Juniors Division

 

A first-time-ever conventioneer, Andrew Allen of Tuscon, AZ, won the Juniors competition. Pressured, but poised, before the audience of his life, Allen performed not one, but two, high-scoring, ad lib routines.

 

The second was a tie-breaker with John Webster of Seattle, WA, who matched Allen's score on their initial presentations. Christa Rypins of Boulder, CO, was happy with her third place finish, and glad enough not to have to duke it out with Allen and Webster.

 

"I thought I'd be ill when I found out it was a tie," Allen said. His second performance was as good as the first, however, and received a standing ovation. Allen had demonstrated tricks with three balls, five balls, three clubs, and showed some totally new devil stick tricks. He juggled seven balls in front of an audience for the first time in his life, told jokes and kept his act lively.

 

Allen, 15 years old, explained that he is living on his own and street performing in Tuscon. He taught himself to juggle three years ago, and is largely self-taught since then. Poor but hopeful, Allen contemplates a niche in night clubs juggling and telling risque jokes. He wants to play a dark character, modeled on Jim Morrison and others. At the convention, he said, "I've never been around so many helpful jugglers. "

 

Webster presented a replay of his first routine in the tiebreaker. To the beat of' 'The Boy From New York City, " he swaggered on stage carrying a briefcase which held five clubs for his subsequent manipulation. Webster mimed his way through the routine, but involved the audience by maintaining eye contact, grinning and acting like he was having a wonderful time.

 

Later, he said, "I beat my goal. I did the best of my style. We were doing something different and no one did it better. "

 

Webster and his equally young partner, Roberto, joined forces two years ago and decided to become the world's best juggling team. They now juggle regularly on the streets of Seattle, making big money, they report.

 

Rypins won third place with a solid exhibition of Boulder-style juggling. She practices in the same gym as the members of Airjazz, team competition winners, and all have adapted a similar, highly successful and appealing style.

 

It was the first time Rypins has entered the competitions at an IJA convention. She was very happy with third place, and attributed it to the Boulder style. "I see a lot of people here doing a lot of tricks I can't do, but they're ugly," she said. "I may do less with my clubs, but it's cleaner and prettier. "

 

She has just begun making her living as a comedy juggler at Renaissance festivals, and plans to work hard at juggling on ice.

 

Other juniors competition acts were:

Eric Maierson, juggling five balls and three clubs; Humphrey Marr doing the day's best one ball routine and more; Charles Brown, Jr., master of cigar boxes and astronomy; Ken Rabe juggling to the tune of "I need a job I'm out of work;" Ronnie Lemen and his devil stick pirouette; Bill Bouldin with a statue trick including two rings spinning in opposite directions on one arm, two balls in the other hand, balancing a basketball on one foot and holding a spinning plate on a mouthstick. Bouldin also juggled hand grenades and bowling balls.

 

Marc Schiltz scored high for comedy with a Pac Man juggle; Brian Cline showed several tricks with spinning plates and sticks; Scott Purser, winner of both unicycle races, juggled five balls and three clubs; Jay Fechtman, a genuine funny man, fell onto stage and kept the pace going through an egg, apple and hatchet juggle; David Deeble, a 12 year old student at Randy Pryor's Long Beach, CA, juggling school, demonstrated five balls, solid club kickups and genuine stage presence.