New Long Distance Program Helps Callers & IJA

Would you like to save money on your phone bill and help the IJA at the same time? You can do that by taking advantage of a new long distance phone discount program being offered by the IJA through Agency Services USA.

 

Agency Services USA is a long distance buying group utilizing high-quality AT&T, MCI, US Sprint, LCI and Metromedia networks. Because Agency Services is an agent for multiple carriers, they do the "comparison shop­ping" for long distance services for you. You get straight facts, not sales pitches. Also, because of their group buying power, they can offer business rates formerly reserved only for Fortune 500 companies.

 

You can save 10-50 percent on your current long distance charges without sacrificing quality. Agency Services will analyze your current phone bill and advise you on the most economical carrier and plan (available in the continental USA) for your situation. Paul Kyprie, IJA board member, highly recommends the program, saying, "It cut my phone bill in half. I'm saving $1,500 a year."

 

You will also receive at no charge an ex­clusive group calling card that will save you up to 50 percent on your current major carrier calling card.

 

This program also includes a fundraising feature for the IJA, so your gain is the organization's gain as well. To subscribe to the program, call Agency Services consultant Karen McDowell or mail a copy of your phone bill directly to her at Whitmore Lake MI.

 

Thinking of Festival'94

Next summer's IJA festival will be August 9-14 on the campus of the University of Vermont in Burlington. Several people have already volunteered to help festival organizer Ginny Rose with the massive job of staging the event. They include Brady Brown, who will serve as IJA auctioneer. If you've got juggling memorabilia, photos, equipment or posters you'd like to donate to the cause, please send them to Brady at Binghamton NY 13501.

 

Berliners Fete Gatto's 12 Ring Feat and Brits Film

Lucas's Record Breaker for TV

Anthony Gatto became the toast of Berlin on June 22 when a room full of spectators and media representatives at the Wintergarten Variety Theatre watched him successfully flash 12 rings.

 

The 20-year-old Gatto appeared at the Wintergarten in June and July as the finale act in the show "Salso vitale" before returning to Las Vegas. He was featured regularly in the entertainment trade press during his stay, receiving plaudits such as "Where the legendary Rastelli stopped, Anthony Gatto goes on."

 

Many of the top variety acts of all times have appeared at the famed 450-seat Berlin theatre. Their pictures and memorabilia line the walls of the lobby. Among the items are part of Houdini's prop trunk and pictures and props of Enrico Rastelli.

 

Gatto thrilled crowds nightly with his precision technical juggling. His act included a wide variety of five ring tricks, work with three clubs and a ball, seven rings with a pirouette, nine rings with a pulldown over his head and juggling five clubs over his head. He had also been flashing 10 rings in the show for about a month when the plan for the record-breaking attempt came about.

 

It was initiated by juggling archivist and author Karl-Heinz Ziethen, who wanted a picture of Anthony with 12 rings for the new edition of his book, 4,000 Years of Juggling. Anthony had only tried 12 a half­dozen previous times, and had only slight practice with six in each hand. Despite that, when the Wintergarten management heard of Ziethen's plan, they turned it into a major media event.

 

About 100 people were present when Anthony came on stage at 3 p.m. He flashed 11 rings on his second try and then picked up a twelth, keeping 10 in his hands and two in holsters at his sides. It took about 20 minutes to get the pattern right under the room's 21-foot ceiling, but on the 14th try he managed to throw and catch them all in that pressure-packed forum. Anthony said later that the crowd was helpful, "It was better to have people in the audience. I work better under that kind of pressure."

 

Nick Gatto, his father and assistant on stage, reported that "People broke into applause and they handed him a bottle of champagne. Everyone came up to hug him, and that night they had big party for the whole show in Anthony's honor."

 

The record is only the latest of many for Anthony. In 1986 he became the first person to juggle eight clubs. In 1989 at the IJA festival in Baltimore he set a new Guinness world records with five clubs juggled more than 45 minutes, with seven balls for four minutes, with seven clubs one minute and with eight rings one minute. Since then Guinness has trimmed its juggling listings, and Anthony was listed in the 1992 edition of the book for only four records - eight clubs flashed, seven clubs juggled, seven torches and five club duration.

 

Before Gatto's successful attempt, Guinness listed Albert Lucas as the only person to flash 12 rings, so Anthony might now be listed as co-holder of that record as well. Anthony says the he's not through yet, though.

 

"We've figured out a way to do 13, maybe!" he confided.

 

Lucas claimed to break a Guinness record of his own this summer, juggling in Busch Gardens auditorium on July 28 before cameras for the BBC television show "Record Breakers." At that time he did eight plates for 18 throws, thus bettering the plate record of a flash, which Guinness said he co-held with Rastelli. Lucas gripped in his hands six of the plates, which were five-ounce everyday platters used by diners at the Festhaus Busch Gardens, and had two velcroed to his pants.

 

The 1992 Guinness listed both Rastelli and Lucas for eight plates, but made no distinction of the feat as a flash. However, previous editions had noted that the record applied to a flash. The 1992 edition also listed Lucas as either holder or co-holder of three other records: 7 clubs juggled; 10 balls; and 12 rings (flashed).

 

Lucas had warmed up for that record by setting another one earlier in the day - joggling the 400-meter hurdles in 1:07, accompanied by 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Kris Akabusi, who was host of the TV program. The 1991 Guinness book listed Lucas' old record as 1:10.37, set in 1989, but no joggling records were listed in the 1992 book. Lucas juggles on ice skates five times a day, seven days a week for the "Around the World on Ice" show at Busch Gardens.

 

(Thanks to Karl-Heinz Ziethen for contributions to this article)

 

Credit for Jogglers

Juggle for exercise and get credit for it!

 

Keep track of the number of miles you run while juggling beginning Nov. 1 and when you reach 50 miles send us your joggling log. We'll send you an award button and challenge you to try for another. We can only award credit for three miles per day, no matter how many you run. Send your results to Bob Neuman; Arlington TX. Call him for more information.