World Juggling Federation

The World Juggling Federation (WJF) is an organization dedicated to the promotion of sport juggling. The WJF was founded by Jason Garfield, out of a desire to expand public awareness of juggling as a sport. The WJF annually holds week-long juggling conventions with technical juggling competitions for jugglers of all skill levels, workshops taught by advanced jugglers, and practice exhibitions where the advanced competitors perform some of their best tricks for other jugglers.
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==WJF competitions==
The WJF Overall Championship is a set of advanced juggling competitions held at the WJF conventions. Competitors accumulate scores from all of these competitions. The person with the highest overall score is named Overall Champion for the year and receives the most prize money.
The most important of the Overall Championship competitions are the three Advanced Short Programs, where competitors can earn up to 10 points per competition by performing a routine with a minimum of 5 balls, 5 rings, or 3 clubs. Points are awarded according to the difficulty of the successfully completed moves, bonus points are given for connecting difficult and dissimilar moves together with no throws in between, and deductions are taken for mistakes, such as unnecessary foot movements, uneven and sloppy patterns, collisions, drops, under- or over-rotated club throws, and falling down.
The other competitions in the Overall Championship are each worth 1 point for 1st place, 0.5 points for 2nd place, and 0.25 points for 3rd place. These competitions include Endurance contests for numbers juggling, where the competitor who juggles the most objects for the most catches wins (the winning run must be qualified), and Freestyle competitions, which are "best trick" competitions judged mainly on difficulty and also on originality, with no deductions for mistakes.
Other events formerly included in the Overall Championship:
*Isolated Endurance contests, with the competitors standing on chairs to allow only accurate, controlled patterns.
*The 3 Club 1 Minute Freestyle competition, where competitors are scored on all the 3 club moves they can do in one minute, and deductions are taken only for drops.
*360 competitions, where jugglers are given one minute to do as many 360s as possible with all the objects in the air during each 360.
*Power Up rounds, where only the first person who is able to successfully do each of a certain set of moves is awarded 1 point in the Overall Championship (or 2 points if they do a more difficult version of the move), and is also given an advantage (an extra attempt or an extra 5 seconds) in one of the Endurance, Freestyle, or 360s competitions.
*The WJF Triathlon, where jugglers try to do a certain set of 15 moves with balls, rings, and clubs in the least amount of time (only held in 2008).
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Besides the Advanced Overall Championship, there is also a Beginners competition, an Intermediate Overall Championship, and a Junior Overall Championship (for kids 15 years old or younger).
Other competitions held at WJF conventions include Diabolo and Cigar Box competitions, Major League Combat, and more informal (and often original) juggling Games such as Concentration, 5 ball Isolated Endurance, 3 club backcross Joggling, 3 club Speed Juggling, and Isolated Passing.
==WJF events==
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2004:
*WJF 1: The first WJF convention, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Freestyle, Endurance, 360s, Women's Clubs, Passing, Diabolo, and Cigar Box competitions were held, but there was no Overall Championship. In the Freestyle competitions, competitors were scored on all the moves they were able to do successfully in 1 minute, with deductions taken only for drops. The competitions were broadcast on ESPN2.
2005:
*WJF 2: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. First Overall Championship. New competitions: Isolated Endurance and Low 360s. The Advanced Ball and Club competitions were broadcast on ESPN and ESPN2. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
2006:
*WJF 3: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competitions: 6-7 Ball, 6-7 Ring, and 3-4 Club Freestyle, 7 Club Isolated Endurance, and Devilsticks. The format of the Freestyle competitions was changed so that competitors were given a certain number of attempts (instead of 1 minute) to do moves with a certain number/prop, and were scored only on the best move each competitor was able to do. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
*WJF Training Camp 1: Four days of juggling workshops at all levels led by Jason Garfield, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2007:
*WJF UK Open: The first WJF event outside the U.S., held alongside the British Juggling Convention in Bilborough, Nottingham. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
*WJF 4: Held in Hartford, Connecticut. New competitions: Juniors division (30-move routines using all three props in one competition) and the WJF Games (Concentration, etc.). Isolated Endurance was added to the Overall Championship. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
*WJF Training Camp 2: A 5-day event with workshops led by Jason Garfield and Vova Galchenko, and Junior and Intermediate competitions, held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junior Overall Champion: Nathan Herz; Intermediate Overall Champion: Doug Sayers.
2008:
*WJF 5: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competitions: 6-7 Club Freestyle (replacing 3-4 Club Freestyle), 3 Club 1 Minute Freestyle (same format as the 2004 and 2005 Freestyle competitions), 6 Ring 360s (replacing 5 Ring 360s for 2008 only), the WJF Triathlon, and the Battle for the WJF Presidency. The minimum number of clubs used in the Advanced Club competition was raised from 3 to 4. Overall Champion: Thomas Dietz.
2009:
*WJF Training Camp 3: A 4-day event with workshops led by Jason Garfield, and competitions at all levels, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
*WJF WinterBlitz: A 4-day event with shows, workshops, practice exhibitions, and competitions, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2010:
*WJF 6: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competitions: The Long Program and the first Major League Combat Championship. The format of the Short Programs was changed to 10-15 moves with just one number of props in each competition (4 for Intermediate Clubs, 5 for all the other intermediate and advanced competitions) instead of 30 moves with a minimum of 3-5 props.
2011:
*WJF 7: Held in Springfield, Illinois. New competitions: 3 Ball, 4 Ball, and 4 Club Freestyle (not part of the Overall Championship), and the 7 Club Incentive Program ($250 awarded to anyone 15 years old or younger who is able to demonstrate 50 catches of 7 clubs at a WJF convention; winner: Jack Denger, age 14). Three hours of competitions (the full Advanced Short Programs, several Freestyle competitions, and Major League Combat) were telecast live on ESPN3. Overall Champion: Vova Galchenko.
2012:
*WJF 7.5: Junior Overall Championship held in Seattle, Washington, hosted by the Seattle Juggling Festival. Overall Champion: Nathan Herz.
*WJF 8: Held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. New competitions: The Junior and Intermediate Overall Championships (including Endurance, Isolated Endurance, and 360s), and the Power Up rounds in the Advanced Overall Championship. The main ball, ring, and club events for Juniors and Intermediates were changed to a new format where competitors try to do as many moves on the first try as possible from a set list of about 20 moves in each prop category. Instead of taking deductions, bonus points are awarded depending on how consistently a competitor juggles with good technique, and how few times they drop. The Advanced Short Programs and the Major League Combat finals were telecast live on ESPN3. Junior Overall Champion: Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse; Intermediate Overall Champion: Matthew Wise; Advanced Overall Champion: Doug Sayers.
2013:
*WJF 9: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junior Overall Champion: Delaney Bayles; Intermediate Overall Champion: Noah Schmeissner; Advanced Overall Champion: Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse.
2014:
*WJF 10: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. New competition: The WJF 789 Competition (not part of the Overall Championship), where advanced jugglers are given five minutes to showcase their most controlled moves with 7-9 objects. The Advanced Overall Championship and Major League Combat were broadcast on ESPN International. Junior Overall Champion: Spencer Androli; Intermediate Overall Champion: Carey Pickford Jr.; Advanced Overall Champion: Doug Sayers.
2015:
*WJF 11: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse.
2016:
*WJF 12: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Delaney Bayles.
2017:
*WJF 13: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Junior Overall Champion: Jonathan Teakle; Advanced Overall Champion: Spencer Androli.
2018:
* WJF 14: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Christian Hauschild.
2019:
*WJF 15: Held at SkillCon in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Eivind Dragsjø.
2021:
* WJF 16: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The format for the Short Programs was changed back to allowing competitors to use different numbers of objects within the same routine. New competition: The Flash, an additional set of numbers juggling competitions in the Overall Championship where you try to flash the highest number of objects (rather than having to qualify the pattern like in the WJF Endurance competitions). Advanced Overall Champion: Spencer Androli.
2022:
*WJF 17: Held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Advanced Overall Champion: Spencer Androli.
2023:
* WJF 18: A one-day event at the Japan Juggling Festival in Shibuya, Tokyo, with Numbers and Freestyle competitions. The rules for the Numbers competition at this event were more like the rules for the Numbers Juggling League, rather than the usual WJF Endurance competition rules.
2024:
* WJF 19: A two-day event at Mondofest in St. Paul, Minnesota. Advanced Overall Champion: Matthew Walmsley.
* WJF 20: Held June 26-30, 2024, in Antony and Paris, France. New competition: An Ultimate Overall Championship between four previous Overall Champions (in addition to the regular Advanced Overall Championship). The Ultimate Overall Championship consists of three competitions, for ball, ring, and club routines, where each competitor starts with the same score and then receives deductions for any mistakes. Junior Overall Champion: Kevin Niittyviita; Advanced Overall Champion: Caio Stevanovich; Advanced Overall Champion: Eivind Dragsjø.
* WJF 21: An online event that introduced some new competitions (Compulsories, Synchro, Team Endurance) and new competition rules.
2025:
* WJF 22 will be a two-day event held August 4-5, 2025 at the EJC in Arnhem, Netherlands.
== WJF champions==
===Routines===
Main advanced competitions	Advanced Balls 	Advanced Rings 	Advanced Clubs 	Overall Champion
2004 	Jason Garfield 	Sergey Ignatov Jr. 	Vova Galchenko 	
2005 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Thomas Dietz
2006 	Thomas Dietz 	Jason Garfield 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz
2007 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Thomas Dietz
2008 	Thomas Dietz 	Sergey Ignatov Jr. 	Vova Galchenko 	Thomas Dietz
2010 	Noah Malone 	Pavel Evsukevich 	Doug Sayers 	
2011 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Vova Galchenko
2012 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers
2013 	? 	? 	? 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse
2014 	Thomas Dietz 	Toby Walker 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers
2015 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse	Delaney Bayles 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse
2016 	Delaney Bayles 	Delaney Bayles 	Delaney Bayles 	Delaney Bayles
2017 	? 	? 	? 	Spencer Androli
2018 	Eivind Dragsjø 	Christian Hauschild	Christian Hauschild 	Christian Hauschild
2019 	Eivind Dragsjø 	 	? 	Eivind Dragsjø
2021 	Eivind Dragsjø 	Eivind Dragsjø 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
2022 	Adolfo Almonacid 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
February 2024 	? 	? 	? 	Matthew Walmsley
June 2024 	Adolfo Almonacid 	Caio Stevanovich 	Ciao Stevanovich 	Caio Stevanovich
December 2024 	Eivind Dragsjø 	Eivind Dragsjø 	Eivind Dragsjø 	
Other divisions	Beginners 	Juniors 	Intermediates 	Women's Division	Club Passing
2004 	
Leo James (balls)
Olga Galchenko (clubs)	 	Scotty Cavanaugh 	Gena Shvartsman 	Vova and Olga Galchenko
2005 	
Ben Thompson (balls)
Olga Galchenko (rings)
Takashi Kikyo (clubs)	 	
Doug Sayers (balls)
Norbi Whitney (rings)
David Nager (clubs)	 	Vova Galchenko and David Nager
2006 	Trey Jarrett 	 	
Joe Showers (balls)
Wes Peden (rings)
Brett Sheets (clubs)	 	Vova and Olga Galchenko
2007 	Jack Denger 	
Freddy Sheed (Boys division)
Shannon Walker (Girls division)	Doug Sayers 	Laura Ernst 	
2008 	Scot Spellman	Matthieu Perruchot 	
Daniel Eaker (balls and rings)
Freddy Sheed (clubs)	
Joelle Huguenin	
2010 	Len Ferman 	Cody Harrington 	
Jack Denger (balls and clubs)
Spencer Hearne (rings)	 	
2011 	Adam Kapilow 	Will Silvers 	
Tanner Alder (balls and rings)
Nick Thomas (clubs)	 	
2012 	Hannah Baran 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse	Matthew Wise 	 	
2013 	Mickey Snir 	Delaney Bayles 	Noah Schmeissner 	 	
2014 	 	Spencer Androli 	Carey Pickford Jr.	 	
2015 	 	 	Fabian Reese 	 	
2017 	Keyon Fellows	Jonathan Teakle 	 	 	
2021 	Kevin Bergey 	Luca Haase 	Jefferson Freire 	 	
February 2024 	Teo Winger 	 	 	 	
June 2024 	 	Kevin Niittyviita 	 	 	
 
===Endurance===
Numbers Endurance	Balls 	Rings 	Clubs
2004 	Thomas Dietz 	Jason Garfield 	Toby Walker
2005 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko
2006 	Thomas Dietz 	Jason Garfield 	Vova Galchenko
2007 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko
2008 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz, Vova Galchenko	Vova Galchenko
2010 	David Ferman 	Pavel Evsukevich 	Jon Brady
2011 	David Ferman 	Doug Sayers 	Vova Galchenko
2012 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers
2014 	Doug Sayers 	Christian Hauschild 	Thomas Dietz
2015 	 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse
2016 	 	Delaney Bayles 	Masahiro Takahashi
2017 	Matan Presberg 	Lauge Benjaminsen 	Spencer Androli
2018 	Matan Presberg 	Christian Hauschild 	Eivind Dragsjø
2021 	Spencer Androli 	Eivind Dragsjø 	Spencer Androli
2022 	Adolfo Almonacid	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
2023 	Kento Tanioka 	Kento Tanioka 	Kento Tanioka
December 2024 	Doug Sayers 	Daniel Lysenko 	Eivind Dragsjø
Isolated Endurance	7 Balls 	7 Rings 	7 Clubs 	5 Club Backcrosses
2005 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	 	Wes Peden
2006 	Vova Galchenko 	 	Vova Galchenko 	Wes Peden
2007 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2008 	Jon Brady 	Toby Walker 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2010 	Doug Sayers 	Lauge Benjaminsen 	Doug Sayers 	Jon Brady
2011 	Jon Brady 	 	Vova Galchenko 	Jon Brady
2012 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Ben Thompson 	Jon Brady
2014 	Christian Hauschild	Christian Hauschild	 	Doug Sayers
2017 	Matan Presberg 	Lauge Benjaminsen 	Spencer Androli	
 
===Moves===
Ball Freestyle	5 Balls 	6 Balls 	7 Balls
2004 	 	 	Thomas Dietz
2005 	 	 	Thomas Dietz
2006 	Vova Galchenko 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko
2007 	Vova Galchenko 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz
2008 	Daniel Eaker 	Thomas Dietz 	Daniel Eaker
2010 	Noah Malone 	Doug Sayers 	David Ferman
2011 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Jack Denger
2012 	Tanner Alder 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers
2014 	Doug Sayers 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse	Lauge Benjaminsen
2015 	Delaney Bayles 	 	Spencer Androli
2016 	Delaney Bayles 	 	Julius Preu
2018 	Matan Presberg 	 	Eivind Dragsjø
2019 	Eivind Dragsjø 	 	
2021 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
2022 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
2023 	Kounoshin Shibata	Kotaro Minami 	Kotaro Minami
Ring Freestyle	5 Rings 	6 Rings 	7 Rings
2005 	 	 	Thomas Dietz
2006 	Jason Garfield 	Jason Garfield 	Thomas Dietz
2007 	Arash Farhang 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz
2008 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz
2010 	Doug Sayers 	Lauge Benjaminsen	Doug Sayers
2011 	Lauge Benjaminsen	Lauge Benjaminsen	Lauge Benjaminsen
2012 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers
2014 	Doug Sayers 	Toby Walker 	Thomas Dietz
2021 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
2022 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli
Club Freestyle	3 Clubs 	4 Clubs 	5 Clubs 	6 Clubs 	7 Clubs
2004 	 	 	Vova Galchenko 	 	
2005 	 	 	Thomas Dietz 	 	
2006 	Vova Galchenko 	Wes Peden 	Vova Galchenko 	 	
2007 	Vova Galchenko 	Malte Peter	Vova Galchenko 	 	
2008 	? 	 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2010 	Josh Horton 	 	Jon Brady 	Doug Sayers 	
2011 	Vova Galchenko 	 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2012 	Jack Levy 	 	Doug Sayers 	 	
2014 	Lauge Benjaminsen 	 	Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz
2015 	 	 	Delaney Bayles 	 	
2016 	 	 	Delaney Bayles 	 	
2018 	 	 	Joe Fisher 	 	
2019 	Anderson Pereira da Silva	 	Eivind Dragsjø 	 	
2021 	 	 	Spencer Androli 	Spencer Androli	
2022 	 	 	Iver Tronstad 	Iver Tronstad 	Spencer Androli
2023 	 	 	Kaito Tanioka 	 	
360s	5 Balls 	5 (or 6) Rings 	3 Clubs 	5 Clubs
2004	Jason Garfield 	Sergey Ignatov Jr.	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2005	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2006	Vova Galchenko, Thomas Dietz	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2007	Thomas Dietz 	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2008	Thomas Dietz, Vova Galchenko	Thomas Dietz 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2010	 	 	Noah Malone 	Jon Brady, David Ferman
2011	 	 	Vova Galchenko 	Vova Galchenko
2012	Doug Sayers 	Doug Sayers 	Ben Thompson 	Jack Levy
2014	Christian Hauschild 	Thomas Dietz 	Christian Hauschild	Christian Hauschild
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