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1998 Worlds: Part I
This is the first installment of photos hot off the presses from the
1998 World Footbag Championships held July 13-19, 1998,
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Photos were all taken by ace professional photographer
Pierre Frigon with his high-end digital camera (see for yourself).
This gallery has other related information at:
http://www.footbag.org/worlds98/
Andrew Morgan and Emmanuel Bouchard
Both from Montreal, Andrew Morgan (left) and Emmanuel Bouchard face off in a demo match for the press. Emmanuel has just executed a flying inside sweep, which Andrew missed (you can see the bag, albeit blurry, just to Andrew's left side).
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Will Guyette
Will Guyette, of Carbondale, Illinois, is one of a crop of up-and-coming net players trained by "The Coach", P. T. Lovern.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
P.T. Lovern and Jukka Peltola
"The Coach", P.T. Lovern (Berkeley, California) puts fear into the eyes of a waiting Jukka Peltola (Helsinki, Finland) in the open singles net competition.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Danny Borsky and Sebastien Verdy
A taste of what was to come on finals day in a mid-week demonstration match for the video cameras on site. Danny Borsky (left) of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, sweeps as Sebastien Verdy (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) attempts the block.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Andrew Morgan and Emmanuel Bouchard
During the demo match for the cameras, Montreal's Andrew Morgan (left) gets ready to try and dig Emmanuel Bouchard's powerful outside scuff. Bouchard is the home-town boy who ultimately swept the open singles and doubles net events this year.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Sebastien Verdy
Flying high, spiking huge, this is Sebastien's classic pull-down (also known as the "flying mousetrap" in P.T. Lovern's flavorful vernacular).
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Chris Young
Yes, up-and-coming net player Chris Young (from Boulder Creek, California) means to do that. His opponents just try to stay out of the way.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Andy Ronald
From Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Andy Ronald is one of the more flexible and acrobatic players, as is evidenced by this insane shot.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Hung Chang
Hung (pronounced more like "Hong") Chang is a promising open competitor from San Jose, California, who made quite a splash at net events this year. Here he's shown hitting a "Sunback" spike -- taken from the similar move in the Malaysian sport of sepaktakraw.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Andy Ronald
More acrobatics from Vancouver's Andy Ronald. Note the perfect positioning of the bag, Andy's foot, and the net. His opponent doesn't have much of a chance.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Patrick Asswad and Danny Borksy
Borsky (right, from Vancouver, B.C., Canada) attempts to block the bag just after Asswad (from Montreal) hits his right sweep. This shot was taken at La Ronde, on the center court.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Allan Petersen
From Copenhagen, Denmark, Allan flies high over center court at La Ronde during one of the semifinal matches on Saturday, July 18, 1998.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Emmanuel Bouchard
Sweeping the open net events, Emmanuel "Manu" Bouchard (from Montreal, Quebec, Canada) flies high at La Ronde in front of more than 500 spectators.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Steve Goldberg and Sam Conlon
In the mixed doubles freestyle competition, Steve and Sam weave their legs together and somehow keep from falling over. The freestyle competition took place inside La Ronde amusement park at the Jardin des Etoiles theater.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
david Butcher
A relative newcomer to the open net scene, david Butcher (from San Mateo, California, and yes, he does spell his first name with a little "d") steals a few minutes of the limelight on center court. Emmanuel Bouchard tries to block but doesn't quite read this one.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
david Butcher
"Tag, you're it." Butcher's toe jam catches local Montrealite Sebastien Verdy off-guard. david Butcher lives in San Mateo, California.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Sebastien Verdy
Nicknamed the "Rubber Man", Montreal's Verdy is precise, powerful, and difficult to read. Here, he smashes a "shtataf!" that is almost impossible to dig. The mist in the background is to keep spectators cool at La Ronde amusement park. The weather was clear and very hot.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Bag Meets Feet
Left to right: Montreal's Sebastien Verdy and Emmanuel Bouchard, the footbag, david Butcher's leg (from San Mateo, California), La Ronde's rollercoaster, and Brent Welch's back (from Mountain View, California).
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Ryan Mulroney
Making his way to 2nd place this year (beaten out by the one and only Eric Wulff), young Ryan Mulroney is one of the hottest shredders on the footbag scene. He is a student at U.C. Berkeley in California.
Photo by Pierre Frigon
Kenny Shults
In honor of his years of competing at the World Championships, Kenny Shults (Portland, Oregon) receives a commemorative plaque of the 1998 World Championships and the "Rasta Bag" video.
Photo by Pierre Frigon