Pogopalooza

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Pogopalooza 10 High Jump Record Pogopalooza 10 High Jump Record.jpg
Pogopalooza 10 High Jump Record

Pogopalooza: The World Championships of pogo is an annual championship that brings together the world's top Extreme Pogo athletes for multiple days of competition, exhibition, and world record setting. [1] Along with the competition, Pogopalooza also features the largest exposition of pogo stick companies, a Free Jump/Clinic area for people of all ages to try out an array of pogo sticks – classic to extreme, along with sponsorship activations and experiences associated with the event. [2] The organizers of Pogopalooza refer to the event as "the largest pogo stick event on the planet." [3] Started by YouTube personality Pogobat in 2004 in a parking lot in Lincoln, Nebraska, Pogopalooza entered its 20th year for 2024 and has grown to be the largest and most widely attended property associated with the sport of Extreme Pogo. [4]

Contents

The event has had many homes, and briefly was established as a global tour, and has been featured on ESPN as a part of its Ocho Day programming. It currently now is based in Xpogo LLC's home of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania,

Pogopalooza 10 Crowd Shot Pogopalooza 10 Crowd Shot.jpg
Pogopalooza 10 Crowd Shot

The sport of Extreme Pogo

Extreme Pogo is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks on extreme pogo sticks, defined as such by their durability and potential for height. It draws from influences of other action sports such as skate, BMX, Parkour and more, integrating the use of obstacles and performance of tricks.

Today's sticks have the potential for over 10 ft. of height (measured from the ground to the bottom of the tip). [5] Extreme pogo is a young extreme sport and is currently emerging into popular culture as evidenced by the growing number of athletes around the globe, growing sales from extreme pogo companies, [6] the popularity of Xpogo athlete exhibition teams, [7] positive feedback and continued interest in Xpogo content. [8]

History

The first Pogopalooza was held in 2004 in a parking lot in Nebraska, organized by Dan Brown, one of the original Xpogo founders. [9] While the event was small in scope and only drew friends and family, it set the precedent to hold an annual event bringing together extreme pogo athletes from around the country, and eventually the world. [10] Each year since Pogopalooza 1, the event grew in scope and design. Gaining more structure, media attention, athlete attendance, Pogopalooza progressed steadily for 5 years. Pogopalooza 6 in 2009, which was held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania saw the biggest turnout of athletes yet, over 50+ from across the United States, Canada, and England and involved the whole of the City through four days of events and competition. [11] Post-Pogopalooza 6 national media began to take note of extreme pogo in the biggest manner to date. The Wall Street Journal ran a front-page article on the sport and numerous other countrywide and even international publications began covering athletes, events, and the growth of extreme pogo in general. [11] Pogopalooza 7, 8, and 9 represented steady progress as well, leading up to Pogopalooza 10, which stood as another breakout year. Widely attended and heavily covered, Pogopalooza 10 occurred in New York City across July 26-28th, 2013. After the event, organizers announced that the Pogopalooza competition would be expanded into a multi-city international touring format for 2014. Today, the event is referred to as "Pogopalooza: The World Championships of Pogo" and is based at Xpogo LLC's homebase of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. [12]

In 2022, Xpogo hosted the Pogopalooza Cup on ESPN2, as a part of their The Ocho Day in Rock Hill, South Carolina. This was an auxiliary freestyle competition and was won by Russ Kaus. [13]

Pogopalooza Biff StickFlip Pogopalooza Biff StickFlip.jpg
Pogopalooza Biff StickFlip

Overview

Pogopalooza features the top Xpogo athletes worldwide competing against each other in 4 main categories. [1]

Events

Tech Freestyle is a run based competition where competitors are only permitted to use spring based pogo sticks. Athletes will perform timed runs on a specially designed course of obstacles, and are scored on a mix of their skill and style, with bails (falls) counting against their final score. Runs are scored by 5 judges, with the highest and lowest total scores being dropped.

Big Air Freestyle is a run-based event where competitors are permitted to use Big Air extreme sticks (typically Vurtego Pogo sticks) Athletes will perform timed runs on a specially designed course of obstacles, and are scored on a mix of their skill and style, with bails (falls) counting against their final score. Typically the Big Air Winner is considered the best extreme pogo sticker in the world for that year. Runs are scored by 5 judges, with the highest and lowest total scores being dropped.

High Jump is a competition to see who can clear the highest height over a bar on a pogo stick. Athletes are permitted to use multiple techniques to clear the bar. The current record holder and High Jump champion is Dalton Smith, who uses a stickflip technique, and achieved 12' at Pogopalooza 2022. Henry Cabelus holds the High Jump record for the straight jump method, which was set at Pogopalooza 2024 at 11' 7" [14]

Best Trick is a jam based competition where athletes take turns during a 30-minute jam to land the best trick, as judged by 5 Pogopalooza judges, judges score based on trick difficulty, with an emphasis on tricks that have never been landed before. Participants can be removed by judges from the Jam if their attempted tricks are deemed not to be of winning quality.

15 and Under Kids Bounce Off The final event of Pogopalooza is open to competitors 15 years old and younger. They compete to see who can continually bounce the longest, with challenges such as bouncing no handed, being added after a certain time limit. The winner typically will receive a free pogo stick.

In addition to the competition, a world record day kicks off each Pogopalooza, where athletes attempt to break any one of the 15 Xpogo LLC-recognized Guinness World Records. Additionally, all of the world's top pogo stick manufacturers normally attend each Pogopalooza, exhibiting their products and allowing the public to try all pogo sticks in the Free Jump/Clinic area. [15]

Previous Pogopalooza locations [16]

YearNameLocation(s)Big Air WinnerBest Trick WinnerHigh Jump Winner

Bold = World Record

Tech Winner
2004Pogopalooza 1 Nebraska
2005Pogopalooza 2 Chicago, Illinois
2006Pogopalooza 3 Cusco Nick McClintock (7")
2007Pogopalooza 4

Lamay

Nick McClintockFred Grzybowski (7'6")
2008Pogopalooza 5 Buena Park, California Nick McClintock
2009Pogopalooza 6 Pittsburgh Biff HutchisonJake GartlandDan Mahoney (8'6")Earl Pote
2010Pogopalooza 7 Salt Lake City Fred GrzybowskiDan MahoneyDan Mahoney (9'6")Earl Pote
2011Pogopalooza 8 Costa Mesa, California Jake GartlandDan MahoneyDan Mahoney (9')Tone Staubs / Nick Mcclintock*
2012Pogopalooza 9Costa Mesa, CaliforniaBiff HutchisonDan MahoneyBiff Hutchison (8'6")
2013Pogopalooza 10New York CityBiff HutchisonDan MahoneyBiff Hutchison (9'7.5")N/A
2014Pogopalooza 2014: FISE Montpellier, France


Fred GrzybowskiDmitry ArsenyevDmitry Arsenyev (9'8")N/A
2014Pogopalooza 2014: Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, USADalton SmithBiff HutchisonDmitry Arsenyev (9")N/A
2014Pogopalooza 2014: Finals Helsingborg, Sweden Dalton Smith*N/ABiff Hutchison (9'9"
2015Pogopalooza 2015 US OpenUS Open: Jacksonville, Florida, USADmitry ArsenyevMichael MenaBiff Hutchison (10'0.25")N/A
2015Pogopalooza 2015 World FinalsWorld Finals: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USADalton SmithNic PatinoDalton Smith / Biff Hutchison (tie) (10'6")N/A
2016Pogopalooza 2016Braddock, PennsylvaniaDalton SmithSteven BennettNic Patino (10'6")N/A
2017No Pogopalooza
2018Pogopalooza 2018Wilkinsburg, PADalton SmithHenry CabelusHenry Cabelus (10'6")Michael Mena
2019Pogopalooza 2019WIlkinsburg, PADalton SmithFlynn NymanMichael Mena (10'6")Tone Staubs
2020Pogopalooza 2020Wilkinsburg, PADalton SmithRuss KausDalton Smith (10'6")Tone Staubs
2021Pogopalooza 2021Pittsburgh / WIlkinsburgh, PADalton SmithSteven BennettDalton Smith (11'8")Tone Staubs
2022Pogopalooza 2022Pittsburgh / Wilkinsburgh, PAKonner KelloggKonner KelloggDalton Smith (12')Tone Staubs
2022Pogopalooza CupRock Hill, SCRuss KausN/AN/AN/A
2023Pogopalooza 2023Pittsburgh / Wilkinsburgh, PAHenry CabelusKonner KelloggMichael Mena (11')Tone Staubs
2024Pogopalooza 2024Pittsburgh / Wilkinsburgh, PAHenry CabelusDuncan MurrayHenry Cabelus (11'7")Earl Pote
*2008 had a Tech Flatland and a Tech Park competition, Tone Staubs won Flatland and Nick McClintock won park

Course design and construction

Xpogo LLC designs and builds the Pogopalooza courses. These courses consist of a series of boxes, ramps, steps, etc., which the jumpers utilize in their runs. The features of the course are most commonly topped with plywood and the frame made from two by fours. The final products are then painted. A new course is constructed for each Pogopalooza and then dismantled afterwards. [17]

Multiple Time Pogopalooza Champions

Dalton Smith is considered by many to be the greatest competitor in Pogopalooza history with 11 total gold medals, Dan Mahoney has 7 combined medals, and Biff Hutchison has 8. [18]

AthleteBig Air Gold MedalsBest Trick Gold MedalsHigh Jump Gold MedalsTech Gold Medals
Konnor Kellog1200
Steven Bennet0200
Michael Mena0121
Fred Grzybowski2000
Tone Staubs0005
Dalton Smith7040
Russ Kaus1100
Henry Cabelus2120
Dmitry Arsenyev0120
Biff Hutchison3050
Jake Gartland1100
Dan Mahoney0430
Nick McClintock0211
Nic Patino0110
Earl Pote0003

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