Freestyle footbag facts for kids
Freestyle Footbag is a fun sport where players show off their skills by doing amazing acrobatic tricks with a small bag, often called a footbag. Imagine doing cool moves where the bag lands perfectly from one trick, ready for the next! Players create new tricks by combining different actions between catching or kicking the bag. These actions can include spinning, wrapping a leg around the bag (dexterities), or letting the bag pass close to their neck (ducks). Most often, players catch the bag on the inside of their foot behind the other leg (a "clipper stall") or on their toe. There are so many ways to combine these moves, creating an almost endless list of exciting tricks!
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Footbag Competitions
In the world of freestyle footbag, there are several different types of competitions where players can show off their talents.
Routines
In this event, players create and perform a routine to music. It's a lot like figure skating! Judges give scores for how difficult the tricks are (technical skill) and how well the routine is put together (artistic merit). They look at things like the choreography, how hard the tricks are, how many different types of tricks are used, and how perfectly they are performed.
30 Second Shred
Also called "Shred 30," this event is all about technical skill. Competitors have just 30 seconds to do as many unique and difficult tricks as they can. Their score depends on how hard their tricks are and how many different ones they do. If they drop the bag, it lowers their score because they can't do as many tricks in the time limit.
Sick 3
The goal here is to link three really hard tricks together in the most impressive way possible. Players usually get a few tries to land their combo within a two-minute time limit. Judges often watch closely, sometimes even using video, to make sure every move is done perfectly.
Sick Trick
In this competition, players perform one single, super difficult trick. It's judged on how hard the trick is, how good the player's form is, and how cleanly they perform it. Players usually get a few attempts to land their best trick.
Rippin' Run
This event involves at least two players. They start a continuous series of moves, where each move must include at least three "components" (or "adds") between catches. Players try to keep going longer than their opponents. If a player drops the bag, they are out, and the winners move on to the next round, just like in a single-elimination tournament.
Circle Competition
Often called "Circle Comp" or just "Circle," this event is newer. It was created by players from Canada. In Circle Comp, competitors are divided into smaller groups, usually no more than four players. Each player in the circle takes a turn with the bag until they drop it. Then, the bag goes to the next player. There's a limit to how many times the bag goes around the circle. Judges watch and decide who performs best.
How Tricks Are Made: ADD Categories
Tricks in freestyle footbag are made up of different "ADD" categories. ADD stands for "Additional Degree of Difficulty." It's a way to measure how hard a trick is. For example, just catching the bag on your toe (a "toe stall") is a 1-ADD trick. A "clipper stall," where you catch the bag on the inside of your foot behind your other leg, is worth 2-ADDs. The more ADDs a trick has, the more complex and difficult it is! Some tricks have been performed with up to 9-ADDs!
There are five main ADD types:
- Delay [del]: This is when you catch and hold the footbag on your foot or leg.
- Dexterity [dex]: This is when you circle your leg around the footbag.
- Unusual Surface [uns]: You get this ADD when you use any part of your body other than your toes, insteps, outsteps, or knees to catch the bag.
- Body [bod]: This ADD is for any move that involves a spin, jump, or twist of your body.
- Cross Body [xbd]: This ADD is for any kick or catch done on the opposite side of your body.
Basic Footbag Tricks
To get started in freestyle footbag, players learn some fundamental kicks and ways to stop the bag.
Kicks
There are three main kicks used in freestyle footbag:
- Inside kick: Using the inside part of your shoe.
- Outside kick: Using the outside part of your shoe. This is also known by other names like the "gimp kick."
- Toe kick: Using the very front (toe area) of your shoe.
Stalls
Once players can kick the bag, they usually learn how to "stall" or "delay" it. This means stopping the footbag on a part of your body. Stalling helps you control the bag better and set up for your next trick. Some simple stalls include:
- Toe stall: This is often the first stall learned. You kick or drop the bag and catch it on your toe.
- Inside stall: The footbag is caught on the inside of your foot.
- Outside stall: The footbag is caught on the outside of your foot.
- Clipper or Jester stall: For this, you position your kicking foot behind your standing foot, and then catch the bag on the inside of your foot, similar to an inside stall.
Basic Dexterities
Dexterities are moves where you circle your leg around the bag. Here are some basic ones:
- Around the World: You wrap your leg around the bag while it's in the air, usually between two toe stalls on the same foot.
- Switch: From a toe stall, you move your leg from the outside to the inside over the bag and catch it on the toe of the leg that circled the bag.
- Pickup: From a toe stall, you move your leg from the inside to the outside under the bag and catch it on the toe of the leg that circled the bag.
- Mirage: From a toe stall, as the bag comes down, your opposite leg goes from inside to outside under the bag. You then catch the bag on the toe of the leg that didn't circle the bag.
- Down: As the bag falls, you let it pass between your legs while moving one leg from outside to inside. You then catch it on the opposite leg's clipper stall. This is a very important move that helps you learn more difficult tricks.
Other Cool Moves
Besides kicks, stalls, and dexterities, players also use other components to create tricks:
- Spins: Turning your body while the bag is in the air.
- Ducks: Letting the bag pass very close to your body, often your head or neck.
- Symposium: A specific type of body movement.
- Kneeing: Using your knee to control the bag.
You can combine these concepts, like adding a spin to a "Down" move to create a "spinning down" trick!
Footbag Jargon
Like any sport, footbag has its own special words and phrases. Here are a few:
- Alpine: A move that includes a duck, dive, or weave between two dexterity moves.
- Backside (BS): A move where the "downtime" component (what happens as the bag falls) is a symposium.
- Both Sides (BS): Means doing a trick on both your left and right sides.
- Both Sides One String (BSOS): Doing a trick on both sides within one continuous series of moves.
- Frontside (FS): A move where the "uptime" component (what happens as the bag goes up) is a symposium.
- Thin: A trick that was completed, but not perfectly clean.
IFPA World Footbag Freestyle Championships 2017
Here are some of the top players from the 2017 World Championships:
- Open Singles Routines
- Pawel Nowak (Poland)
- Vaclav Klouda (Czech Republic)
- Taishi Ishida (Japan)
- Women's Singles Routines
- Paloma Mayo (Spain)
- Cassandra Taylor (Canada)
- Caroline Birch (Australia)
