Pogopalooza

Last updated
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 18th year for 2022 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 2021 at 11' 2.5" [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
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

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 Grzybowski2001
Tone Staubs0005
Dalton Smith7040
Russ Kaus1100
Henry Cabelus1110
Dmitry Arsenyev0120
Biff Hutchison3050
Jake Gartland1100
Dan Mahoney0430
Nick McClintock0210
Nic Patino0110

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ski jumping</span> Skiing winter sport

Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final score. Ski jumping was first contested in Norway in the late 19th century, and later spread through Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Along with cross-country skiing, it constitutes the traditional group of Nordic skiing disciplines.

Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and boxes on their skis. Known as "hot-dogging" in the early 1970s, it is also commonly referred to as freeskiing, jibbing, as well as many other names, around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern pentathlon</span> Five-event Olympic sport

The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event was first held in 1912, inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics, and designed to model skills needed by a soldier of that time. As well as being an Olympic event, a world championships has been held annually since 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trampolining</span> Acrobatic sport

Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more complex combinations of forward and/or backward somersaults and twists. Scoring is based on the difficulty and on the total seconds spent in the air. Points are deducted for bad form and horizontal displacement from the center of the bed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Track and field</span> Sport involving running, jumping, and throwing disciplines

Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running and racewalking. In British English the term "Athletics" is synonymous with American "Track and Field" and includes all jumping events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pogo stick</span> Spring-aided device for jumping off the ground in a standing position

A pogo stick is a vehicle for jumping off the ground in a standing position—through the aid of a spring, or new high performance technologies—often used as a toy, exercise equipment or extreme sports instrument. It led to an extreme sport named extreme pogo or "Xpogo".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice stock sport</span>

Ice stock sport is a winter sport, somewhat similar to curling. In German, it is known as Eisstockschießen. Although the sport is traditionally played on an ice surface, events are also held on tarmac in summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cross-country riding</span> Competitive horse-riding discipline

Cross country equestrian jumping forms one of the three phases of the sport of eventing; it may also be a competition in its own right, known as hunter trials or simply "cross-country", although these tend to be lower-level, local competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Combined driving</span> Sport involving horses pulling carriages

Combined driving is an equestrian sport involving carriage driving. In this discipline, the driver sits on a vehicle drawn by a single horse, a pair or a team of four. The sport has three phases: dressage, cross-country marathon and obstacle cone driving — patterned after the mounted equestrian sport of eventing. It is one of the ten international equestrian sport horse disciplines recognized by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI). Combined driving became an FEI discipline in 1970 when Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the then-president of FEI, produced the first rule book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ski cross</span> Type of skiing competition

Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often considered a type of freestyle skiing. What sets ski cross apart from other alpine skiing disciplines is that it involves more than one skier racing down the course. Any intentional contact with other competitors like grabbing or any other forms of contact meant to give the competitor an advantage leads to disqualification.

The Flybar is a modification of the traditional pogo stick design which allows riders to propel themselves up to a world record 8 feet 6 inches into the air according to the Flybar's website. Developed in a collaborative effort between SBI Enterprises, Bruce Middleton and Andy Macdonald, it utilizes in place of the usual steel spring in a regular pogo stick 12 elastic bands used for propulsion, also known as thrusters. It weighs 20 pounds and is capable of producing up to 1,200 pounds-force of thrust. The Flybar comes in another model, the Flybar 800, which is intended for lighter people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme Pogo</span>

Extreme Pogo is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a pogo stick. The sport draws inspiration from other action sports such as skateboarding, BMX, and parkour. Athletes will have various focuses in tricks or street style bouncing using urban environments as obstacles. Extreme pogo can be seen in athlete exhibition teams, content on sites such as YouTube, and also the annual Pogopalooza: The World Championship of Pogo, which has been held worldwide, although is currently based in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, home of Xpogo, a business which produces the competition and manages many properties in the world of extreme pogo.

Vurtego Pogo Sticks are a variation of traditional pogo sticks that use air as the spring mechanism for jumping, instead of a traditional metal coil spring. These high-end pogo sticks are designed to achieve extreme heights and allow riders to perform a wide variety of tricks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slopestyle</span> Winter downhill sport discipline

Slopestyle is a winter sport in which athletes ski or snowboard down a course including a variety of obstacles including rails, jumps and other terrain park features. Points are scored for amplitude, originality and quality of tricks. The discipline has its roots in action sports like skateboarding and BMX and has very successfully crossed over into the snow sports worlds of skiing and snowboarding. Skiers use Twin-tip skis for their symmetry since they often go large portions of the course backward and for their balanced weight so as to not destabilize spins. Slopestyle tricks fall mainly into four categories: spins, grinds, grabs and flips, and most tricks done in competition are a combination of these.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mogul skiing</span> Discipline of freestyle skiing

Mogul skiing is a freestyle skiing competition consisting of one timed run of free skiing on a steep, heavily moguled course, stressing technical turns, aerial maneuvers and speed. Internationally, the sport is contested at the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, and at the Winter Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne</span> International governing body of modern pentathlon

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, commonly known by the acronym UIPM, has been the international governing body of modern pentathlon since its foundation in London in 1948. Its headquarters are in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, and it has 115 national federation members. Modern pentathlon was introduced at the fifth Olympiad in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1912, comprising the contemporary sports of pistol shooting, fencing, swimming, horse riding and running, which embraced the spirit of its ancient counterpart.

<i>Jump City: Seattle</i> American TV series or program

Jump City: Seattle is an American television series that aired on G4 from February 15 to April 5, 2011. It featured four of the top freerunning and parkour teams in the United States participating in a parkour competition. Each week, the athletes competed in different parkour challenges spread out across the streets of Seattle. The series ran for eight episodes and was not renewed for a second season. Team Tempest, led by Levi Meeuwenberg and Brian Orosco of American Ninja Warrior fame, won the competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obstacle course racing</span> Sports discipline

Obstacle course racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometers which incorporate elements of track, road and/or cross country/trail running. Courses may include climbing over walls or up ropes, monkey bars, carrying heavy objects, traversing bodies of water or mud, crawling under barbed wire, and jumping through fire. Since the beginning of modern OCR in 1987, the sport has grown in popularity such that more than 2500 events are held annually across the world and several run organizing companies are commercially successful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Score (sport)</span>

In sport, score is a quantitative measure of the relative performance of opponents in a sporting discipline. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the competition can raise or lower the score of the involved parties. Most games with score use it as a quantitative indicator of success in the game, and in competition, a goal is often made of attaining a better score than one's opponents in order to win.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics</span> Modern pentathlon events at the 2020 Summer Olympics

The modern pentathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place in 2021 at Musashino Forest Sport Plaza and Ajinomoto Stadium.

References

  1. 1 2 "Pogopalooza Website". Xpogo LLC. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  2. Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!'Extreme' Pogoers Do Backflips, Hop Minivans; In This Sport, Bounces Per Second Matter KRIS MAHEr The Wall Street Journal AUGUST 28, 2009
  3. "Flavorpill Event Listing". Flavorpill and Xpogo Organizers. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  4. "Pogopalooza Promotional Video". Promotional Video. YouTube and Xpogo LLC. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  5. McCluskey, Jack. "Pogo Resurges as Action Sport". ESPN 2. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  6. Sabar, Ariel. "How the Pogo Stick Leapt From Classic Toy to Extreme Sport". Smithsonian Magazine.
  7. "The Pogo Dudes Website".
  8. "Pogo GoPro". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  9. "Pogo Athletes Building Brand New Extreme Sport". The Orange Leader. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  10. "Pogopalooza History". Xpogo.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  11. 1 2 Maher, Kris. "Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing! Boing!". WSJ. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  12. "Pogopalooza Website". WebPage History. Xpogo LLC. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  13. Explaining the art of POGO STICKING 🤣❗️|️ SportsCenter , retrieved 2023-03-08
  14. "Highest stickflip pogo stick jump". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  15. "Time Out NY Article". Time Out NY. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  16. "Pogopalooza 2022 - Xpogo". xpogo.com. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  17. "Pogopalooza Facebook Course Album". Facebook | Xpogo LLC. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  18. "Pogopalooza 2022 - Xpogo". xpogo.com. Retrieved 2023-03-08.