Sponsored by Discraft and Wham-O

Articles
The Leading Edge of Spin, by Jamie Chantiles
Jammin Journeys, by Judy Robbins and others
European Freestyle - where are the North Americans? by Jan Ekman

Instruction
Fundamentals of Beach Style Play, by Skippy Jammer
SUBs - Z tells you how to crank 'em

Competition
Latest schedule thanks to Tommy Leitner & MediaCity
1997 Year-End Rankings (Thanks to Arthur Coddington - he did this even before he was #1)
    Top 150 (43K)
    151 - 500 (98K)
(longer load time as incentive to move up)
    How rankings work

Photo Gallery
Photos from the Archives of Wham-O - Thanks, Stork and Discovering the World!

FPA
Amy Bekken Treasurer Report
Thanks go out to Thomas Storer (Ann Arbor, MI), our first Platinum member with his $100 renewal. He started playing with a Mars Platter in 1950, and he and his partner Karen Mori have been freestyling for 18 years. 

Copyright Freestyle Players Association (FPA)

864 Grand Ave, Box 475, San Diego, CA 92109

Send input to Forum Co-Editor and FPA Executive Director Larry Imperiale ( email us) or reach other FPA Board Members via e-mail:

E-Mail the Entire Board or individually:

Amy Bekken, Treasurer <artofdisc@juno.com>

Dave Lewis, Marketing <lewisdbl@loop.com>

Judy Robbins, Education <jrfrzbee@ix.netcom.com>

Rose, Membership <rosedisc@pacbell.net>

Dave Schiller, Judging <artofdisc@juno.com>

Skippy Jammer, Forum Co-Editor <kdgivens@cats.ucsc.edu>

You are visitor:

View a  larger (69K) version of this 17,000' Sherpa Chest Roll Photo (Nepal), then check out other Jammin' Journey stories

Why do we need the FPA? By Larry Imperiale,  FPA Executive Director

Sometimes I wonder - Why do we really need the FPA?  So to satisfy my curiosity and others, I'd like to partially list a few of the tangible benefits as I see them:

1. A single non-profit organization to represent the interest of freestylers.  For example, in 1998 alone, the FPA has secured $2,100 in sponsorship money (thanks, Wham-O) and 400 discs (Thanks Wham-O and Discraft).  All the cash and some of the discs are given to the Worlds and 3 sponsored tourneys to make these events higher quality.
2. An evolving judging system based on player input, including scoreboards and scoresheets.
3. One free disc with each membership renewal.
4. The FPA Forum and Forum On-Line keeps you up to date on our sports, and most importantly provides a venue for you to voice your opinion.
5. Quality trophies paid for by your membership fees.
6. 100% payback at FPA events.
7. The ranking system, and higher ranking points for attending FPA events.
8. Various programs to increase the number of new players and improve the quality of tournaments. We make it easier for tournament directors to put on tournaments.
9. Marketing tools (e.g. Dave Lewis' video) to help you secure demos and sponsors.

We can't make everyone happy, but I think you'll agree that with the efforts of a few volunteers, the FPA makes a big difference in our sport. 

I'm sure you have other ideas on how the FPA could do a better job.   We really want to make freestyle and the FPA even better. So Renew your membership if it's time and send us your ideas now!

The FPA Store is now open.   We have Discraft Skystylers and Wham-O's with the new FPA design available at a discount to FPA members.

Members (mail order, includes shipping): $7/disc for 1 - 4 discs, $6/disc for 5 or more.

Members (who buy at tournaments): Price is set by the Tournament Director.

Non-Members: $8/disc.  

Mail your order to the FPA P.O. Box or e-mail Amy (artofdisc@juno.com).

Next Forum. Thanks to everyone who sent in photos and articles! More input and photos are needed for the next issue. Please send articles (one page maximum) and photos to Larry Imperiale (larryi@freestyledisc.org).

What's new? By Larry Imperiale

Big Mailing   Elections   My opinion on judging

Next Forum  FPA Store is Open  Volunteers

Big Mailing.  We just sent out one of our biggest mailings ever, with Gold/Silver members receiving excerpts from December's Forum, a Judging Survey, and our Annual Plan.  If you read the Forum On-Line, please do the FPA a favor and e-mail rose (rosedisc@pacbell.net) and tell her not to mail you the Forum.  It's not as timely, seriously chopped compared to the on-line version, and the pictures aren't as good. The time and money we save will go directly to trophies and other programs.

Elections.  It's time to start thinking about running for the FPA Board. We especially want more diversity: non-west coasters, eurojammers, etc. Elections will be held this Fall for two-year terms, so it's time for you to send in your campaign speech!   All positions are open: Executive Director, Treasurer (should be from San Diego so you can pick up mail, ideally), Judging Director, Membership Director, Education Director, Marketing Director, Forum Editor, and other general board seats.  Please have e-mail and a passion to make this great sport even better.   Your speech will be published in upcoming Forums. Also let us know if you'd like to be on the judging committee - again, the more diverse the better.

My opinion on judging. If you read the last Forum, you see we have very different opinions on judging.  I believe a single system will not make anyone happy, nor move our sport forward fast enough.

To make the judging committee less contentious and more productive, I'd like everyone's input on the following semi-radical idea - Two Judging Systems and two judging committees - an Artistic system and an Extreme system.  And/or a short and long program like figure skating.

Here's one take - Restructure the World's to offer different events - Women's and Mixed Pairs (Artistic), Open Pairs (Extreme), and Co-op (Artistic).  Have the long program in the semis (with more weight) and the short program in the finals. 

This will allow us to offer more variety and increase crowd appeal.  I like co-op to be the Artistic event because the best choreographed routines have always been Co-Op.   On the other hand, it's more difficult for three people vs. two to work on a routine due to logistics, so a case could be made that Open Pairs should be artistic and Co-Op extreme. 

I bring this issue up only to stimulate dialog and find a way to break the judging ideological log jam.  Please send in your  ideas on this hot topic.

Volunteers.  If you're not up for the Board, you can still help.  We are trying to identify small tasks that can be delegated.  For example, printing labels from our Excel mailing list.  Many other projects are available, too.