
The International Jugglers' Association or IJA is the world's oldest and largest nonprofit
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
organization, and is open to members worldwide. It was founded in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in 1947, with the goal of providing, "an organization for jugglers that would provide meetings at regular intervals in an atmosphere of mutual friendship." Although its focus lies on
juggling
Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...
, its programs also support other circus disciplines.
Programs and events
The International Jugglers' Association runs the following programs and events:
* International Regional Competitions
* The Video Tutorial Contest
* World Juggling Day
* eJuggle - the IJA's official publication
* The Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children (MMCC)
Conventions and competitions
The International Jugglers' Association holds the largest week-long
juggling festival in North America. (The largest juggling festival in the world is the
European Juggling Convention, started in 1978 and whose founders were members of the International Jugglers' Association).
The convention is held in a different city each year during mid-to-late July since 1948. There were also additional winter conventions in the 90s. Aside from the competitions, at the convention there are shows open to the public in which professional jugglers perform, and workshops are taught by jugglers of all skill levels.
The organization maintains lists of IJA record-holders,
and IJA competitors.
IJA Stage Championship
The IJA's Stage Championships are the formal world juggling
championships that offers medals and prize money for juggling performances. These competitions are held during the week at the IJA's annual festival, held in the summer. There are three categories of IJA Stage Championships: Individuals (individual competitors), Teams (two or more people per team) and Juniors (individuals 17 years old or younger). The first annual world juggling championships were held at the Sheraton West Hotel in Los Angeles in 1969.
IJA Online Juggling Championship
In response to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, IJA created an annual event based on IJA Stage Championships normally held at the annual IJA Festival, but with some modifications to accommodate the circumstances. Instead of a live event, videos submissions judged by the entire attending IJA membership in five categories of Juggling Difficulty, Juggling Creativity, Juggling Execution, Entertainment Value, and Presentation.
IJA Numbers Championships
The Numbers Championships awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals to those who demonstrate that they can juggle the most balls,
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
or rings for the highest number of catches. Competition occurs in three categories: Individuals, Duos and Trios. See the current IJA records.
Starting at the 2006 convention, prize is given to each "numbers" winner, with an extra prize for anyone who breaks an existing International Jugglers' Association record.
Other competitions held at the IJA's annual festival include the Individual Prop Competitions, th
Extreme Juggling Competitions the World
Joggling Championships, as well as traditional (and more informal) juggling games and events.
Publications
The IJA has published ''Jugglers' World'' and ''JUGGLE'' magazine. In 2012, the IJA transitioned to an all-digital form of communications, halting publication of JUGGLE magazine. Today, members read juggling news throug
eJuggle hosted on the IJA's website.
In addition to the online magazine, the IJA also produces a monthl
eNewsletterwith IJA news, articles of interest, and news from the global juggling community.
Notable members
*
Thomas Dietz
*
Vova Galchenko
*
Marcus Monroe
*
Christoph Mitasch
*
Manuel Mitasch
*
The Passing Zone
The Passing Zone is an American comedy-juggling duo comprising Jon Wee and Owen Morse. Wee, originally from Minnesota, and Morse, a California native, met at a juggling convention in northern California in 1986 and decided two years later to team ...
*
Thom Wall
*
Sergeij Ignatov
*
Anthony Gatto
*
Erin Stephens
Presidents have included
Ronald Graham
Ronald Lewis Graham (October 31, 1935July 6, 2020) was an American mathematician credited by the American Mathematical Society as "one of the principal architects of the rapid development worldwide of discrete mathematics in recent years". He ...
, co-inventor of
Mills Mess.
See also
*
European Juggling Association, inspired by the International Juggling Association
*
World Juggling Federation, an offshoot of the IJA, founded by member
Jason Garfield
* , an organization started by
Albert Lucas that promotes joggling and
sport juggling in general
References
External links
*
*
{{Juggling
Juggling
Organizations established in 1947