The grass has begun to grow back on the Plaine des Jeux, the Jardin des Etoiles is once again full of screaming kindergarten kids and a city of three million people somehow seems a bit empty. But that's life when you're recovering from a week-long party with 150 of your closest friends and fiercest rivals. It's called The Week After Worlds, and there oughta be some kind of cure. But until there is, let's just rewind a bit and enjoy it all once more.
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| ay one dawned hot and humid, which would become the pattern for most of the week. After a brief (and, of course, late) players meeting, competition was underway. | See www.footbag.org for the official results from this event! |
This day would belong to Ida Bettis-Fogle, in women's 5-minute timed consecutives by nailing 779 kicks. Ida used only her knees en route to her first place finish, and was so focused she nearly burned the seams right off her bag. Second place went to Sam Conlon with 668 kicks, and third to Jody Welch, with 651 kicks.
On the men's side, Duracell-powered Sean Flynn led the field again this year, recording 826 kicks, followed by Derrick Fogle and Steve Smith with 807 and 735 kicks respectively.
In doubles distance one-pass, Alf Marcussen and partner Brent Welch took the top spot on the men's side with 248 kicks, followed by Peter Shunny and Allan Petersen at 157, and Jim Caveney and Sean Flynn at 112. On the women's side, Julie Symons and Jody Welch connected for 76 kicks, followed by Sam Conlon and Lisa McDaniel with 25 and Tina Lewis and Becca English-Ross with 20.
GOLF:
It's My Course and I'll Win if I Want To!This year, because of a tight schedule and a record number of participants (177), golf was limited to two rounds.
In open, rock-steady course-designer Steve Smith took first place, prompting 43 other golfers to volunteer for course-designing duty next year in Portland. Allan Petersen finished second, with Peter Shunny rounding out the top three. In womens open, Becca English-Ross took home top honors, while Evanne Lamarche needed a playoff round to beat out Valeria Davidson for second. In intermediate, Justin Sexton from Finland was first, Matt Sauserman second and Garth Smith third.
Justin Sexton, the driving force behind Finland's first Worlds appearance, putts for his country's first World Golf title. Photo by Juli Smith.
FREESTYLE:
Rippin' on a TearFor '96, freestyle left the gym and headed to Broadway, or at least the Jardin des Étoiles, an amphitheater that usually hosts live performances for children. The venue included a 40 kazillion-watt sound system with outdoor speakers to draw people in from the heat. It worked, as several hundred people ducked in to see what all the fuss what about. However, as is often the case with an event with as much down time as freestyle, many stayed only until the next judging break.
Mega-kudos go out to Josh Casey, Stickman, Peter Irish, Eric Lardinois and others adept with their hands who kept the rest of us entertained while the judges tried to figure out how many times four goes into eight. An interesting addition to men's freestyle this year were nipples, which prompted an unidentified WFA director and fashion critic to run after Peter Irish and Eric Wulff screaming, "Sure, it's fine for you guys, but what about people with three?"
In intermediate, newcomer Ryan Mulroney from California, dazzled the judges and crowd with superb control and finesse, and incensed the entire country by having a name a consonant away from Canada's least-liked Prime Minster in recent memory (Brian Mulroney). Does this help explain the border-crossing wedgie, Ryan? Coming in second behind Ryan was Eric Lardinois, followed by Shesha Marvin.
An interesting addition to men's freestyle this year were nipples, which prompted an unidentified WFA director and fashion critic to run after Peter Irish and Eric Wulff screaming, "Sure, it's fine for you guys, but what about people with three?"
In women's freestyle, the ever-popular Sam Conlon Show won Best Dramatic Series for the fourth year in a row. A favorite with viewers since it premiered back in the late 80s, the show already has its slot booked in the womens finals through 1999. Sam has a special relationship with the footbag when she's on stage. She never fights it, or gravity, which makes for freestyle so smooth it seems to be taking place in slow-mo. Second place went to the Torquin' Queen, Carol Wedemeyer, who seems intent on stealing some of Sam's scorching spotlight soon. Expect a great fight next year in Portland. That town's own Kendall KIC took third place.
In open men's freestyle, last year's runner-up, Eric Wulff, put together another choreographic gem, but couldn't keep the drops down, finishing third. In second place was Scott Davidson, who nailed a brilliant routine with enough spins to make the Tasmanian Devil dizzy.
Finally, it was time for the last routine of the pool. As Rippin' Rick Reese took to the stage he cried out to the crowd, "You guys having fun out there?" Among the cheers came the reply, "What about you?" to which Rippin' deadpanned, "Not yet!" Talk about chutzpah!
What followed was 113 seconds of some of the purest freestyle ever performed, as Rippin' nearly tore a hole through the stage hitting everything including a blind Squeeze to a Double Around the World to an unheard of series of back to back five add moves (Symposium Whirling Swirl and Symposium Paradox Whirl). Proving that he has guts to match his talent, Rippin' hit some of his sickest stuff right after the voice-over on his music promised "...something that isn't supposed to happen but does happen." Indeed! A one-drop masterpiece. Thanks, Rick!
Lisa McDaniel, left,
and Sam Conlon
continue to set
the stage for
Women's Doubles Freestyle.Photo by Pierre Frigon.
In women's team, Sam Conlon and Lisa McDaniel synchronized their footbags at the beginning of their routine and never looked back en route to a first place finish. Lisa Monti and Carol Wedemeyer, last year's champions, took second place, while Becca English-Ross and Kendall KIC finished third.
In men's team, Eric Wulff and Peter Irish tore it up, juggling four bags and at times being so in synch they looked like one person practicing in front of a mirror. We can only imagine how tight they would be if they didn't live three thousand miles apart. Second place went to last year's champs, Tuan Vu and Greg Nelson, with Rippin' and Daryl Genz rounding out the top finishers.
Finally, in mixed doubles, Sam Conlon and Steve Goldberg finished first, followed by Lisa Monti and Tu Vu, and Carol Wedemeyer and Eric Wulff.
Carol Wedemeyer's wardrobe
lends athletic support
to Mixed Doubles
partner Eric Wulff.Photo by Pierre Frigon.
NET:
Bienvenue à MontréalWelcome to Montreal. Unless you've come to play net, in which case it's more like "Good luck!" In open, the preliminary matches went pretty much as expected until there were only four names left: defending champion Randy Mulder, legendary Kenny Shults, and the kids from Quebec, Emmanuel Bouchard and Sebastien Verdy.
Emmanuel `Manu' Bouchard added to the Canadiens' dominance at the net. Photo by Pierre Frigon.
The first semi pitted "Manu" against Kenny, the newest of the contenders against the oldest. Manu took the first game, keeping Kenny off-balance with deep spikes and well-placed dinks. Then Kenny started digging. And digging, and digging. Covering the court like a crazed cat, he put his foot on virtually everything, leaving Manu to wonder how the court had suddenly become so small. Kenny took the rubber match and was on his way to the finals.
The other semi saw title-holder Randy Mulder take on local wunderkind Sebastien Verdy. The players traded the first two games, Randy relying on his killer sweep, Sebastien on his powerful serve and devastating pull-down. In the rubber, Sebastien's weapons proved more effective, and he knocked Randy out of the singles final for only the second time this decade. The stage was set. It would be Seba against Kenny, youth against experience, Canada against the U.S., rubber against more rubber.
For finals day, competition moved from the grassy field of La Plaine des Jeux to the artificial surface within the gates of La Ronde, Montreal's largest amusement park. The surface would offer extraordinary grip and unforgiving landings. As the match began, it was obvious the pace would be quick.
Sebastien set high and jumped higher, while Kenny protected his court with impossibly low digs. Although there are many similarities between the players' styles, there is one key difference. Kenny is essentially a defensive player, often content to bang the bag over until his opponent makes an error. Sebastien, on the other hand, lives (or dies) by his offense. Once again, the players traded games, as home-town fans screamed until they were hoarse, then screamed some more. It made sense that the two players with arguably the most natural talent should meet under these conditions. And the fans seemed to understand that they were witnessing an important moment for the sport. In the end, it would be the player who jumped highest and hit hardest who would take home footbag's coveted crown. Sebastien Verdy, 23, from Montreal, Quebec. Elicitation!!
The stage was set. It would be Seba against Kenny, youth against experience, Canada against the U.S., rubber against more rubber.
In open doubles, there were no surprises through the semis. Manu and Sebastien defeated Brent Welch and Alf Marcussen, while Andy Ronald and Danny Borsky suffered a similar fate at the hands of Kenny and Randy. Once again, there was poetry in the lineup, as a couple of kids with determination and crowd support prepared to face the four-time world-champions. And once again, those lucky enough to be in attendance that day witnessed a rare and wonderful event.
As scripted, the teams traded opening games. The weapons of choice were on one side, Randy's booming roundhouse, and on the other, Sebastien's ballistic pull-down. Add to the mixture unbelievable digs by Manu and Shults and you begin to get a feeling for what was surely one of the best doubles finals ever. In the end, the difference was Sebastien's domination of the area two feet north of the net. Manu and Seba had won, and another net title would be spending the winter in Montreal.
On the women's side, the singles final was a Bay Area grudge match, with Lisa McDaniel facing off against Julie Symons. The long-time rivals knew and respected each other, and it showed in their play. The match featured the longest rallies of the day, as each player tried to throw the other off with well-placed lobs, dinks and volleys. Once again, a rubber match would be necessary to determine the champion. Lisa served hard throughout and volleyed deep whenever she could. Julie dug well and hit some great scuffs when the sets were there, which wasn't often enough. When it was all over, last year's runner-up Lisa McDaniel was this year's world champion.
Bay Area's Julie Symons
leaps into
all three net finals.Photo by Pierre Frigon.
The women's doubles final was the only match of the day that didn't go three games. This time Julie Symons was playing alongside Jody Welch, who had given birth to her second child just four weeks earlier. They were up against singles champion Lisa McDaniel and Evanne Lamarche, a high-flyer from Vancouver making her first finals appearance. The difference in this match was consistency, as Jody and Julie jumped on every error committed by Evanne and Lisa while scarcely giving up a shank of their own. It's tough to lose if you don't make mistakes, and Jody and Julie didn't make many en route to their doubles title.
In mixed, it was once again time for rubber as last year's finalists all showed up again this year for a second helping. Randy and Julie had been tops last year, giving Randy the coveted triple crown (wining singles, doubles and mixed doubles). The runners-up in Golden Gate park had been Brent and Jody Welch, who this year wanted to bring the title back to where it had so often rested: on their mantelpiece. The game plan against Randy is simple, at least on paper. You have to dig, dig and dig. That's exactly what Brent and Jody did. Time and time again, the rally appeared to be over until Jody stuck out a foot at the last second to save the point. Frustration eventually took its toll on Randy and Julie in game three, and the Welchs were back on top of the mixed doubles world.
In men's intermediate singles, Jukka Peltola from Finland beat Jason Davis to take the top spot, while Jeff Wichman took third. In intermediate doubles, Ben Floor and partner Jeff Wichman defeated Finns Tuomas Karki and Jukka Peltola. Third place went to Kerry Chun and Greg Durrett.
In women's intermediate singles, local sensation Genevieve Bousquet, playing in her first tournament, took first place, defeating Juliet Pendray, with Lori DiMonte finishing third.
By now your legs should be jelly and your feet ready to fall off. After all, you've just packed seven days of kicking into 15 minutes (20 minutes for Gator, who probably had to read some parts twice). Just remember to do a complete cool down and stretch before picking up any other reading material, you don't want to be hurting next year, when the whole thing starts again in Portland. See you then!!
[Ed. Note: See <www.footbag.org> for the official results from this event!]
 ESPN's program "Unbelievable Sports" will nationally televise this year's Worlds. Be sure to watch it on March 24th, and again on April 9th, 1997. Check your local listings for times in your area. |
Funniest momentSebastien Verdy dons Steve Smith's baseball cap during mixed doubles match and transmogrifies into the In-bred Corn Farmer From Hell. Opposing team laughs uncontrollably, loses match.
Second-funniest momentEric Wulff forgets to remove his lucky jog-bra before competing in mixed doubles freestyle. Crowd laughs uneasily.
Most romantic momentUnidentified kicker finds love in all the right places within hours of arrival in Montreal.
Least romantic moment(Different) Unidentified kicker finds love in all the wrong places and has the welts to prove it for three days.
Strangest freestyle trickTwo Illinois kickers, risking sub-zero routine scores, throw a handful of bags at one another, optimistically hoping to stall one on the way down.
Least likely advertising campaignRandy Mulder as poster boy for the "I Love Montreal" T-shirt. |
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CONTENTS
IFAB |
In Step |
Copyright © 1997 World Footbag Association.
On-Line Edition by Steven L. Goldberg, January, 1997.
