Some of you are probably wondering why anyone would go to so much trouble to document all the trivialities of a thing like numbers juggling. Sure, it doesn't have the flowing style of club swinging, nor does it lend itself to the originality of three ball juggling. But for those of us for whom a stable numbers pattern is a thing of astonishing beauty, and for those who put in the long hours of strenuous introspective practice trying for a longer run with just one more ob­ect, I present this list.

 

It is not meant to promote competition, but rather to encourage readers to keep pushing their own records in a cooperative sense. It was started after a question from Chris Majka on the Internet newsgroup rec.juggling about the number of people working on nine or more balls. In the hope of assessing the state of the art of numbers juggling, I asked for input from readers about any personal records they knew of, and it took off from there. (Apologies if I have left things out.)

 

A "flash" means as many catches as objects (usually all thrown and caught once), while "qualifying" means twice as many catches as objects. Also, I haven't differentiated between balls and beanbags, though most of the records after the 1970s are with beanbags (with exceptions where noted).

 

Over the next few issues of the magazine I will present similar lists for juggling 9 or more rings, 7 or more clubs, and for pass­ing 5.5 or more balls or rings or 5 or more clubs per person. If you would like copies of any of these lists sooner, just send a self­addressed envelope with a stamp or two (if you want them all) to the address below, or find me at the IJA fest in Burlington.

 

If you have a clarification, correction or addition, let me know! The list works on the honor system, and maybe if it grows we could have regular updates here in Juggler's World. And if you are reading this at Burlington, come up and say hi. I'll be the one in the blue shorts dropping nine beanbags!

 

Nine Balls:

Toby Ayer 18 catches.

Cyril Bartolo(France) 16 catches, and moving up fast.

Bob Behsman 9 catches.

Dan Bennett has had close to, and probably more than 18 catches, judging by the

'86 IJA numbers competition (13 catches).

Peter Blanchard more than a flash,

Ken Borke (of the Barrage) up to 45 throws.

Matt Cantrell (Seattle) around 35 catches in practice. (Weighted tennis balls. )

Ed Carstens 20 catches.

Andrew Denton 9 catches.

Sean Gandini is said to juggle 9.

Jason Garfield can qualify it in practice,

Billy Glidden 9 catches,

Anthony Gatto 200 catches in practice . Official run: 78 catches on BBC's "Record Breakers. "

Steven Geddes (Australia) is close to qualifying.

Morten Hansen 19 catches.

Sergei Ignatov has juggled 9 "the size of croquet balls" in practice (4000 Years of juggling, Vol. II , p.100, and IJA Newsletter 2/80),

Rod Kimball 12 catches.

Jack Kalvan can flash it nicely, probably more.

Sue Kirby mentioned in Juggler's World 34.2, 1982. A photo of her throwing 9 appears on p,55 of juggling with Finesse.

Arthur Lewbel 9 catches.

Albert Lucas can do three or four passes with squash balls.

Haggis MacLeod has been spotted with a good 9 ball pattern.

Rick Moll 9 catches.

Alan Morgan 17 catches.

Dave Morton 13 catches.

Gregor Popovich in practice as seen by Alan Howard and Dick Franco: cascade to neck catch with a "high degree of confidence" (JW 37.4 p,9).

David Sallee 9 catches.

Bruce Sarafian Florida juggler who flashed 11, as of a year ago could do 35+ catches of 9, but is said to have improved on that.

Ben Schoenberg 12 catches.

Jimmy Shafer can qualify it in practice.

Donnia Ray Smith 9 catches.

Jon Stadler 9 catches.

Jim Strinka 23 throws (implies at least 14 catches) at '81 Cleveland IJA fest.

Geoff Thorpe (New Zealand) 9 catches,

Bruce Tieman (Boppo) 17 catches.

Dana Tison same as above, considering that he was flashing it at 14!

Greg Warrington 9 catches.

Robert York 9 catches (Juggler's World 34.2,1982)