International Jugglers' Association
The International Jugglers' Association or IJA is the oldest and largest organization of jugglers and is open to members worldwide. It was founded in the United States in 1947.[1]
Benefits of Membership
- Special discounts from major prop vendors worldwide.
- Member prices in the IJA’s WebStore.
- Access to the IJA’s online forums.
- The right to attend the annual IJA festival.
- Discounted performers’ insurance.
Additional IJA Programs
- The Youth Educational Program, which brings certified juggling instructors to afterschool programs across the globe.
- The Video Tutorial Contest, an annual contest dedicated to the production of freely available, high quality, online educational materials.
- The Props2U program, a used-prop drive that benefits circus groups in developing countries.
- The IJA Mentorship Program, which pairs aspiring performers with professionals for guidance and artistic direction.
- The IJA Regional Competitions – IJA-style stage competitions held at regional festivals at national juggling festivals, with huge prizes for the winners.
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, which was founded by the International Jugglers Association in the late 1970s.
The convention is held in a different city each year during mid-to-late July. Aside from the competitions, at the convention there are shows open to the public in which professional jugglers perform, and workshops are taught by advanced jugglers.
The organization maintains lists of IJA record-holders,[2] and IJA competitors.[3]
===List of Host Convention Cities===[4]
- 1948 - Jamestown, NY
- 1949 - Jamestown, NY
- 1950 - Elkhart, IN
- 1951 - Williamsport, PA
- 1952 - Altoona, PA
- 1953 - Erie, PA
- 1954 - Elkhart, IN
- 1955 - Lancaster, PA
- 1956 - Norwalk, OH
- 1957 - Chataqua, NY
- 1958 - Ashtabula, OH
- 1959 - Wickford, RI
- 1960 - Madison, WI
- 1961 - Bristol, TN
- 1962 - Erie, PA
- 1963 - Wickford, RI
- 1964 - Wheeling, WV
- 1965 - Bronx, NY
- 1966 - Salem, MA
- 1967 - Fallsburg, NY
- 1968 - San Mateo, CA
- 1969 - Los Angeles, CA
- 1970 - Los Angeles, CA
- 1971 - Rocky Hill, CN
- 1972 - Rocky Hill, CN
- 1973 - Livingston, NJ
- 1974 - Sarasota, FL
- 1975 - Youngstown, OH
- 1976 - Los Angeles, CA
- 1977 - Newark, DE
- 1978 - Eugene, OR
- 1979 - Amherst, MA
- 1980 - Fargo, ND
- 1981 - Cleveland, OH
- 1982 - Santa Barbara, CA
- 1983 - Purchase, NY
- 1984 - Las Vegas, NV
- 1985 - Atlanta, GA
- 1986 - San Jose, CA
- 1987 - Akron, OH
- 1988 - Denver, CO
- 1989 - Baltimore, MD
- 1990 - Los Angeles, CA
- 1991 - St. Louis, MO
- 1992 - Montreal, Canada
- 1993 - Fargo, ND
- 1994 - Burlington, VT
- 1995 - Las Vegas, NV
- 1996 - Rapid City, SD
- 1997 - Pittsburgh, PA
- 1998 - Primm, NV
- 1999 - Niagara Falls, NY
- 2000 - Montreal, Quebec
- 2001 - Madison, WI[5]
- 2002 - Reading, PA
- 2003 - Reno, NV
- 2004 - Buffalo, NY
- 2005 - Davenport, IA
- 2006 - Portland, OR
- 2007 - Winston-Salem, NC
- 2008 - Lexington, KY
- 2009 - Winston-Salem, NC
- 2010 - Sparks/Reno, NV
- 2011 - Rochester, MN
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). First, second and third place winners in the Stage Championships are awarded medals and cash prizes.
The Numbers Championships awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals to those who demonstrate that they can juggle the most balls, clubs or rings for the highest number of catches. Competition occurs in three categories: Individuals, Duos and Trios. See the current IJA records.[6] 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, the 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. 'JUGGLE' is the IJA's current print publication.
In addition to print publications, the IJA also produces a monthly eNewsletter with IJA news, articles of interest, and news from the global juggling community.
Notable IJA Members
Record holders and stage champions
See also
References
External links