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WIN on World Juggling Day

Jugglers of the world, unite! There's now excellent incentive to do just that on World Juggling Day, when the IJA coordinates a unique effort to quantify the number of jugglers participating in a June 20, 1998, event around the globe.

Todd Smith Products is sponsoring the event by providing $2,500 of props to be awarded to individuals and groups who come closest in their estimate of the final numbers tabulated.

Through juggling publications and the Internet, the IJA invites juggling groups and individuals worldwide to plan for a World Juggling Day event. Do anything you want a regional juggling festival, a teaching session in a school or park, a "Big Toss-Up," juggling games or media related juggling stunts. Those who choose to participate are asked to report their planned involvement as soon as possible, and to make an initial guess at the number of people they think they can involve.

As those reports come in, they will be listed and tabulated on a "World Juggling Day" home page. The world juggling community can watch the growth of the project on that page as individuals and clubs sign on through the year. Groups or individuals not connected to the internet can submit their entries by regular mail to Bill Giduz; IJA Clubs and Affiliates Director; Davidson NC, and receive printed summaries at any time by sending along a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Any club and individual who states a willingness to participate will also be invited to enter a guess (which can be based on the tabulated numbers) at how many people and how many objects will actually participate on June 20,1998. Entries will be accepted until one week before the event, and may be changed at any time.

After the event occurs, clubs and individuals will have one week to report a final figure on how many people and how many objects they recorded in their locations. Ten prizes will then be awarded to individuals (five) and groups (five) based on how close their guesses were to the finally reported figures.

First prize for groups is 18 Todd Smith clubs & 18 Todd Smith bags, and first prize for individuals is 7 Todd Smith clubs & 9 Todd Smith bags. (Other prizes are described on the web site.)

About one month prior to World Juggling Day, the IJA will issue press releases to major media outlets announcing the event and summarizing its global nature and number of participants expected. Boilerplate press releases will also be distributed ahead of time to any local group requesting one so that they can announce their planned participation locally.

Additional publicity will arise from press releases issued after the event, when the final figures are compiled.

The IJA hopes that regular promotion of the event in juggling periodicals, the incentive for prizes, and the chance to be a part of a world-wide juggling effort will lead to enormous participation, and give jugglers everywhere a rallying point for their enthusiasm for the art.

Frooman Bids Affiliates Farewell

by Deena Frooman

Greetings to all IJA affiliated clubs and other juggling groups! I would like to say that it has been a great pleasure being affiliates director for the past several years. Mine has been a team effort with dozens of dedicated volunteers handling the work. I have now stepped down from the board of directors and am turning over the duties of affiliates director to Bill Giduz, and feel confident that the program will flourish under his direction.

Now is the time for the affiliates program to grow! The members of each of the clubs that make up the affiliates program are the lifeblood of the IJA. You are "the mass" of the active jugglers who are the pulse of juggling in countries around the world. I hope the IJA board will recognize the affiliates as a core of its membership and as an important focus area for activity. The new program for World Juggling Day outlined in this issue looks like a great start!

Support has also come from Juggling Information Service innovator, Barry Bakalor, who has generously volunteered to assist any affiliate who wishes to create a web page. Please contact him for help in getting information about your club on the net.

This will be the place to look for affiliate news now and in the future, since the IJA Board of Directors has decided to eliminate the independent mailing of the "Clubs & Affiliates Newsletter" in favor of including that information in Juggler's World instead. It should become a more clearly structured part of the magazine when the decisions on new editors and formats have been finalized by the board.

Nearly half of our affiliates were represented at the annual affiliates meeting held in Pittsburgh! The positive energy and overall enthusiasm were brilliant, as we shared ideas on things like where to find juggling spaces in communities, obtaining non-profit status, World Juggling Day events, and more.

We also welcome our the newest affiliates... The Salt Lake City Jugglers from

Utah and the Greater Bangor Area Jugglers from Maine! The Greater Area Bangor Juggling Club was founded in 1994 by Ken Thompson, and is the only affiliate of the IJA in Maine. The club meets on Mondays from 2- 4 p.m. at Brewer High School in room 4. For more information contact Ken.