| WJF | |
|---|---|
 World Juggling Federation | |
|
Mission |
To expand the juggling industry through televised events, increased prize money, training camps, and sponsorship opportunities for competitors and teams. |
|
Founded |
2000 |
|
Founder |
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President |
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Websites |
www.thewjf.com |
The World Juggling Federation (WJF) is an organization dedicated to the promotion of sport juggling. The WJF was founded by Jason Garfield, out of a desire to expand public awareness of juggling as a sport. The WJF annually holds week-long juggling conventions with technical juggling competitions for jugglers of all skill levels, workshops taught by advanced jugglers, and practice exhibitions where the advanced competitors perform some of their best tricks for other jugglers.
WJF competitions[]
The WJF Overall Championship is a set of advanced juggling competitions held at the WJF conventions. Competitors accumulate scores from all of these competitions. The person with the highest overall score is named Overall Champion for the year and receives the most prize money.
The most important of the Overall Championship competitions are the three Advanced Short Programs, where competitors can earn up to 10 points per competition by performing a routine with a minimum of 5 balls, 5 rings, or 3 clubs. Points are awarded according to the difficulty of the successfully completed moves, bonus points are given for connecting difficult and dissimilar moves together with no throws in between, and deductions are taken for mistakes, such as unnecessary foot movements, uneven and sloppy patterns, collisions, drops, under- or over-rotated club throws, and falling down.
The other competitions in the Overall Championship are each worth 1 point for 1st place, 0.5 points for 2nd place, and 0.25 points for 3rd place. These competitions include Endurance contests for numbers juggling, where the competitor who juggles the most objects for the most catches wins (the winning run must be qualified), and Freestyle competitions, which are "best trick" competitions judged mainly on difficulty and also on originality, with no deductions for mistakes.
Other events formerly included in the Overall Championship:
- Isolated Endurance contests, with the competitors standing on chairs to allow only accurate, controlled patterns.
- The 3 Club 1 Minute Freestyle competition, where competitors are scored on all the 3 club moves they can do in one minute, and deductions are taken only for drops.
- 360 competitions, where jugglers are given one minute to do as many 360s as possible with all the objects in the air during each 360.
- Power Up rounds, where only the first person who is able to successfully do each of a certain set of moves is awarded 1 point in the Overall Championship (or 2 points if they do a more difficult version of the move), and is also given an advantage (an extra attempt or an extra 5 seconds) in one of the Endurance, Freestyle, or 360s competitions.
- The WJF Triathlon, where jugglers try to do a certain set of 15 moves with balls, rings, and clubs in the least amount of time (only held in 2008).
Besides the Advanced Overall Championship, there is also a Beginners competition, an Intermediate Overall Championship, and a Junior Overall Championship (for kids 15 years old or younger).
Other competitions held at WJF conventions include Diabolo and Cigar Box competitions, Major League Combat, and more informal (and often original) juggling Games such as Concentration, 5 ball Isolated Endurance, 3 club backcross Joggling, 3 club Speed Juggling, and Isolated Passing.
WJF events[]
2004:
- WJF 1: The first WJF convention, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Freestyle, Endurance, 360s, Women's Clubs, Passing, Diabolo, and Cigar Box competitions were held, but there was no Overall Championship. In the Freestyle competitions, competitors were scored on all the moves they were able to do successfully in 1 minute, with deductions taken only for drops. The competitions were broadcast on ESPN2.
2005:
- WJF 2: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. First Overall Championship. New competitions: Isolated Endurance and Low 360s. The Advanced Ball and Club competitions were broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
2006:
- WJF 3: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competitions: 6-7 Ball, 6-7 Ring, and 3-4 Club Freestyle, 7 Club Isolated Endurance, and Devilsticks. The format of the Freestyle competitions was changed so that competitors were given a certain number of attempts (instead of 1 minute) to do moves with a certain number/prop, and were scored only on the best move each competitor was able to do. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
- WJF Training Camp 1: Four days of juggling workshops at all levels led by Jason Garfield, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2007:
- WJF UK Open: The first WJF event outside the U.S., held alongside the British Juggling Convention in Bilborough, Nottingham. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
- WJF 4: Held in Hartford, Connecticut. New competitions: Juniors division (30-move routines using all three props in one competition) and the WJF Games (Concentration, etc.). Isolated Endurance was added to the Overall Championship. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
- WJF Training Camp 2: A 5-day event with workshops led by Jason Garfield and Vova Galchenko, and Junior and Intermediate competitions, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junior Overall Champion: Nathan Herz; Intermediate Overall Champion: Doug Sayers.
2008:
- WJF 5: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competitions: 6-7 Club Freestyle (replacing 3-4 Club Freestyle), 3 Club 1 Minute Freestyle (same format as the 2004 and 2005 Freestyle competitions), 6 Ring 360s (replacing 5 Ring 360s for 2008 only), the WJF Triathlon, and the Battle for the WJF Presidency. The minimum number of clubs used in the Advanced Club competition was raised from 3 to 4. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
2009:
- WJF Training Camp 3: A 4-day event with workshops led by Jason Garfield, and competitions at all levels, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- WJF WinterBlitz: A 4-day event with shows, workshops, practice exhibitions, and competitions, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2010:
- WJF 6: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competitions: The Long Program and the first Major League Combat Championship. The format of the Short Programs was changed to 10-15 moves with just one number of props in each competition (4 for Intermediate Clubs, 5 for all the other intermediate and advanced competitions) instead of 30 moves with a minimum of 3-5 props.
2011:
- WJF 7: Held in Springfield, Illinois. New competitions: 3 Ball, 4 Ball, and 4 Club Freestyle (not part of the Overall Championship), and the 7 Club Incentive Program ($250 awarded to anyone 15 years old or younger who is able to demonstrate 50 catches of 7 clubs at a WJF convention; winner: Jack Denger, age 14). Three hours of competitions (the full Advanced Short Programs, several Freestyle competitions, and Major League Combat) were telecast live on ESPN3. Overall Champion: Vova Galchenko.
2012:
- WJF 7.5: Junior Overall Championship held in Seattle, Washington, hosted by the Seattle Juggling Festival. Overall Champion: Nathan Herz.
- WJF 8: Held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. New competitions: The Junior and Intermediate Overall Championships (including Endurance, Isolated Endurance, and 360s), and the Power Up rounds in the Advanced Overall Championship. The main ball, ring, and club events for Juniors and Intermediates were changed to a new format where competitors try to do as many moves on the first try as possible from a set list of about 20 moves in each prop category. Instead of taking deductions, bonus points are awarded depending on how consistently a competitor juggles with good technique, and how few times they drop. The Advanced Short Programs and the Major League Combat finals were telecast live on ESPN3. Junior Overall Champion: Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse; Intermediate Overall Champion: Matthew Wise; Advanced Overall Champion: Doug Sayers.
2013:
- WJF 9: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junior Overall Champion: Delaney Bayles; Intermediate Overall Champion: Noah Schmeissner; Advanced Overall Champion: Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse.
2014:
- WJF 10: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competition: The WJF 789 Competition (not part of the Overall Championship), where advanced jugglers are given five minutes to showcase their most controlled moves with 7-9 objects. The Advanced Overall Championship and Major League Combat were broadcast on ESPN International. Junior Overall Champion: Spencer Androli; Intermediate Overall Champion: Carey Pickford Jr.; Advanced Overall Champion: Doug Sayers.
2015:
- WJF 11: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse.
2016:
- WJF 12: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Delaney Bayles.
2017:
- WJF 13: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junior Overall Champion: Jonathan Teakle; Advanced Overall Champion: Spencer Androli.
2018:
- WJF 14: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Christian Hauschild.
2019:
- WJF 15: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Eivind Dragsjø.
2021:
- WJF 16: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The format for the Short Programs was changed back to allowing competitors to use different numbers of objects within the same routine. New competition: The Flash, an additional set of numbers juggling competitions in the Overall Championship where you try to flash the highest number of objects (rather than having to qualify the pattern like in the WJF Endurance competitions). Advanced Overall Champion: Spencer Androli.
2022:
- WJF 17: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Spencer Androli.
2023:
- WJF 18: A one-day event at the Japan Juggling Festival in Shibuya, Tokyo, with Numbers and Freestyle competitions. The rules for the Numbers competition at this event were more like the rules for the Numbers Juggling League, rather than the usual WJF Endurance competition rules.
2024:
- WJF 19: A two-day event at Mondofest in St. Paul, Minnesota. Advanced Overall Champion: Matthew Walmsley.
- WJF 20: Held June 26-30, 2024, in Antony and Paris, France. New competition: An Ultimate Overall Championship between four previous Overall Champions (in addition to the regular Advanced Overall Championship). The Ultimate Overall Championship consists of three competitions, for ball, ring, and club routines, where each competitor starts with the same score and then receives deductions for any mistakes. Junior Overall Champion: Kevin Niittyviita; Advanced Overall Champion: Caio Stevanovich; Advanced Overall Champion: Eivind Dragsjø.
- WJF 21 will be an online event that will introduce some new competitions (Compulsories, Synchro, Team Endurance) and new competition rules. The deadline for video submissions is the 10th of December, and competition results will be posted on the 25th.
WJF champions[]
Routines[]
| Main advanced competitions | Advanced Balls | Advanced Rings | Advanced Clubs | Overall Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jason Garfield | Sergey Ignatov Jr. | Vova Galchenko | |
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Thomas Dietz |
| 2006 | Thomas Dietz | Jason Garfield | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz |
| 2007 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Thomas Dietz |
| 2008 | Thomas Dietz | Sergey Ignatov Jr. | Vova Galchenko | Thomas Dietz |
| 2010 | Noah Malone | Pavel Evsukevich | Doug Sayers | |
| 2011 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Vova Galchenko |
| 2012 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers |
| 2013 | ? | ? | ? | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse |
| 2014 | Thomas Dietz | Toby Walker | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers |
| 2015 | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | Delaney Bayles | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse |
| 2016 | Delaney Bayles | Delaney Bayles | Delaney Bayles | Delaney Bayles |
| 2017 | ? | ? | ? | Spencer Androli |
| 2018 | Eivind Dragsjø | Christian Hauschild | Christian Hauschild | Christian Hauschild |
| 2019 | Eivind Dragsjø | ? | Eivind Dragsjø | |
| 2021 | Eivind Dragsjø | Eivind Dragsjø | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| 2022 | Adolfo Almonacid | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| February 2024 | ? | ? | ? | Matthew Walmsley |
| June 2024 | Adolfo Almonacid | Caio Stevanovich | Ciao Stevanovich | Caio Stevanovich |
| Other divisions | Beginners | Juniors | Intermediates | Women's Division | Club Passing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 |
Leo James (balls) Olga Galchenko (clubs) |
Scotty Cavanaugh | Gena Shvartsman | Vova and Olga Galchenko | |
| 2005 |
Ben Thompson (balls) Olga Galchenko (rings) Takashi Kikyo (clubs) |
Doug Sayers (balls) Norbi Whitney (rings) David Nager (clubs) |
Vova Galchenko and David Nager | ||
| 2006 | Trey Jarrett |
Joe Showers (balls) Wes Peden (rings) Brett Sheets (clubs) |
Vova and Olga Galchenko | ||
| 2007 | Jack Denger |
Freddy Sheed (Boys division) Shannon Walker (Girls division) |
Doug Sayers | Laura Ernst | |
| 2008 | Scot Spellman | Matthieu Perruchot |
Daniel Eaker (balls and rings) Freddy Sheed (clubs) |
||
| 2010 | Len Ferman | Cody Harrington |
Jack Denger (balls and clubs) Spencer Hearne (rings) |
||
| 2011 | Adam Kapilow | Will Silvers |
Tanner Alder (balls and rings) Nick Thomas (clubs) |
||
| 2012 | Hannah Baran | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | Matthew Wise | ||
| 2013 | Mickey Snir | Delaney Bayles | Noah Schmeissner | ||
| 2014 | Spencer Androli | Carey Pickford Jr. | |||
| 2015 | Fabian Reese | ||||
| 2017 | Keyon Fellows | Jonathan Teakle | |||
| 2021 | Kevin Bergey | Luca Haase | Jefferson Freire | ||
| February 2024 | Teo Winger | ||||
| June 2024 | Kevin Niittyviita |
Endurance[]
| Numbers Endurance | Balls | Rings | Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Thomas Dietz | Jason Garfield | Toby Walker |
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko |
| 2006 | Thomas Dietz | Jason Garfield | Vova Galchenko |
| 2007 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko |
| 2008 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz, Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2010 | David Ferman | Pavel Evsukevich | Jon Brady |
| 2011 | David Ferman | Doug Sayers | Vova Galchenko |
| 2012 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers |
| 2014 | Doug Sayers | Christian Hauschild | Thomas Dietz |
| 2015 | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | |
| 2016 | Delaney Bayles | Masahiro Takahashi | |
| 2017 | Matan Presberg | Lauge Benjaminsen | Spencer Androli |
| 2018 | Matan Presberg | Christian Hauschild | Eivind Dragsjø |
| 2021 | Spencer Androli | Eivind Dragsjø | Spencer Androli |
| 2022 | Adolfo Almonacid | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| 2023 | Kento Tanioka | ||
| Isolated Endurance | 7 Balls | 7 Rings | 7 Clubs | 5 Club Backcrosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Wes Peden | |
| 2006 | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko | Wes Peden | |
| 2007 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2008 | Jon Brady | Toby Walker | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2010 | Doug Sayers | Lauge Benjaminsen | Doug Sayers | Jon Brady |
| 2011 | Jon Brady | Vova Galchenko | Jon Brady | |
| 2012 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Ben Thompson | Jon Brady |
| 2014 | Christian Hauschild | Christian Hauschild | Doug Sayers | |
| 2017 | Matan Presberg | Lauge Benjaminsen | Spencer Androli |
Moves[]
| Ball Freestyle | 5 Balls | 6 Balls | 7 Balls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Thomas Dietz | ||
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | ||
| 2006 | Vova Galchenko | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko |
| 2007 | Vova Galchenko | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz |
| 2008 | Daniel Eaker | Thomas Dietz | Daniel Eaker |
| 2010 | Noah Malone | Doug Sayers | David Ferman |
| 2011 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Jack Denger |
| 2012 | Tanner Alder | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers |
| 2014 | Doug Sayers | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | Lauge Benjaminsen |
| 2015 | Delaney Bayles | Spencer Androli | |
| 2016 | Delaney Bayles | Julius Preu | |
| 2018 | Matan Presberg | Eivind Dragsjø | |
| 2019 | Eivind Dragsjø | ||
| 2021 | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| 2022 | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| 2023 | Kounoshin Shibata | Kotaro Minami | Kotaro Minami |
| Ring Freestyle | 5 Rings | 6 Rings | 7 Rings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | ||
| 2006 | Jason Garfield | Jason Garfield | Thomas Dietz |
| 2007 | Arash Farhang | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz |
| 2008 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz |
| 2010 | Doug Sayers | Lauge Benjaminsen | Doug Sayers |
| 2011 | Lauge Benjaminsen | Lauge Benjaminsen | Lauge Benjaminsen |
| 2012 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers |
| 2014 | Doug Sayers | Toby Walker | Thomas Dietz |
| 2021 | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| 2022 | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli |
| Club Freestyle | 3 Clubs | 4 Clubs | 5 Clubs | 6 Clubs | 7 Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Vova Galchenko | ||||
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | ||||
| 2006 | Vova Galchenko | Wes Peden | Vova Galchenko | ||
| 2007 | Vova Galchenko | Malte Peter | Vova Galchenko | ||
| 2008 | ? | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko | |
| 2010 | Josh Horton | Jon Brady | Doug Sayers | ||
| 2011 | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko | |
| 2012 | Jack Levy | Doug Sayers | |||
| 2014 | Lauge Benjaminsen | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | |
| 2015 | Delaney Bayles | ||||
| 2016 | Delaney Bayles | ||||
| 2018 | Joe Fisher | ||||
| 2019 | Anderson Pereira da Silva | Eivind Dragsjø | |||
| 2021 | Spencer Androli | Spencer Androli | |||
| 2022 | Iver Tronstad | Iver Tronstad | Spencer Androli | ||
| 2023 | Kaito Tanioka |
| 360s | 5 Balls | 5 (or 6) Rings | 3 Clubs | 5 Clubs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jason Garfield | Sergey Ignatov Jr. | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2005 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2006 | Vova Galchenko, Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2007 | Thomas Dietz | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2008 | Thomas Dietz, Vova Galchenko | Thomas Dietz | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko |
| 2010 | Noah Malone | Jon Brady, David Ferman | ||
| 2011 | Vova Galchenko | Vova Galchenko | ||
| 2012 | Doug Sayers | Doug Sayers | Ben Thompson | Jack Levy |
| 2014 | Christian Hauschild | Thomas Dietz | Christian Hauschild | Christian Hauschild |