Juggler's World: Vol. 38, No. 3

Teams Championship

The Jet Set Jugglers Withstand the Heat

Jet Set Jugglers Chesbrough and Webber do a leapfrog in their winning Team act

The Jet Set Jugglers stormed onto stage from out of IJA nowhere to win the Teams Championship and its $500 first prize. Eastman Webber and Mark Chesbrough, attending their first IJA convention, earned a standing ovation with their energetic routine set to the frantic beat of "The Heat Is On," which culminated in a nine club pass.

They opened on a darkened stage with glo-sticks manipulated in club swinging patterns, then filled the rest of their seven minutes with various combinations of club passing and synchronized juggling.

The pre-competition favorites and last year's team winners, the Raspyni Brothers, performed a nearly flawless and technically demanding routine, but couldn't match the energy demonstrated by the newcomers.

Appearing on the IJA stage the night after they appeared Johnny Carson's "Tonight" show, the Raspynis also concentrated on clubs. Dan Holzman did some three club solo work while partner Barry Friedman did four clubs. They combined juggles for seven club passing and also did nine. They finished passing six machetes while each man spun a ball on a mouthstick and a ring around one ankle.

Raspynis got on Carson, but finished second in Teams by mere tenths. Holzman on left, Friedman on right.

Barry Friedman with unique move in Teams championship

The Jongleur Jugglers from Gainesville, Fla., worked hard during the off-season to polish their act and came away with third place for their efforts. John Creveling, Mike Stillwell and Yvonne Wetherell recited an original poem about cooperation while doing takeaways and other manipulations with three clubs. Other tricks included weaves, back-to-back passes and a three-person line feed that turned into eight clubs passed between John and Mike.

Other acts and highlights were:

• Passing Zone - Jon Wee and Tuey Wilson. Club passing and acrobatic moves including leap-frog and shoulder stand by two person team. Seven clubs back to back.

• Cabangahan Jugglers - Amy Adams, Irlopol Macabinguil, Emelie Cafino, Gina Taylo, and Joyce Bonachita. Dressed attractively in native Philippine costumes, they passed rings in a line and clubs in a four person back-to-back box.

  Cabangahan Jugglers

• Catch-It-Quick Jugglers - Comedy and patter amidst three people passing up to 11 rings and 10 clubs in a line.

• Renegade Jugglers - Theatrical juggling presentation of "A Present-Day Global Nuclear Nightmare" about a nuclear plant meltdown.

• Manic Expressions - Unique passing patterns and takeaways with five people, including passing from a unicycle and shoulder stand.

• Natural Acts - Martin Frost and Laura Novick. Demonstration of the many variations possible with passing up to eight clubs.

Teams Championship Results

                         Total   Tech   Perf  time
1.  Jet Set Jugglers     75.97  18.68  26.90
2.  Raspyni Brothers     75.67  21.00  24.40
3.  Jongleur Jugglers    58.75  15.15  21.10
4.  Passing Zone         57.62  14.87  19.70
5.  Cabangahan Jugglers  55.80  12.83  20.65
6.  Catch it Quick       54.05  13.83  18.60
7.  Renegade Jugglers    52.75   9.65  22.00
8.  Manic Expressions    43.58  11.05  15.40  -.5
9.  Natural Acts         23.55   9.53   4.60

Technical judges: Todd Smith, Rich DiGiovanna, Paul Bachman, Michael Kass, Alan Howard. Performance judges: Alexis Lee, Scott Meltzer, Ben Decker, Karen Grant, Mardene Rubio.