World Juggling Federation

The World Juggling Federation (WJF) is the world's only organization devoted to the promotion and advancement of juggling as a sport (competitive juggling).[1]

World Juggling Federation
AbbreviationWJF
Formation2000 (2000)
Type501(c)(3)
PurposePromote sport juggling
Founder and President
Jason Garfield
Websitewww.thewjf.com

History

In 2000, long-time IJA member Jason Garfield founded the WJF.[2] Garfield attracted interest and membership by framing the skills of juggling as a sport.[3] The WJF broadcast its first juggling convention on ESPN2 in January 2005[4] and its second convention on ESPN later the same year.[5] In 2021, the WJF was reestablished as a 501(c)(3) organization[6][7] and announced its goal to create a juggling event at the Olympics.[8][9]

Competition

The WJF's most well-known event is the WJF convention, which has been broadcast on ESPN2. The organization encourages jugglers to compete against each other in order to get better. In WJF-sponsored events, the participants use juggling props, which include: Balls, Rings, Clubs, Cigar boxes, Diabolos, and Devil Sticks.

WJF competition events sometimes include (pending enough competitors attending):

  • Club passing
  • 360s (and similar)
  • Endurance
  • Isolated Endurance
  • Freestyle
  • Extreme Competitions

There are "junior"-, "beginner"-, "intermediate"- and "advanced"-level competitors in each of the three main WJF disciplines.

Conventions and championships

Annual WJF conventions are held; and juggling competitions produce annual winners who are named "overall champions". At WJF 5, the top competition event ran alongside the Battle for the WJF Presidency, with Thomas Dietz as the inaugural winner, beating Jason Garfield. However, Dietz resigned from presidency soon after, saying he didn't have time to fulfill his duties as president. At WJF 7 in 2011, Doug Sayers was initially named overall champion, but due to a miscount of the scores this was proved not to be the case, as Vova had scored more points overall.

WJF Competitions
YearEventLocationCompetition
2004WJF ConventionLas Vegas, Nevada
2005WJF2Las Vegas, NevadaThomas Dietz, Overall champion[10]
2006WJF3Las Vegas, NevadaThomas Dietz, Overall champion[11]
2007WJF4Hartford, ConnecticutThomas Dietz, Overall champion[12]
2008WJF5Las Vegas, NevadaThomas Dietz, Overall champion.[13]
2010WJF6Las Vegas, NevadaDoug Sayers, Overall champion.[14]
2011WJF7Springfield, IllinoisVova Galchenko, Overall champion[15]
2012WJF8Sioux Falls, South DakotaDoug Sayers, Overall champion
2013WJF9Las Vegas, NevadaJonah Botvinick-Greenhouse, Overall champion
2014WJF10Las Vegas, NevadaDoug Sayers, Overall champion
2015WJF11Las Vegas, NevadaJonah Botvinick-Greenhouse, Overall champion
2016WJF12Las Vegas, NevadaDelaney Bayles, Overall champion
2017WJF13Las Vegas, NevadaSpencer Androli, Overall champion
2018WJF14Las Vegas, NevadaChristian Hauschild, Overall champion
2019WJF15Las Vegas, NevadaEivind Dragsjø, Overall champion
2021 WJF16 Las Vegas, Nevada Spencer Androli, Overall champion
2022 WJF17 Las Vegas, Nevada Spencer Androli, Overall champion

References
  1. Christel, Matthias. (2009). Bewegungskünste: motorisches Lernen in der Zirkuspädagogik, p. 30., p. 30, at Google Books
  2. "Interview with Mark Bakalor about the WJF". jugglingdb.com. November 17, 2004. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  3. Grossman, Lev (July 16, 2006). "Up In the Air". Time. Archived from the original on July 18, 2006. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  4. "WJF 2004 Advanced Ball Competition". February 14, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2023 – via YouTube.
  5. "2005 WJF ESPN Ball and Club Competitions Trailer #1". March 18, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. "WJF 2021 Year in review". February 18, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via YouTube.
  7. Martin, Stephen A. Determination Letter of Tax Exempt Status, May 27, 2021. irs.gov. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  8. Betuel, Emma (February 24, 2021). "A circus act turned extraordinary sport is making its case for the Olympics". Inverse. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  9. Jillette, Penn (June 14, 2021). "Olympic Juggling With The World Juggling Federation". Penn's Sunday School (Podcast). Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  10. Thomas Dietz, Overall champion
  11. WJF3, Dietz, Overall champion
  12. WJF4, Dietz, Overall champion
  13. WJF5, Dietz, Overall champion
  14. WJF6, Sayers, Overall champion
  15. WJF7, Galchenko, Overall champion (Doug Sayers had originally been announced the winner due to a math error, but Vova Galchenko ended up winning.)


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