Winter Fest Kudos

Thank you to Ginny Rose for organizing a fun-filled IJA mini-festival in Las Vegas this year. It was fun and exciting to meet our great juggling stars backstage and also at The Showboat. We know that everyone who attended had a great time. We certainly did!

Making Friends On The Road

Taking two-and-a-half months for a 2,000­mile bicycle tour of New Zealand last summer gave me an opportunity to teach some Kiwis how to juggle. Anytime I got an invitation to spend the night with a family I juggled for the children and taught the parents, if they wanted to learn. Most did, as the Kiwis are very sports-minded.

Staying in youth hostels and backpacking establishments also resulted in more jugglers. Bicycling into Auckland toward the end of the trip, I was cut off by a car. Out jumped one of my hosteling friends clutching three limes, delighted to show me how much he had improved.

At one homestay I was invited to attend church on Easter Sunday to listen to my hostess tell a parable to the kids. I said I'd like to go, and if she wanted, I'd juggle a bit for them. The next morning as we were walking to church, she said the minister planned to give me five minutes, and that I'd be juggling for the entire congregation.

"What!" I said. It was too late to tell her I'm just a hobby juggler, don't have an act, don't perform, and get stage fright! But all went well. I didn't get nervous and I didn't drop. Now I'm thinking of signing up for the nationals!

In Auckland on my last day I mentioned to a young lady that I was cutting short my trip to go to the IJA festival in Montreal. She said, "So you're the one! You've got hostelers juggling all over the North Island!"

It was a great trip and I'd be happy to answer questions for anyone planning to bicycle in New Zealand. Just don't forget to take your props! And anyone interested in biking with me 1,815 miles from Seattle to the Fargo festival should contact me through the Roster. I'm planning to start on June 15, which will allow ample time for sightseeing and club passing in the afternoons.

Inflamed Claims Declaimed

About two years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Gregor Popovich as the solo, center­ring juggler with the Ringling Brothers Circus. As all of us who have seen him know, it was a well-polished, highly technical act. I was, however, a little bit disappointed when I read in the program that he is the only person in the world to juggle nine objects at once (nine rings in 'his case).

But I reasoned that this was just circus­type promotional hype and that Popovich probably had nothing to do with this gross inaccuracy in the description of his act.

However, I recently made a brief trip from my home in San Diego to Las Vegas, where at Circus Circus I once again had the opportunity to see Popovich, where he is currently doing a skillful clown act as well as his regular numbers act on the unsupported ladder. Once again, prior to Popovich's nine ring flash, the ringmaster announced that Popovich was the only person in the world able to juggle nine rings. Certainly most people in Las Vegas know of Ignatov, Petrowski, Anthony Gatto and several others who juggle nine and more rings. Ironically, appearing on the same stage at a different time was another great juggling act, the Quin Brothers from China, one of whom also flashes nine rings.

It's unfortunate that promoters (and perhaps some jugglers themselves) feel compelled to present their acts as "the greatest" in whatever category. It's not only inaccurate, but it's also unfair to the other great jugglers who have worked equally hard to achieve such levels of greatness.

Searching for Felovis

We would like to ask readers for any in­formation about the juggler Felovis (Georges Marti was his real name). He was a Swiss "gentleman juggler" who presented an act in the United States and England in the 1940s juggling musical instruments.

His grand-nephew, a 12-year-old juggling buff, would like very much to find out as much as possible about his relative to try to reconstruct the act. Thanks to all for any help they can give!

Looking for Photos

Even though the English version is not out yet, the German edition of my book about diabolos is already in its third printing. Enthusiastic reception and the invention of many new tricks have prompted my German publisher to ask me to write a sequel. Sometime this year it will be out, at least in German. This time I'd like to include pictures of lots of different people spinning diabolos. I'm not looking for new tricks, I have enough of those. (You'll be amazed at all the variations that are possible with two diabolos!) But I would like to liven it up with shots of people enjoying diabolos in different settings. If you have any and you'd like to be in a book, please send some photos along with your permission to use them.

In a similar vein, my German publisher is making juggling calendar / appointment books. The 1993 edition is out and he is planning the 1994 version now. If you have a good photo and would like to be in next year's date book, send it along to me with your permission that it can be reprinted. If you are sponsoring any juggling festival or special event in 1994 and would like it to be listed in a European calendar (remember, Germans travel!) send that along with a name, address and phone number of the contact

person. Thanks!                           

Board Member Resigns

It is with deep regret that I have resigned my position as director on the IJA Board of Directors. I no longer feel that I have anything to add to the direction the IJA has taken. I would like to thank everyone for supporting me over the past 14 years as an IJA officer and board member. It has been my honor and pleasure to serve the IJA.

Please be aware that I feel the IJA Life Member fund has been mishandled. The fund should have $76,300 in it. It now has $40,713. $35,587 has been spent on convention and operating costs. There is no plan in place to correct this situation. I can only hope my Life Membership will last as long as I do.

The following is a response to Chamberlins letter from Norman Schneiderman, chief administrative officer of the IJA.

I believe that any "mishandling" of the Life Member Fund by the past administrations of the IJA was only because they were not aware of how the funds were being handled (since inception the LMF has seen four treasurers, five board chairmen and numerous directors). Even if these administrations had been aware of the problems associated with the fund, I do not believe they could have avoided using the fund for operating expenses, since the IJA was experiencing cash flow problems and correctly used the fund to survive (one of the initial concepts of the fund was as an emergency resource).

The current administration has taken a number of positive steps to correct this situation. First, I have researched and reported to the members the past and current status of the LMF and the steps we are taking to correct the oversights (see the last issue of Juggler's World). We are also carefully analyzing and streamlining the current business practices of the IJA to identify why and where we are having financial problems, and working to rectify them (the recent increase in dues to help cover operating costs as well as centralization of three vital positions of the association into one head office are good examples). These actions will help prevent the need to use the LMF for operations.

We are also initiating programs such as the Las Vegas mini-festival and our home-produced videotapes, both of which have produced much needed sources of revenue to aid in reducing the LMF debt. I can assure the membership that the LMF is being correctly handled and that the IJA is properly managed.