth (age 13 and under), intermediate (age 14-17), open (open to all ages, but mandatory for ages 18-39), and masters (age 40-plus). The results are as follows, in order of events: FIVE BALL 100 METERS Men’s 5 ball 100 meters – Intermediate Men’s 5 ball 100 meters - Open Men’s 5 ball 100 meters – Masters Women’s 5 ball 100 meters – Open 100 METERS Men’s 100 meters – Youth Men’s 100 meters – Intermediate Men’s 100 meters – Open Men’s 100 meters – Masters Women’s 100 meters – Open 400 METERS Men’s 400 meter – Youth Men’s 400 meters – Intermediate Men’s 400 meters – Open Men’s 400 meters – Masters Women’s 400 meters – Open 800 METERS Men’s 800 meter – Intermediate Men’s 800 meter – Open Men’s 800 meter – Masters Women’s 800 meter – Open 1600 METERS Men’s 1600 meters – Intermediate Men’s 1600 meters – Open Men’s 1600 meters – Masters 4x100 RELAY Men’s 4x100 relay – Intermediate Men’s 4x100 relay – Open Men’s 4x100 relay – Masters Women’s 4x100 relay – Open Men’s 4x400 relay – Intermediate Men’s 4x400 relay – Open Men’s 4x400 relay – Masters 5 KILOMETER Men’s 5 kilometer – Open Men’s 5 kilometer – Masters Women’s 5 kilometer – Open ADDITIONAL COMMENTS The top three finishers in each division in each race received rosette-style award ribbons. There was also a point system employed to award the top three male and top three female jogglers of the meet with IJA medals. Jogglers received points based both on their finish in each race, and on the number of other runners competing in their division. The overall IJA medal winners for the event were: Men: 1. Andy Swan (74 points), 2. Chris Essick (71 points), 3. Mike Monson (64 points) Thanks to the good will of the racers and volunteer staff, this year’s joggling championships went smoothly. The severest test was in the men’s open 100 meter joggle, where drops throughout the race almost caused collisions, and a drop at the end left the question of first place in some doubt. In the end, the timers and judges made a call that the racers accepted without challenge. However, the confusion of the race leads the race director to believe that a change in event rules to disqualify runners who drop in the 100 meter race would help that event immensely. Too often, jogglers who drop dart into other lanes to retrieve their balls, and they can easily interfere with or injure other runners. A safer alternative is to instruct jogglers who suffer a drop to immediately decelerate and come to a halt in their own lanes. This rule would not only make it a safer event, but would also put a premium on controlling the juggle throughout the race. Drops in longer races do not seem to cause interference, so the race direction believes that the disqualification rule need only apply to the 100. The race director invented the point system this year in an effort to add value to the IJA medals awarded for joggling. Rather than awarding IJA medals to winners in each race, the points system determined male and female “jogglers of the meet,” and only they received IJA medals. However, the point system ended up heavily favoring those who ran the most races, and disadvantaging those who did well in a few races, but didn’t run the full schedule. The system needs to either be adjusted or eliminated. One move that would eliminate the need for a point system altogether would be creation of special IJA joggling medals. The situation in past years, where multitudes of jogglers received the same medal as IJA stage champions, seems to cheapen the value of the IJA stage championship medals. A joggler can win the same medal as the stage champion, for instance, if the joggler happens to be the only person entering a race in his or her age division. If the IJA can create and economically produce special medals for joggling that are different than the medals for stage winners, proper recognition can be given to both groups of champions.
1. Billy Matsumoto 29.0
2. Trey Newsome 59.5
1. Ben Schoenberg 24.28
2. Peter Morriss 44.30
1. Andy Swan 46.69
1. Dorothy Finnigan 1:30.59
2. Bronwyn Neeser 1:35
3. Laura Kaseman 2:01
1. Carlos Nieves 20.5
2. Jeremy Stanley 31.8
1. Trey Newsom 15.34
2. Nick Pavlak 15.91
3. Gabe Jakubisin 16.44
1. Chris Essick (no time)
2. Ben Schoenberg 15.71
3. Dan Tasse 16.09
1. Andy Swan 18.14
2. Gil Pontius 20.31
3. Jack Hirschowitz (no time)
1. Bronwyn Neeser 17.74
2. Dorothy Finnigan 19.86
3. Becky Kresser 21.3
1. Carlos Nieves 1:53.7
2. Jeremy Stanley 2:14.5
1. Trey Newsom 1:10
2. Gabe Jakubisin 1:11
3. Nick Pavlak 1:30.1
1. Matt Diffee 1:02.5
2. Chris Essick 1:03.1
3. Jamie Whoolery 1:05.1
1. Anders Kierulf 1:19.56
2. Mike Monson 1:24
3. Jack Hirschowitz 1:25.5
1. Bronwyn Neeser 1:29.9
2. Dorothy Finnigan 1:33.2
3. Laura Kaseman 1:52
1. Trey Newsom 2:54.3
2. Gabe Jakubisin 2:57.4
3. Nick Pavlak 3:24.7
1. Jamie Whoolery 2:35.3
2. Chris Essick 2:45.8
3. Dan Tasse 3:12
1. Andy Swan 3:22.5
2. Mike Monson 3:25
3. Anders Kierulf 3:27.5
1. Becky Kresser 4:15
2. Laura Kaseman 4:17
1. Gabe Jakubisin 7:22
1. Jamie Whoolery 6:38
2. Chris Essick 7:18.9
3. Ben Oldenburg 8:59
1. Andy Swan 7:30
2. Mike Monson 7:35
3. David Chandler 8:30
1. Team Ignatius (B. Gadomski, Pavlak, Bacchus, G. Jakubisin) 1:15.4
2. Team Iggyness (S. Rogal, K. McGrath, M. Stockhausen, A. Wyszynski) 2:14.5
1. Team Exerball (M Diffee, T. Newsom, J. Whoolery, C. Essick) 58.15
2. Team McFresh (F, Kennard, B. Oldenburg, K. Beargie, D. Tasse) 1:08
1. Super Seniors (A. Kierulf, G. Pontius, J. Hirschowitz, A. Swan) 1:18.2
2. Pheno Types (R. Nelson, D. Chandler, M. Monson) 1:33.1
1. Flamingo Club (L. Kaseman, D. Finnigan, B. Kresser, B. Neeser) 1:21.5
4x400 RELAY
1. Team Ignatius (B. Gadomski, Pavlak, Bacchus, G. Jakubisin) 5:33
1. Team Exerball (M Diffee, T. Newsom, J. Whoolery, C. Essick) 4:50
2. Team McFresh (F, Kennard, B. Oldenburg, K. Beargie, D. Tasse) 6:42
1. Super Seniors (A. Kierulf, G. Pontius, J. Hirschowitz, A. Swan) 6:21
2. Pheno Types (R. Nelson, D. Chandler, M. Monson) 7:00
1. Jamie Whoolery 26:16
1. Andy Swan 29:15
1. Dorothy Finnigan 35:49
Women: 1. Becky Kresser (34 points), 2. (tie) Laura Kaseman and Dorothy Finnigan (33.5 points).