	by Scott Russell
	The period from 1984 to 1996, hereafter referred to as The Golden Years, brought with it a variety of struggles including three separate occasions that might easily have vaporized the WFA.

In the irrepressible spirit of any self-respecting nomad, World Footbag Association co-founder and executive director Bruce Guettich recently heard the highway calling and simply could not resist. With that, footbag's epicenter was once again piled high on the backs of moonlit camels and relocated to higher ground--this time in Colorado's Steamboat Springs. Well, perhaps it wasn't quite that spontaneous or romantic, but that's just as well as far as the camels were concerned.

The truth be known, careful consideration went into moving the World Footbag Association headquarters this past Labor Day from its long standing home in Golden, Colorado. After all, Guettich has raised the organization from its infancy so decisions that effect its future are no small matter. But when all the factors were loaded into the hopper, out came an undeniable answer. The nature of the "business" lends itself to virtually any geographic location as long as the staff is devoted and the members (that's you) keep kicking. So the WFA will continue to facilitate the sport's growth from Steamboat Springs or wherever it settles, and the REAL footbag promotion will rage on in every concert parking lot, campus quad, and town park that'll welcome a ring of kickers. Maybe this is what the WFA slogan means by "Where the players make the difference."
As you may have guessed though, this isn't the first time the footmecca has migrated. The Dead Sea Scrolls speak of the WFA's predecessor, the National Hacky Sack Association, founded in 1977 in Portland Oregon. The NHSA changed its management, location, and name on May 12, 1983 and so the World Footbag Association was born in a one-room office on the taxi way of the private Vancouver (Washington) Airport.
Just over a year later, in an effort to better centralize the headquarters' office, Guettich and company were off to Golden, a distant suburb of Denver with a vast mining heritage and an innate fear of being annexed by the Coors Brewing Company. The period from 1984 to 1996, hereafter referred to as The Golden Years, brought with it a variety of struggles including three separate occasions that might easily have vaporized the WFA. Even so, it's emerged on a steep and steady path. Prosperity notwithstanding, eleven years there turned out to be just long enough for Guettich to get hitched, welcome a daughter into the world, and realize that the skiing's much better in Steamboat Springs.
Perhaps the largest of Colorado's mountain towns, Steamboat Springs lies about 180 miles northwest of Denver. When not skiing or mountain biking, its residents enjoy arguing over whether the area is home to the best skiing or the best mountain biking in the state. I think you get the picture. Make the trip if you can and don't forget to visit the WFA.

Bruce Guettich.
Photo by Don Woodsmith.

In addition to bigger and better office space, Guettich took advantage of this opportunity to enhance and expand the WFAs staff in some important areas. A new office manager, Debbie Koehler, is on hand to oversee inventory, order fulfillment, and member services. Retired footbag pro and tour hound, Randy Nelson has come aboard to manage and schedule WFA demonstration and instructional programs wherever demand screams. Four-time World overall champion Alan Petersen has permanently relocated from Copenhagen and joins WFA touring veteran Peter Shunny promoting the sport on the road. Mirroring this duo on a soon-to-be full-time basis are the rekindled Paul Hunley and Dan Zahner, WFA highwaymen from the 1980s. Meanwhile, Guettich will be working closely with the organization's new marketing specialist Loretta Hammerslag who endeavors to draw footbag further into the public eye.
That's a whole lotta change in a short amount of time, but the accompanying aches and pains are gradually subsiding. So take some time and please welcome the gang to their new home.
Two of footbag's ever-increasing ranks of with-child female competitors have once again fueled the argument that having babies makes you stronger. New women's world records in what may be footbag's most grueling competitive events, 5-minute timed and traditional singles footbag consecutive, stand as the latest testament in support of this theory.
Since 1983, Portland's Tricia George has won the women's overall crown six times, taken over 50 world championship titles, and toppled numerous world consecutives records. Simply put, she is the best woman ever to play the sport. But to hear her tell it, you'd think her involvement in these achievements was incidental at best - somewhere along the lines of the key grip in the making of Casablanca. Perhaps as masterful in the art of selflessness as in footbag itself, George wants nothing more than to share the spotlight with her supporters and channel her successetoward the expansion and promotion of the sport. Last month's capturing of the world record in women's singles consecutive was no exception. Well, if she'd prefer to leave the singing of her praises to those inclined, allow me to join the throngs.

Simply put,
she is the best woman
ever to play the sport.
But to hear her tell it,
you'd think her involvement
in these achievements
was incidental at best.
Tricia George.
Photo by Mike Greuter.

With her eight-year-old daughter Sarah heading up a full support staff, George accentuated September's 2nd annual Eugene Celebration Footbag Tournament with her attempt on the singles record of 18,936 set by close friend and rival Constance Constable in August of '95. After joining Dr. Gary Lautt in the November '95 trouncing (123,456 kicks, 19 hrs, 28 mins.) of the open doubles consecutive record, the odds were certainly in George's favor. This, despite having never before kicked more than 12,000 in a solo effort.
Eugene, Oregon's Crux indoor rock climbing gym was closed to all but a few locals and George's band of faithful. Lighting, climate, and music were customized to her liking, leaving nothing but the task at hand to consider. While not nearly the epic many would have hoped or predicted, the record fell as anticipated and was reset at 20,717 kicks. Sticking faithfully to the familiar comfort of left inside/right inside/left inside for 3 hours and 15 minutes, she was hard-pressed to smoothly recover a shank to her left outside. Although George had yet to feel any significant signs of physical or mental fatigue, footbag found floor and the attempt was over.
In hindsight, she admitted, "What became clear to me is that it isn't just a physical exercise. What my body can do and whether I drop sometime seem unrelated. You can't let your concentration slip even for a moment. If you aren't perfectly aware, gravity will sneak up and yank the 'bag away."
As her sites turn now to another attempt sometime in the spring, George considers going with the kicking pattern made famous by consecutives veteran and open singles world record holder Ted Martin. Spreading the work out over 4 different kicks, rather than two, may just be the recipe for grand-scale longevity. She also leaked the intriguing possibility of a 24 hour nonstop doubles run with ironman Lautt. The footbag world will wait impatiently.
But while George seems fixated on footbag's marathons, the sprint record that she's held on numerous occasions is moving on without her. When asked to comment on Ida Bettis-Fogle's latest milestone in 5-minute timed footbag consecutive (speed consecs), she replied in as befuddled and incredulous a tone as I've heard, "She did that with her knees!?!." Call it a bit unorthodox for this event, but the results have been undeniable for Columbia, Missouri's Bettis-Fogle.
Perhaps the most well-traveled of competitive footbag's couples, she and husband Derrick not only spent their tenth wedding anniversary on the road to the Ozarks Open in Springfield, Missouri, but have now chauffered their 18-month-old baby girl to a total of 10 footbag tournaments in her short life. As a somewhat ironic supplement to this aggressive competition schedule, Bettis-Fogle spent last winter practicing speed consecs in the confines of her living room hoping, in part, to pick up a few extra kicks by limiting her room to wander during a rally.

Ida Bettis-Fogle.
Photo by Derrick Fogle.

Her latest of four 1996 attempts came on October 5 at the Matt Mesiti CHAOS Footbag Festival in Carbondale, Illinois. Exchanging her own record of 769 kicks, Bettis-Fogle cranked out a video-verified 784. As footbag devotees begin to gossip over who'll be the first woman to break the 800 barrier, she rests comfortably with the knowledge of having done so already - unofficially. Watch for the official big break early in the 1997 outdoor tournament season this spring as another winter in her domestic training facility is bound to produce results.

On-Line Edition by Steven L. Goldberg, January, 1997.

	Simply put, she is the best woman ever to play the sport. But to hear her tell it, you'd think her involvement in these achievements was incidental at best.
Tricia George. Photo by Mike Greuter.