Living 40 Years in a Week

by Todd McLeish

 

The IJA has been a catalyst to the growth of juggling around the world." That statement by Art Jennings, the first IJA president, helped kick off the 40th Anniversary Convention in Akron , Ohio , held July 13-19, 1987.

 

Jennings remarks took first night conventioneers back to 1947 when the organization was founded and set the stage for a mixing of old and new that remained constant throughout the week. About a dozen IJA old-timers were among the 900 jugglers who assembled on the campus of the University of Akron for the week of activities. They included three founders ­Jennings , George Barvinchak and Eddie Johnson.

 

"The Old and New of Vaudeville" show on Wednesday night demonstrated the historic theme, featuring a number of acts in the classical juggling vein with modem ones. Jay Green and Johnny Lux represented the golden age of juggling in performing traditional balancing and plate spinning, among other things. Daniel Holzman showed that the lessons had not been lost on younger jugglers in his manipulation of hat, cigar and cane. And Andrew Head reflected Bobby May's lively personality in innovative demonstrations of hat and milk stool manipulation and club juggling.

 

The 1987 championships were remarkable displays of skill, finesse and personality. The final performer of the evening in the U.S. Nationals, Benji Hill, won the first place medal and $1,000 check in outdistancing his nearest competitor by more than 11 points. Other championships stories can be found throughout this issue of "Juggler's World."

 

One of the most exciting times for jugglers was the Pepsi-sponsored Field Day. The university athletic fields were the site of a variety of activities - men's joggling races, the first-ever women'.s joggling races, the Big Toss-Up, a softball game against the Cleveland Force professional soccer team (we lost, 14-9) and attempts to set a Guinness world record for juggling 16-pound bowling balls.

 

Members of the general public came by to learn to juggle and enjoy shows on the Pepsi stage. The eventual winners of the People's Choice Award, Bounce & Mlle. Oo-La-La, bolstered their .popularity with an outstanding show during the afternoon.