Hello Jammers and FPA members!

 

The following information is to update members about the FPA ongoing discussions (and meetings) about the bid for FPAW 2019. As you recall from numerous posts in December 2017, the FPA Board of Directors was supportive of Ryan’s bid for FPAW 2019 in Seattle, and we listed out some of the aspects of the bid of which we were discussing at-length. The elements to the bid that we most recently discussed were:

 

1. Shorter routines (3 minutes pairs, 4 minutes coop)

and

2. Indoor competition site (likely shifting the FPAW to occur during the October/November time frame)

 

The FPA Board has carefully considered both these components of the bid, which included several meetings and email discussions with various stakeholders. As a result, the FPA Board unanimously and officially approved of both the shorter routine lengths and the indoor venue for FPAW in 2019 in Seattle.

 

  • Numerous larger and smaller tournaments have demonstrated successfully the implementation of shorter routines (e.g., AFO 2017, Frisbeer 2017, 2016 etc).
  • Indoor venues for FPAWs in the past have been necessary due to weather issues, and many of the past several FPAWs have had at least one day be entirely indoors. Given the weather in Seattle during the Fall months; an indoor venue will minimize discomfort and maximize efficiency for the event.
  • The FPA Competition Manual also stipulates that the FPA Board has the ability to modify the structure of freestyle competitive events, and this decision is consistent with that stipulation, as well as in an effort to maximize the experience of competitors and audience members (in-person and through the live-stream). Here is wording in the competition manual (you can find also at freestyledisc.org/resources) for those who are curious about this:

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Freestyle is creative movement with a flying disc. Competitive freestyle is a sport whereby individual players or teams of two or three players perform a routine, which consists of a series of throws, catches and moves, done to music using one or more discs. The routine is compared to the routines of the other competitors through scoring done by judges, who evaluate the routine on the basis of difficulty, execution, and artistic impression. The player or team with the best score is declared the winner.

This manual is intended as to guide tournament planners in creating and administering successful events. The following procedures are mandatory for the FPA World Championships (FPAW), FPA American Freestyle Open (AFO), European Freestyle Open (EFO), American Freestyle Championships (AFC), European Freestyle Championships (EFC), FPA-sponsored events, and tournaments at which the FPA officiates.

 

Exceptions to these procedures may be made by a majority vote of the full FPA Board. Players must be informed of any exceptions no later than 45 days before competition begins.

 

Players should be informed of exceptions at other tournaments no later than 14 days before competition begins. Exceptions due to inclement weather or emergency are not subject to these deadlines.

 

Please join the FPA Board in Congratulating Ryan Young with his bid for FPAW 2019 in Seattle!

 

Also please note for clarification, the 2018 FPAW in Trnava, Slovakia will still be using the 4 and 5 minute routines (except for preliminary rounds).

 

FPA Board of Directors