The 2009 Idaho Footbag Championships

by Red Husted

Every year, the Sole Purpose Footbag Group makes its annual trek to participate in Boise's long running freestyle footbag event.  In past years the event has been called the Idaho Shred Symposium.  This year however, the local crew (including Zeb Jackson, Jim Penske, and Sunny Freeman Genz) decided to kick it up a notch and wisely rename the event the Idaho Footbag Championships.  The event has showcased some of the best freestyle footbag shred in the northwest, drawing such greats as Nick Landes (Portland), Justin Dale (Seattle), and Steffan Siegert (Germany).  Top local freestylers such as Jim Penske and Daryl Genz were also long time regulars.  This year was a mix of old and new; the same level of quality and fun still applied, but a few new things were present at the event.  The decision to update the title of the tournament was a good one; now anyone coming to the event was aware that by the end of it, a state champion would be crowned.  Possibly that state champion could go on to compete at the US Open Footbag Championships the next year, and then on to the World Footbag Championships.  The title added a little more weight to the event; it wasn’t just a jam, it was now a state tournament.  On our end, the Sole Purpose Group was also bringing something new; the Fourkast Footbag Company was in attendance to cover the event.  This included three out of four of the Fourkast Team Freestylers (Jim Penske, Scott Bevier, and Nick Landes).  We rolled into town Friday evening and received a warm reception at the Freedom house in Nampa (20 minutes outside Boise).  It was a good evening of catching up with old friends in the footbag community.

The next day, we all got up and headed out to Boise for the first day of the tournament.  The event was held inside the Hyde Park Street Fair (a giant 3 day festival held on the edge of downtown Boise).  With thousands of people in attendance, exposure was strong.  We set up on the tennis courts which the event surrounded; this was where prelims for the tournament were to be held.  Attendance this year at the event was a bit modest; the strongest showing was from Portland Oregon (Scott Bevier, Nick Landes, Tom Kotsokos, and myself), and of course the local footbag group (Jim Penske, Zeb Jackson, Sunny Freeman Genz, Daryl Genz, Dylan Johnson, and Riley Stark to name a few).  People began kicking around 2pm; the official competitions were slated for 4pm.  There were two major events held this year; Circle and Performance Routines.  We began with the Circle competition, two pools of four players.  For those unfamiliar with the Circle, it is basically a competition in which players in a circle of four compete head to head (much like a break dance competition).  Each player works to outdo the other and win their pool.  In this Circle event, only two players would advance per pool, two would not make the cut.  In pool 1, it was Nick Landes, Jim Penske, Daryl Genz, and Riley Stark.  Pool 2 consisted of Scott Bevier, Zeb Jackson, Tom Kotsokos, and Kevin Crowley.  As usual, there were two rounds per pool; one focused on variety, the other on density (heavy technical combos).  In the first pool everyone had at least a few strong combos, with Nick Landes and Jim Penske taking the lead.  Both threw down strong variety; Jim (usually a more technical player) worked to mix it up, while Nick basically played a lighter technical game while keeping his usual variety.  For that round, Nick Landes took the lead, hitting basically 4 out of 4 combos (the footbag goes around the circle four times per round).  Jim hit a strong 3 out of 4, while Daryl Genz and Riley Stark presented some very creative and artistic runs to follow up.  Round two was completely focused on technical strength; this was Jim Penske's time to shine.  Mashing together his usual mind blowing combos and high add/high dexterity moves, Penske proved once again that he is and always will be a freestyle force in the footbag world.  Nick easily answered Jim's expected game with his own brand of technical thunder.  This included a great deal of tripless combos (all four add moves) and fearless runs (all five add moves).  In the end, the round went to Jim Penske, with Nick Landes in a very close second.  Pool 2 saw the great Scott Bevier in action, with strong shredders Zeb Jackson, Tom Kotsokos and Kevin Crowley battling to take at least the second place position.  Round 1 saw some good combos from all four players, but this now was Scott 'Flash Gordon' Bevier's time to shine.  Scott creatively mixed his trademark 'genuine' combos (few to zero bails, few repeats) with a great variety of tricks and concepts.  Zeb Jackson held up with some nice consistent strings, Tom Kotsokos and Kevin Crowley also contributed their own mix of variety.  Not surprisingly, the round easily went to Bevier, with Zeb Jackson taking the second spot.  In the technical round the results pretty much stood the same; Flash Gordon stepped up his technical linking to win the top spot, with Zeb holding onto some long combos to secure the second spot.  Closely behind this were Tom Kotsokos and Kevin Crowley.  Thus, when the dust had settled, it was Jim Penske and Nick Landes for pool 1, and Scott Bevier and Zeb Jackson for pool 2.  The great showdown would occur on stage for finals the next day.  The players had put in their work, but there was still one event left before the day was complete.

Performance Routines

This was one of those rare instances where day one routines actually out shined finals.  There was only one pool, with semifinals on Saturday and finals on Sunday.  The first round of freestyle occurred as the last event on Saturday; it included the US Champion Scott Bevier, as well as Idaho State Champion Jim Penske.  Other competitors present were Sunny Freeman Genz, Zeb Jackson, Riley Stark, and Daryl Genz.  There were certainly some stand out performances; long time competitor and Doubles World Champion Genz piece together another entertaining show for the spectators, and of course Bevier and Penske brought their usual impressive skills to the stage.  In the end it was a close call, but Jim remained top seed, with Bevier (new to the tournament) taking the second spot.  Unfortunately Nick Landes was not able to compete in the Performance Routines that year, thus everyone knew it was up to either Penske or Bevier to win the Idaho Footbag Championships.  With the conclusion of Jim's fine performance, the first day of events concluded and the players packed up to rest and enjoy the evening.

Jim Penske Routine

One of the things that I have always appreciated about the Idaho footbag tournaments is how relaxed they are.  By nature, our sport of footbag is a very social sport; this was certainly the case in Boise.  The difference between an event such as this and something like Portland's own US Open Footbag Championships is the laid back atmosphere.  The US Open is quite a fun event, but it is also one of the higher stakes tournaments in footbag today, which creates a more serious atmosphere for competition.  This eye-on-the-prize mentality does not exist at the Idaho tournaments however.  Everyone is simply there to see old friends, make new acquaintances, and enjoy the nice weather.  This being said, the level of freestyle is still very strong, watching the shredders throw down on the sidelines is always fun at the event. 

That evening everyone ended up back at the Freedom house, essentially Daryl and Sunny's house in Nampa.  The Freedom Shredquarters (as it is called) is a place I have a great deal of respect for, and have enjoyed visiting over the years.  This is where the Portland team would stay for the duration of the event, and thanks to their giant footbag shred room, there was more than enough space for all the players.  That night people relaxed and socialized, old friends caught up and reminisced about previous days (as old schoolers usually do).  The younger freestylers continued to play footbag, and eventually a game of footbag foursquare broke out in the shred room.  This went on into the late evening, until everyone was good and tired from the day.  Though the Idaho Footbag Championships event does enjoy a laid back atmosphere, it is still a tournament, and finals still needed to occur.  Thus everyone retired for the evening and rested for the final day of the event. 

The Fourkast Team stands for a photo shoot

Tournament Director Zeb Jackson takes a break

Fourkast and Freedom!

Nick demos his amazing skills

Riley Stark shows off a sole stall in competition

Sunny Freeman Genz shreds it up

Day 2

Every year the IFC organizers secure a stage in the Boise Hyde Street Fair that guarantees the players good exposure.  This year was no different.  Finals are always played to a good sized crowd, and the spectators are usually very excited to see the show.  This year the wise choice was made to streamline the show; instead of hosting three events on stage (which can take a fair amount of time), only finals for Circle and Performance Routines were held.  First, the Circle competition was performed to the cheering crowds.  The four finalists all performed accordingly; this again included Scott Bevier, Nick Landes, defending champion Jim Penske, and local shredder Zeb Jackson.  I had much respect for Zeb, though he was performing on stage with three of the top freestylers in the country, he maintained some very solid combos and held his ground.  US Footbag Circle Champion Landes admittedly underperformed from his usual shred game, but still threw some impressive combinations despite an injury he had received the first day.  Due to this however, Nick was out of the running for the top spot.  In top shape however were Scott Bevier and Jim Penske, both of which threw amazingly consistent combos.  Scott as usual rocked the creativity and variety, while Mr. Penske threw his expected heavy technical game.  The crowd ate it up as these two shredders continued to one up each other, both bringing strength and confidence to the stage.  Circle competition notoriously has been a winning event for Jim Penske, but if there were ever a challenger to his domination at the IFC, it was certainly Mr. Bevier that day.  When the last combo had been thrown down, it was left to the judges to deliberate.  After a short time, the results were announced; Jim Penske had once again secured the top spot in the Circle Competition.  Closely following was Scott Bevier, with Nick Landes and Zeb Jackson taking third and fourth respectably.

To see video of the Idaho Footbag Championship Circle Competition, click below

Idaho Footbag Championships Circle Competition Part 1

Idaho Footbag Championships Circle Competition Part 2

Performance Routines Finals

The one thing that can be hard about the Circle competition is that it is a tough act to follow.  Never was this more apparent than the Performance Routines at the 2009 IFC.  Before we had began setting up for the first part of the footbag show, it had become apparent that the stage itself had taken some serious stress from overuse.  Problems such as planks popping up, hollow and uneven flooring, and loose screws were abundant.  As we became aware of this, there was little that could be done on short notice.  The stage was quickly secured, then the performers took to it for the first event.  Well, I can tell you after the whirlwind of combos that this stage had to endure; I am surprised it was still standing after.  This being said, it certainly wasn't in better condition for it.  By the time the competitors took to the stage for the final round of Routines, the flooring was shakier than ever.  This didn't completely hinder the performances, but it did unfortunately play a part in the final outcome.  One by one the players presented their routines; as always the crowd lit up when it was Mr. Genz's turn to perform his mix and match routine (pieced together from 15 years of previous performances).  Of course all eyes were on the top two freestylers in the pool; one was the newly crowded US Champion from Portland, the other was the five time defending Idaho State Champion and hometown hero.  Expectations were high for both players, but both had obstacles to deal with.  Aside from the degrading platform, towards the end of finals a slight wind had kicked up, which is never good when competing.  Between the two competitors, Bevier was the first to take the stage.  He performed a variation of his winning US Open routine, with a few minor tweaks.  Choreography was strong as expected, and technicality was certainly respectable.  As the routine went on, it unfortunately became apparent that the US Champion was not just playing against his close competitor, but also the conditions of the stage.  The masses didn't seem to notice or care, and when he completed his performance, great cheers went up for the US champ.  The drop count had been higher than anticipated, but this did not stop the performance from being an absolute crowd pleaser. 

Last up was the defending home town champ Jim Penske.  To say Jim was the crowd favorite would be an understatement, he was a local legend for his skills.  Jim opened very strong with an aggressive song, and proceeded to crush the technical card in his performance.  He knew that Scott had great variety and creativity; he would have to counter with his own.  This involved mixing it up and showcasing his enhanced choreography.  Unfortunately for Jim, the same elements that had hindered his opponent still were present, including the stage issues and wind.  This became a problem a few times within the routine, once in particular Jim was forced to change the course of his performance. After all was said and done, Penske confidently finished his routine, again to a cheering audience that was undeniably impressed and bewildered by what they had seen.  Now it was up to the judges to make the final call.  Luckily I had the task of MC at the event, and was not forced to make the tough decision this time.

After careful deliberation, the judges handed the results over.  All the competitors were called back on stage to receive their accolade.  In a respectable fourth place was Riley Stark, representing both Boise and Montana.  In third place was footbag Hall of Famer Daryl Genz.  For second place, it had come down essentially to the drop count between the two titan freestylers.  With a slightly higher drop count than his competitor, Mr. Jim Penske was awarded second place.  This left the first place spot and title of Idaho State Champion to Mr. Scott Bevier.  Finals had by no means been flawless, but the audience was entertained all the same.  As a freestyler, I look forward to the next time top talents such as Jim Penske, Scott Bevier, and Nick Landes meet, unhindered by shaky stages, weather constraints, or injury.  You always want conditions to be optimal, but this is not always the case.  Luckily, it being the Idaho State Championships, competition was only one part of the total experience.  On a whole, the tournament was a great success!

Daryl performs for the crowds

Sunny Freeman Genz performs

Scott Bevier showcases his footbag routine

Jim Penske performs his finals footbag routine

Tom Kotsokos did us the honor of filming finals for the event.  Behind him, the awards announcement

The Hyde Street Fair (where the IFC is held) from above

Once the official event had finished, we all headed over to a local restaurant which was sponsoring the event.  Being in Idaho, the team was treated to an amazing amount of potato fries as awards were handed out.  After this we headed back to the Hyde Street Fair and enjoyed what the overall festival had to offer.  From here the gang proceeded over to Zeb and Jim's house, where there was an informal shred involving Penske and Bevier.  Nick Landes even jumped in the mix despite his injury.  Shred was relaxed, but none the less impressive.  Jim hit quite a few solid combinations including Fury-Fusion-Nemesis.  After the kick concluded a barbecue broke out; much good food was served.  Finally, we wrapped up the evening, said our goodbyes, and started our journey back to Portland.

The top footbag players demo their skills

All in all, the 2009 Idaho State Footbag Championships event was a blast.  This is one of my favorite footbag tournament to attend due to its social and relaxed nature.  Four years running we have seen competitors and friends come together to promote footbag and enjoy the atmosphere.  Special thanks have to go out to the Boise/Freedom Crew, including Zeb Jackson, Jim Penske, Sunny Freeman Genz, and the great Daryl Genz.  From Portland, we were honored to cover the tourney as Fourkast and the Sole Purpose gang.  I look forward to seeing what this event has to offer next year!

A nice homecoming welcome from our roommates Chloe and Buddha the cat

To see more pictures of the 2009 Idaho Footbag Championships, click below

2009 Idaho Footbag Championships Pictures

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