Fourkast Footbag Company
Location: Oregon, USA
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What news we have! Milan Benda of the Czech Republic is now the 2010 World Freestyle Footbag Champion! It all went down Friday night, starting with Doubles Freestyle. Competition was high, but in the end the Doubles Team of Gosia and Wiktor Debski reined supreme. Here are the quick results from our correspondent Evan Lovely;

1. Wiktor Dębski & Gosia Dębska
2. Arek Dudzinski & Damian Gieknicki
3. Michal & Thomas Ostriwski

In Women’s Freestyle Routines, Tina Aeberli dominated the card, actually sweeping the entire event in the Women’s division. A big congratulations from all of us in Fourkast to the great Swiss Miss!

Last but not least in the evening was Open Finals Routines, and it was a stirring event indeed. Seeded last place in his pool, it was actually Milan Benda that took the stage first. What was to follow was an immense two minutes of heavy technicality and strong choreography. The level of technical play was incredibly dense; Milan began the routine with a strong move, and ended the performance with an equally powerful trick. It would be a two minute dropless masterpiece, one that would bring the crowd to its feet and set the standard for the rest of finals. Many of the 9 competitors after seemed to have a tough time following up Milan’s performance, the drop count ranged from 1 drop to much higher. Nick Landes (in his first Worlds finals routine) provided some comedy as he slid across the floor arms first to attempt to catch an out of control footbag, with a smile on his face no less. Good stuff Nick, your cheerful attitude and skills are greatly appreciated!

Vasek Klouda performed admirably as well, with a one drop performance that had the audience clapping along. As it has been remarked that this may be Vasek’s last Worlds routine, it felt like a stirring swan song from a player who has given so much to the game of freestyle footbag. I caught up with Klouda after the routines and conveyed my appreciation in seeing him compete at least one more time. I was there when he ascended to the thrown of World Champion all those years ago, and am grateful to have watched how far this amazing player has gone. If this is in fact Vasek’s final performance, we are happy to have witnessed what is still the greatest freestyle footbag run in the history of the sport. Our hats off the Mr. Vasek Klouda, truly a massive inspiration over these many years.

Other strong routines were hit, including good work from Damian Gielnicki and Honza Weber. When it came down to it though, the battle would end up being between the bookend performances; Milan’s magnus routine versus David’s final routine of the evening. David was running strong coming off a win streak of Circle/Shred 30/Best 3 domination. Clavens looked confident when he took the floor, and showed he was not rattled by the pressure of finals night there in Oakland California. Playing to the song he had won the European Footbag Championships with, Mr. Clavens proceeded to execute an amazingly choreographed routine right to the beat. The technicality was strong, and the showman quality was amazing. For two minutes the crowd witnessed an incredibly professional and flawless routine. With a strong roar of applause, David Clavens completed his performance with a hand catch to seal dropless, and now the judges were put to the test deciding which two routines would be first.

Tension afterward was high in the audience and players, everyone was contemplating who would be the next World Champion. After a bit of time and sweat from the judging panel, the moment arrived for the results to be announced. As the list of of competitors were named starting from 9th place, anticipation grew heavily in the crowd. Many people debated back and forth which routine was better, Milan’s powerhouse performance, or Claven’s professionally executed routine. Finally, Peter Irish (the MC and multiple time past World Champion) came down to the top two. The audience was edge when he read the final results; David Clavens would take 2nd, leaving 18 year old Milan Benda to be the new freestyle World Champion. Emotions were high in the players and public, ranging from ecstatic to disappointed. Milan respectfully celebrated with his friends and teammates, while David (though disappoint he had not taken first and swept the event) gratiously accepted second. Some rankings in the pool were debated, but this is a common occurrence at a high profile event like Worlds. In third place, a flag waiving Damian Gielnicki accepted his award, proving once again he is both a world class player and a positive personality in the sport. Though not completely agreeing with the call for his final ranking, Jan Weber accepted the award for fourth professionally. Honza has had a great year as a freestyle shredder; the shedding of 20 pounds and sharping up his blades was extremely evident that week at the event.

In fifth place was Vasek Klouda, who with a great calm and dignity accepted his award. It was remarked that Klouda may have been disappointed beneath that layer of calmness, but this was not the sense we got when chatting with the seasoned freestyler. I am sure he wouldn’t have minded winning the World Championships one more time, but again with his long track record of ground breaking success, Klouda seemed to be very comfortable with what could be described as a passing of the torch to his ‘next gen’ comrade and fellow Czech teammate. If it has gone from the age of Vasek to the age of Milan, I am sure Klouda will be content with that. That being said, Mr. Benda has his work cut out for him defending the title, as David Clavens is still out there and in his prime. Many consider Clavens to the best circle shredder in the World, I look forward to seeing these great match ups again in the future. Thrilling competition can only help our sport!

Final Rankings:

9. Scott Bevier

Video:

Milan Benda 1st Place Worlds Routine

David Clavens 2nd Place Worlds Routine

Tina Aeberli 1st Place Women’s Routine

Aside from the actually competition, there was one other piece of the puzzle that would have to be decided that night; who would be inducted into the illustrious Big Add Posse footbag group. For those unfamiliar with the long running group, it is a band of professional level players that have formed a legendary club that represents the very best of freestyle footbag. Only once a year at the World Footbag Championships do they convene to decide who that year has proven their mighty footbag skills and earned their spot in ranks of BAP. This year there was really a single name on the table; the Las Vegas freestyler Evan Gatesman. Usually when sizing up a potential BAP inductee, veteran Posse players will form a circle with the player to evaluate their skill in relation to other top level members of the group. That night in a rare occurrence at this Worlds, Honza Weber stepped into Evan’s circle, with other BAP members either following to shred with the young player, or taking a seat to watch the show. I am not sure if Evan sensed the situation, but whether or not he was aware of the BAPer’s intent, he threw down effortlessly a great amount of hard technical links mixed with great variety. When the dust (and circle) cleared, it was time for the group to take its meeting and decide how to proceed. Luckily this year there were quite a few BAP members in attendance, the meeting’s numbers were more or less 20 people strong. There was a short discussion within the group, and when it was time to vote all hands went up unanimously for the young Mr. Gatesman. Next was deciding what his earned nickname would be (every BAP member gets one). A few name thrown around with various levels of seriousness, such as Evan ‘Heavenly’ Gatesman, and Evan ‘The Statesman’ Gatesman. In the end however, Evan would be bestowed the BAP name ‘The Silencer’, relating to his fast/low impact shred game, and his quiet/smooth nature outside the circle. With tremendous applause from a crowd of cheering players, Evan was called up to join the ranks of the Big Add Posse. Many photo shots were taken, with Evan standing firming in the middle and front of the group. Congratulations Mr. Gatesman, you continue a proud and long running tradition!

After the awards ceremony, it was time to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening’s festivities. As the event site was open 24/7, the party went well into the early hours of the morning, with much celebration occurring. Players shredded like it was their last night at Worlds (for many it was), with many others dancing the night away. Dylan Fry won the unofficial award of Last Kicker Standing, playing for a mind boggling 8 hours at least. Clavens, Honza, Penske, and Gatesman were just a few players that threw immense game that evening as well. The general feeling was one of relief and joy, as a long week of great freestyle and competitive play had concluded. Net finals will be rounding out the event tonight (which should be very exciting), but for the freestylers, their work was done last night and that fact was celebrated greatly. Mad props have to be given to many people, including Steve Goldberg, Eric Wulff, and without a doubt the great Chris Ott for making all of this happen. Their time and sacrifices have benefited footbag time and again. Great stuff from the freestyle footbag community in attendance, it has truly been a thrilling/painstaking/inspiring week. This is what Worlds is all about; it is a breathtaking event in which the greats from all nationalities come to prove their game and celebrate our great sport. Only once a year this epic event happen, and it is both exhilarating and exhausting. It wouldn’t be the World Footbag Championships without it.