IJA eNewsletter – March 2021

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   IJA eNewsletter   

March 2021

Editors: Don Lewis & Martin Frost
(ijanews@juggle.org)

CONTENTS

  • Returning to juggling from a break
  • 2021 IJA World Joggling Championships (virtual via video submission)
  • 2022 IJA Festival Director – Call for letters of interest for the 75th annual fest
  • Niels Duinker in Myrtle Beach
  • IJA Virtual Hangout Jam, April 3, 10am PDT
  • Latest articles in eJuggle (find a few that interest you and check them out!)
  • Upcoming juggling festivals

 

 

Returning to juggling from a break  by Mike Moore, IJA Chair

The weather’s heating up in the northern hemisphere!  For a lot of jugglers, that means returning from a long juggling hiatus.  Transitioning back into juggling can come with its own set of challenges: physical, mental, and logistical.  I hope this article is helpful for you to transition back smoothly.

The physical challenges are clearest, and potentially the most impactful.  What your mind thinks you can do and what you can do (safely) are likely to be different.  All those previously honed, specialized muscles have atrophied with time – they similarly need time to redevelop.  You’ll probably find this more for the small muscles, which can be more easily overworked.  Coming back, I recommend spending most of your time on the large patterns from biomechanically strong positions (i.e., numbers juggling) while designating small amounts of time to more intricate patterns (e.g., cross-armed boxes, club manipulation).  If your focus is the latter, you can ramp up the time on those over a week or two.

Frustration is likely to be the main mental challenge you face when returning to juggling.  You may remember yourself as the juggler you were at the end of last season: beautiful, lofty throws with perfect control.  That’s not going to be your reality now.  Set performance expectations low for your first week or two back, and expect to become reacquainted with fumbles.  This is normal and will go away with time.

Logistical problems could have a variety of manifestations, too diverse to cover here.  So let’s jump one meta level up, and cover a strategy to deal with them: the pre-mortem.  In this, you imagine yourself a month down the road and your project has failed.  What caused those failures?  Write them down, and then write down ideas on how to avoid or positively react to those causes so that they won’t derail your efforts.

For example, I might think transitioning back into juggling will be difficult because I won’t be ready to do full practice sessions yet (let’s say one hour).  I expect that only doing partial sessions (20 minutes) at the beginning will make it harder for me to build up to the full-length sessions: there’s always something or someone else asking for my time!  My solution could be coupling juggling with a behaviour that is going to fade away, like editing a book.  For the first few days, I could do 20 minutes of juggling, 40 minutes of editing.  The next few days, 40 minutes of juggling, 20 minutes of editing.  Eventually, I’ll have finished the editing project and have the full hour to juggle.  The important part here is that I’ve had that 60 minutes each day blocked off in my schedule, developing a habit.

For more meta-juggling thoughts, see my December 2020 and December 2019 articles on goal setting.  Best of luck with all of your projects!

Mike Moore

IJA Chair

 

 

2021 IJA World Joggling Championships (virtual via video submission)  by Sterling Franklin

Just as the 2021 IJA Festival has gone virtual again this year, the 2021 IJA World Joggling Championships will also take place virtually via your very cool video submissions!  The competition will take place over two different date ranges: Block A from April 1 through May 15, and Block B from June 1 through July 15.

Five Official Events will be held in each Block:

IJA World Joggling Championships, Block A

Date range: April 1 – May 15 (submission deadline at 11:59pm GMT on May 15)

  • 3-ball 100m
  • 3-ball 400m
  • 3-ball 1600m
  • 4-ball 200m
  • 5-ball 200m

IJA World Joggling Championships, Block B

Date range: June 1 – July 15 (submission deadline at 11:59pm GMT on July 15)

  • 3-ball 200m
  • 3-ball 800m
  • 3-ball 3200m
  • 5-ball 100m
  • 7-ball 100m

(Note: Any prop with the correct quantity for the event can be used — clubs, rings, footballs, etc.)

Two Categories: Fun Run (free) and Competitive (small fee)

  • Fun Run: Free (optional donation to IJA).  This is for informal joggling runs.  Any distance can be run, and Certificates of Completion will be sent via email for those who confirm legitimate completion of the distance.  Video submission is optional in this category but is suggested if you want to be part of a montage of the jogglers this year.  No time validation or record consideration will be done in the Fun Run category.  If you have a really innovative pattern to try out or just want to run for fun and try something new without any pressure, this is a great category!  Please register for the free Fun Run, especially if you think you’ll submit a Fun Run video.

 

  • Competitive: BLOCK A: $15; BLOCK B: $15; or BOTH BLOCKS: $25.  Jogglers in this category are eligible for medals in the official events and official IJA recognition in cases of World/IJA Records or Top 10 All-Time performances.  Registration and full video submission are REQUIRED in the Competitive category.  The video must show the clear continuation of a juggling pattern while running (whether with a wearable camera and mount or with another person filming the run clearly and reliably — please keep responsible with COVID restrictions where applicable!).  The video needs to show both the run and the final time at the end, and preferably should identify the joggler and the date of the attempt as well.  If done on road, measurement verification must be done (by Measuring Wheel on video or by confirmation by USATF/WMA official), and road runs must not be done on a net-negative vertical gain (i.e., road runs need to be done on a flat [net-zero] or uphill [net-positive] route).  Tracks of 400m are usually best and simplest for these competitive runs.  In the case of drops, the joggler must be shown on video retreating to the point of drop before continuing the juggling pattern from that spot — no forward progress should be made in the case of the joggler losing control of the pattern or dropping, and props can’t be launched meters away in order to gain distance.  Patterns should aim to be one throw per step or as close as possible.  For recording questions and rules in specific circumstances, feel free to contact Sterling Franklin or Emily Moore at joggling2021@juggle.org.

Entries in the Competitive category allow for one (1) optional ‘Extra Event’ not on the Official List for validation & possible medals.  If there’s one event that you want to run that isn’t on the official list and has a valid Indoor/Outdoor/XC distance that is regularly run (e.g., 300m, 1000m, 5K, etc.), that first ‘extra’ distance will be validated at no extra cost for Competitive runners; subsequent ‘extra events’ not on the official list will cost $3 extra each to validate.  (So if you want to run a 3b300m, 5b400m, and 7b5K [ouch], the first one would be free, and the other two would cost $3 extra each for verification.)  And if you can get three runners in your specific division (e.g., Boys 13-17) to enter the same ‘extra event’ with valid runs, that event/division will be eligible for medals as well.  We do request that events are at longest 10K and preferably shorter due to verification requirements and volunteer sanity.

Divisions (same as prior years):

  • Boys 12-and-Under
  • Girls 12-and-Under
  • Boys 13-17
  • Girls 13-17
  • Men’s Open (18-39)
  • Women’s Open (18-39)
  • Men’s Masters (40+)
  • Women’s Masters (40+)

Note: Age determination for divisions will be as of the end date of each deadline (May 15 or July 15, respectively).

Awards:

Medals (3D printed!): Competitive category only.  Top 3 verified finishers in each division will be awarded medals per official event (made on a 3D printer this year — we’re hoping these will be really neat and unique!).

Certificates of Completion: Fun Run category competitors who have sent in completions (stated/preferably documented or filmed) but don’t want time validation.

Submitting videos for the Competitive category:

Videos can be sent to joggling2021@juggle.org for official events (or optional extra events) in their respective blocks and date ranges.  You can send a YouTube link, a Google Drive/Box/Dropbox link, or whatever way we can access it with ease!  Rules for video submissions are mentioned above in the description of the Competitive category.

Registration is available on the IJA website and must be completed for each Block before its respective submission deadline.  Newcomers who aren’t part of the IJA are welcome to register as well, though of course IJA Membership is definitely encouraged for all!  Spread the word, and we hope to see you joggling with us soon!

 

2022 IJA Festival Director – Call for letters of interest for the 75th annual fest

The 2022 IJA festival will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 11-17, 2022.  It will be our 75th annual festival and a return to the site of our great 70th festival in 2017.  The IJA would like to hear from individuals who are interested in taking on the role of Festival Director.

The Festival Director works with the venue and the IJA staff and volunteers to create a fabulous week of juggling.  Volunteers help with most aspects of running the festival.  Previous festival directors are available to mentor you through the process.  Some aspects of the festival repeat consistently from year to year, such as the competitions and shows.  There is always room to try new things and put your personal stamp on the experience.

If you are interested in the position or just want to learn more about the job, please contact IJA Operations Officer Scott Steiskal.

Deadline for applications is April 9, 2021.

Niels Duinker in Myrtle Beach

Niels Duinker

will be performing his Catch This juggling show (70 minutes) at the Wonders Theatre in Myrtle Beach this summer from June 11 to August 15.  IJA members can use the discount code IJAJUGGLERS when buying tickets.

www.wonderstickets.com/juggling

 

 

 

 

 

IJA Virtual Hangout Jam, April 3, 10am PDT  by Chris Garcia

This month we are moving the meeting an hour earlier, to better accommodate our friends overseas.

The IJA is hosting another Virtual Hangout Jam, and you’re invited, whether you’re an IJA member or not!  So grab your props, clear out some space in your living room, and hang out with your fellow jugglers virtually!  Meetings are via Zoom and are accessible via mobile or computer.

We’d love feedback from the community on when is the best time for you.  Let us know by filling out this survey form.

Find latest Hangout info

You can find the latest up-to-date info for the Virtual Hangout Jam on the Facebook event page.

Hangout rules

As this meeting is accessible to both youth and adults, please use appropriate language, clothing, behavior, etc.  This is a safe space.  Anyone espousing hate or bigotry will be removed.  Please turn off your microphone when not speaking, to avoid excess ambient noise.

How to join

Download and install Zoom on your phone or computer.  Use the Zoom link below to register.  This can be done at any time before you join.  After you’ve registered, you’ll be given a link to join the meeting.  Click it and an admin should admit you into the hangout from the waiting room.

Next Hangout

Saturday, April 3, 2021, at 10am PST / 6pm UK Time

Register for Zoom meeting

us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYud-msrD0pHNH-Ud00tfkMSiKna2e0Ndm1

 

Latest articles in eJuggle

 

 

Upcoming juggling festivals

Note: Virtually all juggling festivals planned for the coming months have been canceled or rescheduled because of the worldwide pandemic, though some will be held online.

To find a juggling fest near you or online, check the fest list at The Juggling Edge.  Eventually festivals will return.

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