Footbag contains a wide range of unique and enjoyable events for any player to enjoy, whether it is the novice or the professional. Each type of competition has its own features and benefits, some attuned to a more social side of learning while others are for those wanting the skills they have attained to be shown off. Here is a beginners guide to all the major competitions hosted at most competitions:

Main Events:

Circle Competition

Circle is a very fun and enjoyable competition that everyone can use to relax and just have some fun. The circle competition requires 3-4 players minimum, arranged in the kicking order of beginner to the most highly ranked player. Circle competition has a few variations around the world, however the most used model revolves around a 2 round game.

The first round of circle is called the ‘density’ round. In this round, the main aim is to just hit as many different and unique tricks as you possibly can without dropping. Once you drop, you appropriately pass the bag over to the next player who will commence their run. In each round, you get 3 attempts to impress the judges with your skills. The only rule associated with this event is:

-       If you drop the bag before reaching 3 contacts, the player is given a second attempt or ‘passback’ (you must pass the bag to the player, usually it is good etiquette not to pick it up yourself for a passback). However, on the second attempt, any drops lead to the end of your turn and you must pass it onto the next player.

The second round of circle is called the ‘difficulty’ round. In this section, players must hit their hardest tricks and links. Each player is given a score for each of the 2 rounds. Usually, the highest placed person (sometimes 2^nd place as well) advance to the next stage of the competition.

Circle competition is a good way to relax and just play to your strengths. It is fun for all levels of players and doesn’t require any real preparation to compete in.

Below is an example of the circle competition:

Routines

Every sport, that has many variations in competition, always seem to have the decider, most important event that would crown the best of the world. In Footbag, the official event to achieve the ‘Champion’ title is from winning routines at the event. Routines are a very basic and easy competition to comprehend. It is very similar to a gymnastics rhythmic routine, where it revolves around roughly a 2-3 minute performance. Each performance is graded on difficulty, creativity and length. Difficulty is self-explanatory, creativity covers how ‘on beat’ you are to the music that you have chosen and the uniqueness of your routine, and length is just to ensure you don’t go over or under the time limit (you get penalized if you do). You get penalized for drops, which are usually the deciding factor between players of the same skill. Routines don’t require an extremely difficult performance to progress further at an event. Generally, the creative routines are seen to be the most impressive (even if it isn’t the winning routine). If you can’t hit too many difficult tricks, you can be creative and still achieve a good result for a routine. Showing off tricks that no one performs during a routine is a sure way to get a good score in creativity. In this way, even the most basic of players can come up with a routine and progress with it.

Below is one of the most creative routines I have seen (even if the difficulty isn’t world class) and is a routine you must watch before you die, enjoy a masterpiece:

(Note: This is a little over the top, but its very creative)

Shred 30

Shred 30 is a very unique and enjoyable event. In shred 30, you have 30 seconds to perform as many different tricks as you can. In Footbag, there is something called the ‘ADD system’; each trick has been assigned a number of ADD’s (this doesn’t mean a trick is more difficult if it has more ADD’s). Tricks that are given an ADD score of 3 or higher are considered ‘uniques’. Also, performing the same 3 or higher ADD trick on the opposite side is also considered ‘unique’. ‘Uniques’ are used as a multiplier to calculate your personal score for the event. However, once you perform a ‘unique’, it cannot be considered a ‘unique’ again. This means if you hit the same trick 30 times, for example pixie legover (open switch in the new naming system), you will only receive 2 ‘uniques’ (one unique on each side) that will be a multiplier. The only other rules is that a drop is considered a 0 add trick and is added to the score calculator as a contact, and in a female shred 30, 2 ADD tricks may be considered unique depending on the competition organizer. Once you ‘drop’, you simply pick the bag back up as quick as you can and start kicking again (you only have 30 seconds remember). Below is the formula for calculating a shred 30 score.

Shred30 score = ADDs*(1+(uniques/contacts))

This competition therefore revolves around precision and being both sided. In this competition, a drop isn’t as harmful as a routine, however it can damage the rhythm of the player. Shred 30 is a fun way to express how good you are at linking hard tricks, also it can be used as a tool to drilling in those links you want to.

Below is a example video of a shred 30 run:

Sick 3

A pretty self-explanatory competition, it revolves around linking you three most difficult tricks you can think of together. A player receives multiple attempts at hitting a safety and a main combination. The amount of attempts allowed for players varies between lots of competitions, but generally you get 3 attempts at your safety and 3 attempts at your main.

Other Events

Request Competition:

Request competition is very unique and relies on your skill at hitting a wide range of tricks and links. Usually, it is a competition of 15 or more rounds, each round consisting of two different links. To progress to the next round, you must hit one of the two combinations cleanly. You get three attempts at a combo each round and, if you fail all three attempts, you will be eliminated. The rounds will continue until one person is left standing. The last person standing is obviously the winner of the event. You may change which one of the links you want to hit during a round, meaning you don’t have to decide on one or the other.

Shred Battles

My personal favorite, shred battle competition is simply whoever is the last man standing wins. The only rule is you must play to your level. This ensures that a beginner could in fact beat an expert in this competition (This is probably why shred battles are not a part of the World Footbag Championship competition). However, shred battles are a fun way to settle an argument and a just generally fun.

Note: There are many other variations of Footbag competitions, some do not require any ‘tricks’ at all. For example two square/ 4 square and Footbag golf. Both of these events are exactly the same as normal two square and golf, but with a footbag.