First I want to again congratulate Freddy Finner and Edo Turri for taking the reins of the FPA!  The sport is in very good hands.  They have great ideas and will take the sport to new and better places!  Please give them the love and support you gave me!

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Next I want to thank you all for being a part of my life as I led the FPA the last 6 years.  Woah – what a run! 

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This was my second stint at Executive Director/President and was chock full of “stuff”!

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The last 6 years have been rewarding, fatiguing, the best of times and the worst of times.  From the top of the world putting on the World Urban Games to the deepest valley managing the pandemic, it has been a wild ride.  With all of this the freestyle community has grown substantially and the world got much closer.  I have gotten to know personally so many people and luckily have been able to give substantial time to all of you to the best of my abilities and energy.

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It takes a village.  There are so many people to thank, I have no idea how to begin but I will try.  If I left anyone out, I apologize, I am an old man :).  Every one of you have contributed to the Jamily and growth of our sport…Thank you all from the bottom of our collective hearts.

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From our sponsors Discraft (Pad, Melanie), Discovering the World (Danelle) and Xdisc (Scott, Gary, Bob), we have been lucky getting their support.  Their generosity let to a re-do of our membership structure, lowering dues so more folks can become members (not a random idea, more of a Rando idea).  This also included membership numbers being created. 

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Massive thanks to Bill Wright and Jakub Kostel providing brick and mortar and online stores, we have been lucky.  Believe me, I know as much as anybody how absolutely critical to the FPA they are.  These guys, I cannot thank enough.  Further, they might be the nicest people in the business!

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The “outgoing” Board of Directors (Bethany, Lori, Daniel, Jakub, Jens, Thomas and Edo) have a thankless job in making all the moving parts work.  Unless you were there, you have NO idea how hard they work to make the sport right.  We are extremely fortunate Freddy and Edo are volunteering to lead the sport.  With their youthful renewed energy and being the first leaders of the FPA from Europe, it is a fitting transition going forward.

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Thanks to our web gurus Jakub Kostel, Michal Maciolek and Larry Imperiale.  There is a lot of work that goes into it with many layers.  These guys are awesome!

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Thanks to Kolja Hannemann (and Ilka Simon) for handling the rankings over the years (which were put on hold during the pandemic).  Thanks to Medellin legends Andres Rivera, Santiago Sepulveda and Jhonatan Vanegas Restrepo who are taking this thankless job over!

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Thanks Jake Gauthier and Randy Silvey for the http://frisbeeguru.com podcasts started in February 2017 (Beastly wisdom) and especially the livestreaming of events.  This is perhaps the most powerful tool making our sport so connected.

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Thanks to Daniel O’Neill for the Tiny Room Battle Challenge series.  Not only did this bridge the pandemic divide, it is being developed into what I think will be a high priority of our sport going forward.  What an awesome way of making something out of nothing.  This is developing into something special!  More thanks to Daniel and his traveling, hands-on jam spreading.  He is an inspiration to me for many reasons!

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Thanks to Skippy Jammer, Volker Bernardi and Nob Rauch representing WFDF.  Between the World Urban Games, the African SAL Games demos and more, the FPA has benefitted greatly from this relationship and will continue it forward, doing great things! 

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Thanks to Tommy Leitner for his manic energy!  His on-line training sessions have bred a new generation of jammers worldwide, especially Africa and South America.  The FPA was able to give back to WFDF by helping facilitate some African countries become members.  It was a small part for the FPA but Tommy played a big part in creating its viability. 

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Thanks to Ryan Young for all he does to run big events.  He basically ran much of the judging at the events, automating much of it and is finalizing a streamlined judging system which will reduce the logistical stress of big tournaments. 

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Thanks to all our artists, especially Mystiq!  I can also think of some of our disc designers, others such as Pablo Azul, Raphael Legrande, Stephan Stoll, Julien Menetrat, Fabio Sanna, Carolyn Hubbard, Gerry Geare, Cheryl Kenny and others who have given of themselves over the years.

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I think of all the Spread the Jam videos, inspired in no small part by James Wiseman.

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Thanks to Skippy and the Hall of Fame committee.  A great move to connect our past to our present.  The respect the new generation has for the history of our sport is nothing short of amazing.

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Note none of the above folks got paid a single penny from the FPA.

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I love the freestyle energy in Medellin, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Rome, Berlin, Rovereto, Prague, Japan, Abuja, Hong Kong with new hot spots popping up all the time such as Mexico City!

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On an even more personal note, thanks to all my partners over the years.  I am stunned many of you would play with me.

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Paul