Juggling and Politics

 

IJA members consider more than cascades and back crosses at the 35th Annual Convention.

 

The IJA's 35th Annual Convention in Santa Barbara, CA, was a remarkable demonstration of small group democracy. It also showcased the extraordinary level of juggling, gymnastic and theatrical skill of many of the 617 registrants.

 

As at every convention, more people were doing more intricate and difficult moves than ever before. More people entered the five club and seven object competition. On the Robenson Gym floor, Demetrius Alcarese of New York practiced with seven clubs and Robert York of Tulsa, OK, made 16 tosses with 10 balls!

 

Peter Davison beat them all. With the sincerest grin and mild manner you can imagine, he won every event he entered - three of the six competitions held during the week. Hard on his heels was 9 year old Anthony Gatto, finishing second in the U.S. Nationals.

 

Members expect that physical improvement. But the stridency of the political debate which arose during convention week was new. Members took convention week as an occasion to openly assess the state of the IJA, citing variously its progress, pride, weaknesses, mistakes and need for planning to meet growth.

In a long and spirited business meeting Wednesday night, members openly expressed divergent opinions about the administration of the organization.

 

Many came to realize that the IJA has grown beyond a strictly amateur organization of volunteer officers and friends into a professional tax­exempt organization with responsibilities toward members who represent many different approaches to their common love of juggling.

 

Professional agents attended the competitions to witness talent worth many dollars in the entertainment markets of the world. The free forum for exposure pleased many of the performers.

 

On the other hand, many people said the $189 package plan cost of the convention was excessively high, and discriminatory to another whole class of jugglers. Some of the people airing that opinion were among many who hitched rides to Santa Barbara, then dodged local law enforcement officers to sleep under bushes and in dormitory lobbies. They showed their solidarity in the fifth annual Beggar's Banquet on the gymnasium lawn Friday night.

 

At the same time, a record number of 441 people paid $13 each to participate in the scheduled convention banquet and dance.

 

The prospect of selling broadcast rights to future conventions also prompted much discussion about the direction of the organization. Happily, people of all persuasions found the gymnasium to be common juggling ground.

 

It was necessary for the board of directors to hire the IJA's first employee, putting secretary / treasurer Rich Chamberlin on minimum wage salary. The decision came in light of Chamberlin's increasingly heavy work load, which now involves him with IJA business about 20 hours weekly.

 

The possibility of eventually hiring a full­time executive director was also discussed with a mixture of enthusiasm and reluctance.

 

For the first time in many years, the presidential election was a close contest. Gene Jones defeated Eric Roberts of Wellsley , MA, by just 13 votes to gain his third consecutive term in office. Heated discussion prior to the voting prompted one member to shout out, "Why don't we form political parties?"

 

At the banquet, Jones announced he would not run for a fourth term next summer. "I want to serve one more year and set up the organization and office in the best shape ever. I recognize many dissenting opinions, but will work to unify us and make being an IJA member more rewarding for everyone. " Emily May, widow of the great American juggler Bobby May, stated after Jones spoke that she had seen many IJA presidents in her long IJA association, but that "Geno's the best."

 

Roberts, a former convention chairman, was later elected a director and charged with helping to encourage local IJA affiliate juggling clubs and implementing a system of regional IJA conventions. The voting procedure also prompted a successful motion from the floor that directs the board to devise a new scheme of voting to include all members, rather than just those present at the convention.

 

The proposed sites for next year's convention also split the business meeting into two nearly equal camps. The State University of New York at Purchase and its co-chairpersons, Gene Jones and Rich Chamberlin, were selected over a proposal by Henry Lappen for the University of Vermont in Burlington.

 

But the discussions were conducted within every IJA member's pledge "to help other jugglers." Most people felt the dialogue was healthy and concluded that the organization ended the week stronger than it began.

 

Inspiration for reconciliation came from the appearance of Kit Summers on Thursday, in a wheel chair, to judge the competitions. His extraordinary recovery from a two month coma and visible joy at being alive and among friends infused the assembly with a dose of pure love.

 

The former seven club juggler then showed off a dozen throws of a three ball cascade before they fell from his hands. He was working his way back, and no one in the room who saw him would dare have claimed to be a stronger person.