This summer the "25th Annual IFPA World Footbag Championships" were held in Montreal, Quebec. Bacon Magazine sent our two most skilled players (Bryan Smith and Glen Howie) out to cover the event.

Bryan and I were both excited at the opportunity to go to Montreal: We knew we could see the best footbag players in the world, and hopefully get a chance to play with some of them. We also knew we'd have a chance to hang around Montreal for a couple of days, which is reason enough for the trip by itself. Montreal is an amazing city. One of the lesser-known facts about Montreal is that it has one of the best footbag communities in the world. People living in the city are accustomed to seeing circles of players in many of the cities great parks, and some of the best freestyle footbag in the world is on display here every summer day. Proof of this amazing footbag culture can be found in the medal ceremony at The World Footbag Championship every year, where Montrealers often stand on the podium.

As we prepared for the trip, Bryan and I talked casually about footbag, and wondered what kind of skills we'd see in Montreal. We are two guys who "hacky sack" recreationally a few times a week, and consider ourselves to be pretty good freestyle players. Either of us can easily control a footbag for dozens of sequential hits, with a few nice tricks and delays thrown in. Our experience at outdoor festivals, and concerts had taught us that we were among the better players out there. We were wrong.

The co-operative sport of kicking around stuffed bags has ancient origins in China, Thailand, North America and Central America. Many cultures had variations of the sport dating back more than 2000 years. Footbag has existed (in its current form) for roughly 30 years. The sport of footbag was invented by two Americans in 1972 (the two men marketed their invention under the brand name "Hacky Sack" - a name that is still used as a synonym for the sport). It wasn't until the 1980's that players began linking tricks in complicated sequences without kicks between tricks. This evolution changed the sport dramatically, and soon allowed for hundreds of new trick combinations.

Eventually all tricks were analyzed and categorized in to one of five basic technical areas (not including basic kicks):

Delay
Catching the footbag on your leg or foot without kicking it. "Catching it".

Dexterity
Circling the footbag with your leg while it is in the air.

Body
Rotating your entire body, or jumping.

X-Body
Kicking or delaying the footbag on the opposite side of the body.

Unusual Surfaces
Using other parts of your body (Sole, Heel, Forehead, etc.).

Within these 5 technical areas, there are more than 3000 tricks, and more are created every year. The best players in the world are ambidextrous, which enables them to double that number to more than 6000 tricks. Imagine the possibilities. For professional players of this caliber, an uninterrupted run of 20 moves is considered a good run. There are literally millions of possible combinations of moves. Footbag is a sport of dexterity, creativity and precision. Watching a talented professional work through a routine is almost like watching a beautiful but strange dance. The athletes move with such speed and precision, that it is difficult to understand how complex the combinations and tricks are.

There are generally considered to be 2 disciplines in the sport: "Freestyle" and "Footbag Net" (or just "Net"). In 'Freestyle', players execute complex series of tricks and delays, and are judged by experts on difficulty, creativity and execution. 'Freestyle' also includes doubles competitions. 'Footbag Net' is best described as a court game similar to volleyball, but using a footbag instead of a volleyball, and played with your feet instead of your hands. It consists of one-on-one competition (singles) or two-on-two (doubles). Players volley the footbag over a 5-foot net to accumulate points while serving. Footbag lovers also enjoy footbag in a variety of other ways: Footbag Golf, Consecutives (speed and endurance competitions), and of course in loose kicking circles - the way you'll see the sport most often played and enjoyed. Footbag enjoys international popularity, with hotspots of enthusiasm around the planet. The 25th Annual IFPA Worlds showcased the best of this international talent. Athletes traveled from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, Poland, Canada, France, The United States, The Czech Republic and a host of other countries. In many cases, large contingents made the trip: 14 competitors from Finland came together, a few of them making it on to the podium during the medal ceremony. This truly is an international phenomenon, and it was exciting to see some of the best players in the world. It was great to see a strong Canadian showing too. Canada has a very strong footbag community, with Montreal and Vancouver leading the country. Still, talent knows no political boundaries, and the best players in the world come from all over.

Currently ranked number 1 in the world (in freestyle) is Czech sensation Vasek Klouda. Also known as 'The Golden Child', Klouda at just 17 years old, has been competing for roughly 4 years - and is a 3 time world champion. Footbag is his full-time pursuit. He practices daily, and competes at every possible opportunity. He also gave us a demonstration of his beat-box skills, which were pretty damn good too! I said earlier that Bryan and I thought we were fairly good players. After watching Vasek Klouda's set, I can say with total confidence that I can not execute a single move he performed, let alone put them into a sequence of 20! Klouda is a truly gifted athlete. Sadly, he could only drum up enough sponsorship to get half of his airfare paid for. He's the world champion, and still can not get enough sponsorship to cover his costs. Sadly, this tells us much about the mainstream acceptance of footbag as a legitimate sport. Are you paying attention Nike? Adidas? Klouda won again this year, retaining his title as reigning world champion, and cementing himself as the most dominant freestyle player in the world.

Ranked number 1 in the world (in freestyle) in women's is American Carol Wedemeyer. Carol, is something of a veteran, she's been competing for roughly 8 years, and is a 3-time world champion. Carol lives and trains in San Francisco, and competes regularly. Wedemeyer practices yoga, makes her own footbags, and managed to get her entire family (20 people!) to Montreal for the competition. Like Klouda, Wedemeyer has not been able to secure corporate sponsorship, despite the fact that she is the reigning world champion. Wedemeyer won again this year - in a class of her own, Carol looks ready to win again and again for years to come.

Ranked number 1 in the world (in footbag net) is Canadian Emmanuel Bouchard. Emmanuel (or 'Manu') is without a doubt the most dominant net player of recent years. He has not lost a singles net tournament in more than 30 appearances. His results at the previous World Championships: Winner in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Seven years in a row. But wait: Bouchard won again this year, bringing that to 8 years in a row. Bouchard is an unbelievable athlete, in the true sense of the word.

If there's one thing about these athletes, and about the 25th Annual IFPA World Footbag Championships, and about footbag in general, it's the feeling of community. At these games, people from around the world came together to compete; yet after the competitions were over, all joined together in an open shred. Footbag is not just another sport. Most commonly played in parks, campuses, and street corners, footbag is not simply about striving for perfection. The real reason that footbag finds such popularity today, is because of the sense of community one finds in any circle. People revel in the sheer joy of dancing together in a circle and working toward a common goal. When everyone touches the footbag before it falls, the entire group wins. In this simple way, footbag compels groups of distinct individuals to set aside their differences, and behave, briefly, with a cooperative worldview. This is what makes footbag so special. It transcends cultural biases, languages, and politics and allows for common ground. We should celebrate footbag as the highly athletic, cooperative dance form that it is. A good footbag session is akin to a complete aerobic workout. It's also just a lot of fun. Grab a bag and get out there!