IJA eNewsletter August 2026

www.juggle.org

IJA eNewsletter August 2026Editors: Don Lewis & Martin Frost (ijanews@juggle.org)

CONTENTS

• Festivals, Friends, and going Forward!
• Board of Directors election results
• IJA 2026 Juggling Championships
• IJA 2026 Individual Prop Competition
• IJA 2026 Numbers Championships
• IJA Joggling results
• YJA Badge Book
• IJA Board meetings
• Juggling clubs and upcoming juggling festivals
• Latest from eJuggle: podcasts & articles

Festivals, Friends, and going Forward!
Benjamin Domask-Ruh

Hello IJA Community!

I am sitting at home, finally, after being on the road for the better part of August.  After the IJA Festival ended, I took a wisely-planned week off.  Then, I traveled nearly 3,500 miles by car to attend two more festivals, to perform, and to teach circus arts.  I never knew I could have so many favorite gas stations along Interstate 90!

I hope those of you that were able to join together at the annual festival enjoyed it as much as I did.  So many new faces amongst the familiar ones!  I particularly enjoyed all the juggling art hung on the walls and the history displays.  This year we had a wonderful turn out from our youth jugglers and the energy they helped create.  The shows were stacked with talent!  The gym space and workshops were always bustling.  Our special events like joggling, the Open Stage and the fire/LED jams were endlessly inspiring.  We even flipped the format on our Annual General Meeting and put together our very first IJA Annual Report!  (Let me know what you think!)

I was able to attend two other festivals this month: The Whirled Spin Top festival in Miamisburg, OH, and the FlowFest Chicago in … well, Chicago!  I felt so welcomed by both of these communities.

The Spin Top festival, led by the one and only Mike Hout, was a gathering of spin top enthusiasts that started with a Friday night exploration of board games that use tops as the main premise and continued into a Saturday gathering of like minded spin toppers and culminated in a gathering at the Top Hall of Fame which contained more tops than you could even dream about.

The FlowFest Chicago, led by the incomparable Casandra Tanenbaum, invited me to teach workshops (Clown, adding movement to your juggling, and transforming juggling rings into butterflies) and perform in the show!  The festival was held in Ping Tom Park right on the river.  This was my second ever flow festival and I cannot say enough wonderful things.  I got to see skills shared such as tech fans, rope darts (with dragon heads on them!), and so many skilled electric unicyclers.  I highly encourage you to get to one of these festivals if they are ever near you.  They happen all over the U.S.A. and are a wonderful place to explore this deep concept of flow.

As I drove home from all these events, I had a lot of time to think.  It is one of my favorite pastimes!  As an artist, when you create, the real meanings of objects are revealed when they are presented in relation to each other.  The mind automatically creates meaning out of what it perceives!  Our experiences are what create the uniqueness of these meanings.

For me, part of humanity rests on the similar meanings we all find.  Maybe we could say when these meanings line up, that is friendship, or even culture!

So, as I drove home from each of these festivals, I put the experiences together and evaluated the meaning of them in relation to each other.  The meaning I found, for me, is the unbound ability for us jugglers, spin toppers, flow artists, to connect and build bridges all thanks to these objects we explore.  I think this is why the IJA started in the first place … and why it has lasted for 80 years!  Attending festivals, meeting like minded people from completely different walks of life, and always being ready to learn something new is what makes meaning in my life.

Even though my festival season is winding down, I’m already looking forward to 2027 and where the road will take me.  I’ll definitely be at the 80th IJA Festival in Cedar Rapids.  Will I see you there?  I sure hope so … and even more so, I hope you bring someone new with you!  It is going to be a celebration like no other of this wonderful organization and community.

Let me know, or feel free to reach out before then!  You can always reach me at ija.chair@juggle.org.  Members are also welcome to attend our board meetings to hear and see the behind-the-scenes work.  Just send me an email for the meeting link.

RA2FJ,
Benjamin Domask-Ruh
IJA Board Chair

Board of Directors election results
Marilyn Sullivan, Chief Teller

Here are the results of the election held at the Festival for Members of the IJA Board of Directors. The first four below were elected to the four Board seats that were up for election.

There were write-in votes for: Afton Benson, David Cain, Dave Davis, Alan Howard, Albert Lucas, Rick Ross, and Thom Wall.

The election volunteers were Jacob Harter, Jim Maxwell, Craig Barnes, Dan Sadoff, and Marilyn Sullivan.

After the election, the new Board voted to re-elect Benjamin Domask-Ruh as Chair of the Board of Directors for another year.

IJA 2026 Juggling Championships
Viveca Gardiner and NeilFred Picciotto

Here are the results of this year’s Juggling Championships.  There were no Teams entered this year.

Individuals

Juniors

IJA 2026 Individual Prop Competition
Mike Moore

Balls

Clubs

Circles (rings or hoops)

Anything Goes

IJA 2026 Numbers Championships
Nick Thomas

Here are the Numbers results from the festival plus a photo of the winners.

Individual Balls

Gold:  Spencer Androli, 9 balls, 48 catches
Silver:  Noah Schmeissner, 9 balls, 27 catches
Bronze (tie):  Matt Walmsley and Matt Quenon, 8 balls, 17 catches

Individual Rings

Gold:  Spencer Androli, 8 rings, 59 catches
Silver:  Noah Schmeissner, 8 rings, 26 catches
Bronze:  Owen Dobbyn, 8 rings, 18 catches

Individual Clubs

Gold:  Spencer Androli, 7 clubs, 95 catches
Silver:  Moritz Rosner, 7 clubs, 32 catches
Bronze:  Julian Kloos, 7 clubs, 21 catches

Individual Ball Bouncing

Gold:  Christian Kloc, 9 balls, 35 catches
Silver:  Jonathan Root, 8 balls, 17 catches

Ball Passing

Gold:  Christopher Hodge & Noah Schmeissner, 13 balls, 99 catches
Silver:  Ben Thompson & Matt Walmsley, 13 balls, 54 catches

Ring Passing

Gold:  Julian Kloos & Moritz Rosner, 12 rings, 73 catches
Silver:  Noah Schmeissner & Christopher Hodge, 11 rings, 53 catches

Club Passing

Gold:  Julian Kloos & Moritz Rosner, 12 clubs, 80 catches
Silver:  Christopher Hodge & Matt Walmsley, 11 clubs, 53 catches

Ball Bounce Passing

Gold:  Christian Kloc & Vincent Kaseman, 15 balls, 64 catches

Three-Person Club Passing

Gold:  Christopher Hodge, Julian Kloos, & Moritz Rosner, 15 clubs, 97 catches

Three-Person Ring Passing (exhibition event)

Gold:  Christopher Hodge, Noah Schmeissner, & Spencer Androli, 15 rings, 149 catches
Silver:  Julian Kloos, Moritz Rosner, & Stefan Brancel, 15 rings, 133 catches

Director:  Nick Thomas

Thank you to the volunteers who helped judge and coordinate during the event: Jimmy Robertson, Rick Robinson, Alex Larson, Christian Kloc, Peter Kaseman, Dr. Dan, David Cain, Merry Spahr, and Scott Cain.

IJA Joggling results
Sterling Franklin

Final Event Standings – IJA Virtual World Joggling Championships 2026

3-ball 10000 meters
Men’s Open
1st – Samuel Dean – 37:29.50 [DR #2] [ATR #2]

Men’s Masters
1st – Daniel Raum – 45:51.566 [DR #2] [ATR #4]

3-ball 400 meters
Men’s Open
1st – Scott Jenkins – 1:01.60 [DR #5] [ATR #7] 2nd – Samuel Dean – 1:07.00
3rd – Andy Widmann – 1:17.67
4th – Craig Muhlenkamp – 1:18.93

Women’s Open
1st – Kaylyn Clerc – 4:17.20

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 1:05.92 [DR #2] 2nd – Daniel Raum – 1:17.23 [DR #10] 3rd – Christoph Mitasch – 1:18.83

3-ball 5000 meters
Men’s Masters
1st – Christoph Mitasch – 20:29.07 [DR #3] 2nd – Daniel Raum – 21:13.10 [DR #3]

3-ball Mile
Men’s Open
1st – Samuel Dean – 5:25.60 [DR #9] [ATR #10] 2nd – Craig Muhlenkamp – 6:31.20

Men’s Masters
1st – Daniel Raum – 6:03.83 [DR #2] 2nd – Christoph Mitasch – 6:14.37 [DR #3]

3-ball Mile Backwards
Men’s Masters
1st – Daniel Raum – 12:40.966 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

4-ball Mile
Men’s Open
1st – Samuel Dean – 7:22.67 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 8:29.72 [DR #1] [ATR #2] 2nd – Christoph Mitasch – 9:22.07 [DR #2] [ATR #3]

5-ball 400 meters
Men’s Open
1st – Scott Jenkins – 2:21.77 [DR #6] [ATR #8]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 5:10.26 [DR #4]

5-ball Mile
Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 24:17.10 [DR #1] [ATR #3]

7-ball 100 meters
Men’s Masters
1st – Chris Fowler – 49.70 [DR #1] [ATR #2]

Skill Combo (5-ball, 6-ball, and 7-ball 100 meters)
Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 13:37.66 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

Sprint Combo (3-ball and 4-ball 100 meters)
Men’s Open
1st – Scott Jenkins – 30.44 [DR #1] [ATR #2] 2nd – Samuel Dean – 30.87 [DR #2] [ATR #3] 3rd – Craig Muhlenkamp – 37.40 [DR #3] [ATR #4] 4th – Andy Widmann – 45.66 [DR #4] [ATR #6]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 29.92 [DR #1] [ATR #1] 2nd – Christoph Mitasch – 44.70 [DR #2] [ATR #5] 3rd – Daniel Raum – 1:04.70 [DR #3] [ATR #7]

Final Event Standings – IJA World Joggling Championships 2026

3-ball 1000 meters
Boys 13-17
1st – Connor Levitt – 4:34.55 [DR #4] 2nd – Aaron Heilig – 4:35.24 [DR #5] 3rd – Caleb Black – 5:11.11 [DR #7]

Men’s Open
1st – Sam Dean – 2:50.67 [DR #1] [ATR #1] 2nd – Erik Breuer – 3:09.31 [DR #3] [ATR #3] 3rd – Mike Moore – 4:00.69 [DR #7]

Women’s Open
1st – Ingrid Vukusic – 4:03.29 [DR #2] 2nd – Meggie Exner – 4:18.16 [DR #3] 3rd – Marla Edgecomb – 4:52.49 [DR #4] 4th – Misha Hlasek – 5:36.46 [DR #6] 5th – Savanna Dean – 7:06.08 [DR #8]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 3:43.44 [DR #3] [ATR #8] 2nd – Jack Hirschowitz – 6:32.47 [DR #5] 3rd – Tim Heilig – 8:34.60 [DR #9] 4th – Michael Black – 11:27.61 [DR #10]

3-ball 200 meters
Boys 13-17
1st – Connor Levitt – 36.47
2nd – Aaron Heilig – 39.45
3rd – Arnav Rathi – 40.90
4th – Caleb Black – 45.10

Men’s Open
1st – Sam Dean – 29.31 [DR #8] [ATR #10] 2nd – Mark Fiore – 30.00 [DR #9] 3rd – Mike Moore – 31.69
4th – Erik Breuer – 34.12
5th – Kanoa Lindiwe – 38.30

Women’s Open
1st – Ingrid Vukusic – 37.06 [DR #4] 2nd – Marla Edgecomb – 44.38 [DR #8] 3rd – Zoe Prawda – 47.40
4th – Misha Hlasek – 49.91
5th – Savanna Dean – 1:24.87

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 31.40 [DR #2] 2nd – Tim Heilig – 1:25.46
3rd – Michael Black – 1:48.29

Women’s Masters
1st – Jill Edgecomb – 1:29.79 [DR #7]

3-ball 60 meters
Boys 13-17
1st – Connor Levitt – 9.44 [DR #2] [ATR #9] 2nd – Caleb Black – 10.13 [DR #3] 3rd – Aaron Heilig – 11.91 [DR #9] 4th – Arnav Rathi – 13.75

Men’s Open
1st – Mark Fiore – 8.84 [DR #3] [ATR #4] 2nd – Kanoa Lindiwe – 9.07 [DR #4] [ATR #5] 3rd – Mike Moore – 9.14 [DR #5] [ATR #6] 4th – Sam Dean – 9.32 [DR #6] [ATR #7] 5th – Erik Breuer – 9.69 [DR #8]

Women’s Open
1st – Ingrid Vukusic – 10.61 [DR #2] 2nd – Marla Edgecomb – 12.01 [DR #5] 3rd – Misha Hlasek – 12.20 [DR #6] 4th – Zoe Prawda – 15.84 [DR #9] 5th – Savanna Dean – 26.61 [DR #10]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 9.48 [DR #2] [ATR #9] 2nd – Tim Heilig – 16.80
3rd – Bill Feay – 20.63
4th – Jack Hirschowitz – 20.95
5th – Michael Black – 31.38

Women’s Masters
1st – Jill Edgecomb – 24.36 [DR #6]

4-ball 800 meters
Boys 13-17
1st – Arnav Rathi – 4:11.31 [DR #1] [ATR #5] 2nd – Connor Levitt – 4:26.17 [DR #2] [ATR #6] 3rd – Aaron Heilig – 4:56.01 [DR #3] [ATR #7] 4th – Caleb Black – 5:35.87 [DR #4] [ATR #9]

Men’s Open
1st – Mark Fiore – 3:14.56 [DR #1] [ATR #1] 2nd – Sam Dean – 3:51.06 [DR #3] [ATR #3] 3rd – Mike Moore – 3:57.26 [DR #4] [ATR #4] 4th – Erik Breuer – 10:23.54 [DR #5]

Women’s Open
1st – Ingrid Vukusic – 5:27.49 [DR #1] [ATR #8] 2nd – Marla Edgecomb – 9:05.73 [DR #2] [ATR #10] 3rd – Zoe Prawda – 9:10.23 [DR #3] 4th – Misha Hlasek – 14:49.49 [DR #4]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 4:05.09 [DR #1] [ATR #4] 2nd – Tim Heilig – 15:47.11 [DR #2]

Women’s Masters
1st – Jill Edgecomb – 15:14.93 [DR #1]

5-ball 60 meters
Boys 13-17
1st – Connor Levitt – 27.51 [DR #5] 2nd – Aaron Heilig – 28.82 [DR #6] 3rd – Caleb Black – 31.20 [DR #7] 4th – Arnav Rathi – 36.12 [DR #8]

Men’s Open
1st – Mark Fiore – 10.53 [DR #2] [ATR #2] 2nd – Mike Moore – 17.03 [DR #5] [ATR #10] 3rd – Kanoa Lindiwe – 23.83 [DR #6]

Women’s Open
1st – Zoe Prawda – 1:56.22 [DR #5]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 31.80 [DR #5] 2nd – Tim Heilig – 1:25.46 [DR #10] 3rd – Michael Black – 1:48.29

Women’s Masters
1st – Jill Edgecomb – 2:14.99 [DR #3]

7-ball 60 meters
Boys 13-17
1st – Connor Levitt – 1:35.71 [DR #3] [ATR #5] 2nd – Aaron Heilig – 1:41.09 [DR #4] [ATR #6] 3rd – Arnav Rathi – 2:38.07 [DR #5] [ATR #7]

Men’s Open
1st – Mike Moore – 57.67 [DR #2] [ATR #4] 2nd – Mark Fiore – 1:21.06 [DR #2] [ATR #4]

Men’s Masters
1st – Sterling Franklin – 11:16.24 [DR #1] [ATR #8]

Stacker Relay (3-ball, 4-ball, 5-ball, and 5-ball – 800 meters)
Boys 13-17
1st – Boys 13-17 Team (Connor Levitt, Aaron Heilig, Caleb Black, Arnav Rathi) – 4:15.14 [DR #1] [ATR #2]

Men’s Open
1st – Men’s Open Team (Mark Fiore, Mike Moore, Kanoa Lindiwe, Sam Dean) – 3:17.11 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

Women’s Open
1st – Women’s Open Team (Ingrid Vukusic, Zoe Prawda, Misha Hlasek, Savanna Dean) – 10:44.80 [DR #1] [ATR #4]

Men’s Masters
1st – Men’s Masters Team (Sterling Franklin, Erik Breuer, Michael Black, Kanoa Lindiwe) – 8:17.52 [DR #1] [ATR #3]

Final Event Standings – IJA World Joggling Championships Distance Event 2026

3-ball 3 Mile
Boys 13-17
1st – Connor Levitt – 28:23.11 [DR #1] [ATR #5]

Men’s Open 20-29
1st – Erik Breuer – 18:45.91 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

Women’s/Non-Binary Open 18-19
1st – Marla Edgecomb – 28:04.84 [DR #2] [ATR #4]

Women’s/Non-Binary Open 20-29
1st – Nora Phillips – 34:51.42 [DR #3] [ATR #6] 2nd – Lacy Gragg – 43:28.83 [DR #4] [ATR #7]

Women’s/Non-Binary Open 30-39
1st – Ingrid Vukusic – 25:06.65 [DR #1] [ATR #3]

Men’s Masters 40-49
1st – Sterling Franklin – 20:43.29 [DR #1] [ATR #2]

Men’s Masters 50-59
1st – Nick Frazier – 44:23.42 [DR #2] [ATR #8]

3-ball 5 Mile
Boys 13-17
1st – Aaron Heilig – 43:04.55 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

Men’s Masters 50-59
1st – Barak Hirschowitz – 44:25.41 [DR #1] [ATR #2]

3-ball 7 Mile
Men’s Open 20-29
1st – Sam Dean – 39:19.81 [DR #1] [ATR #1]

Women’s/Non-Binary Open 30-39
1st – Meggie Exner – 1:02:58.80 [DR #1] [ATR #2]

YJA Badge Book

Did you know that the IJA’s Youth Juggling Academy has a book?  It does!

The Juggler’s Badge Book is the ultimate companion for aspiring jugglers of any age!  Track your progress, unlock achievements, and earn badges as you learn the art of juggling.  With its engaging format and rewarding sticker system, The Juggler’s Badge Book makes learning to juggle an exciting and fulfilling adventure.  Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned juggler, let The Juggler’s Badge Book be your guide to skillful juggling and a collection of well-earned accomplishments.  Start achieving your juggling journey today!

The Juggler’s Badge Book is $25 and makes a great gift!  Purchase yours today!  Proceeds go to supporting further YJA initiatives and advancing the IJA’s mission to render assistance to fellow jugglers.

Published by the International Jugglers’ Association in collaboration with Modern Vaudeville Press.

IJA Board meetings

IJA Board meetings are open to all IJA members and are hosted on Zoom.  To find out the times of this month’s vision and business meetings, or to attend, please email ija.chair@juggle.org and say which meeting you’re interested in.

Juggling clubs and upcoming juggling festivals

For a list of upcoming juggling festivals, please visit our friends over at The Juggling Edge.

While you’re there, visit their list of juggling clubs.

Latest from eJuggle

Podcasts

• August 19, 2026 – Drop Everything Podcast 151: Kathryn Carr
• August 11, 2026 – Juggling Interviews (FRENCH) Podcast Episode 26: Yann Virot | Hosted by XavJuggles
• July 2, 2026 – Juggling Interviews Podcast Episode 25: Tamuz Vardi | Hosted by XavJuggles

Articles

• September 01, 2026 – New Photos and Video of Angelo Piccinelli
• August 27, 2026 – Jugglers at the Pulso International Circus Festival – Peru 2026
• August 25, 2026 – Review: Venardos Circus’ “Alice”
• August 19, 2026 – Club juggling by Lucas Ferreyra “ Chavo “ from Argentina | IJA Tricks of the Month
• August 18, 2026 – Newly Found Historical Juggling Tidbits – Part 1
• August 17, 2026 – North American Unicycle Convention and Championships 2026 in San Luis Obispo, California
• August 11, 2026 – Bag Punching – An Obscure Vaudeville-Era Juggling Skill – Part 2
• August 08, 2026 – Mettle Ball Run
• August 06, 2026 – Reviews of Elly, the Youngest Juggler in the World
• August 06, 2026 – Cigar box by Yutaka Inake from Japan | IJA Tricks of the Month
• August 04, 2026 – 2026 IJA Games Winners
• August 04, 2026 – Bag Punching – An Obscure Vaudeville-Era Juggling Skill – Part 1
• July 28, 2026 – Sharing Lottie Brunn’s Scrapbooks and Photo Albums – Part 4
• July 24, 2026 – Rozi-Cassan – Juggling Prodigy
• July 23, 2026 – Pilobolus Show Review
• July 21, 2026 – Sharing Lottie Brunn’s Scrapbooks and Photo Albums – Part 3
• July 16, 2026 – Balls and hands juggling | IJA Tricks of the month by ON from Japan
• July 16, 2026 – The Calamar Game
• July 14, 2026 – Sharing Lottie Brunn’s Scrapbooks and Photo Albums – Part 2
• July 10, 2026 – Erik Åberg’s Doctoral Thesis Defense – Stockholm University of the Arts, June 2, 2026
• July 09, 2026 – Philadelphia Juggling Festival 2026
• July 09, 2026 – Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus 2026
• July 09, 2026 – Clubs & Balls Juggling by Erick Rodea from México | IJA Tricks of the Month
• July 07, 2026 – Sharing Lottie Brunn’s Scrapbooks and Photo Albums – Part 1