Footbag of tricks

>> Montrealers get their kicks and conquer a new game

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

So, can you, like, shtataf? How about slap-down? Or toe-jam? There’s also the toe-reverse, the scuff, the sole-push, the sweep and roll-sweep. But it’s tough if you catch it off a toe-serve or a slam-serve, that’s for sure.

Clueless? Well, the above are among the more sensational moves on display at the 14th annual Montreal International Footbag Championship, held last weekend at Jeanne-Mance Park.

Yes, footbag. More commonly known among the hippy CÉGEP-Tam Tam slacker set as hacky sack, footbag is a more highly organized, intensely competitive version of the laid-back stoner circle scene, played on a badminton court with a five-foot high net and variations on beach volleyball rules. It is breathtaking to watch.

Sunday’s footbaggers were the elite, and are nothing if not dedicated. They practice religiously during the summer—up to two hours daily—and meet twice a week in the winter. Yves Archambault, president of the Association québécoise de footbag (AQF), has made the sport his life. The 43-year-old former university bureaucrat now has an import and distribution business of Guatemalan-made footbags, regularly visits schools and universities to put on demos and organizes tournaments and training camps. He touts Montreal as the centre for all footbag Canadiana.

“This city has the best players in the world,” he boasts. And while there is a well-established club in Vancouver, and fledgling ones popping up in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Quebec City, the best players in Canada, and the world, are here. “Guys like [Montreal men’s doubles champs] Sebastien Verdy and Emmanuel Bouchard, these two changed the face of the game.” He attributes their skill to having incorporated techniques of takraw, the Thai national sport, into their game, and to murderous effect. Archambault and his partner, Alexis Deschênes, currently hold the world men’s doubles title, but the Bouchard-Verdy duo clobbered them handily on Sunday. All will bring their combined talents to San Francisco, where the world championship footbag tournament will be held next month.

Footbag: a brief history

While the hacky sack was invented in 1972, the first organized tournament was held in Oregon in 1978. Two years later, the first national championships were held, moving to Boulder, Colorado, in 1984. For the next 10 years, the rechristened World Championships were held in Golden, Colorado, and the sport restructured itself into the version as it’s played today. Archambault and his partner, Martin Côté, participated in the 1985 championships, and brought footbagging back home.

In 1996 and 1998, the Worlds were held here, where newcomers Verdy and Bouchard cleaned up both times, winning the doubles while Verdy took home the singles. They remain at the top of the game.

Montreal women footbaggers, however, are just now coming into the spotlight. The singles winner on Sunday, Geneviève Bousquet, a 21-year-old circus performer, is a weathered veteran, having been kicking since the age of 15. This marks her first Montreal win, and she will be travelling to San Francisco for the Worlds. Beaming after her win, she would like to see more women brought into the footbagger fold.

“There aren’t enough women playing right now in Montreal,” she says. “There were only eight women here, and only three doubles teams.” She knows that the dearth of competition on Sunday will mean that much more of a challenge when she hits San Fran. Still, she is one of Quebec’s three bright young female players, along with Maude Landreville and doubles champ Marilyn Demuy.

Brothers in feet

Footbagging is one of the youngest sports around, but it is vibrant. That’s due in large part to the obsessive dedication its aficionados bring to making sure it thrives in a world dominated by larger, mainstream sports. Archambault would of course like to see it acknowledged as a recognized sport, but admits it’s a “long and complicated process.”
At this nascent stage, with less than 100 competitive players in Canada, 150 or so in Europe and maybe a couple of hundred Stateside, footbagging has a lot of room to grow. The first step towards recognition, Archambault says, is a national federation. There isn’t one yet, either here or in the States, although they are moving slowly towards it.

“We need a good five-city tour to really get people into it,” Archambault says. But with so many other sports to choose from that receive so much media and pop culture attention, what makes footbagging so appealing?

“Feet,” Archambault says. “Playing a sport with only your feet is a real challenge.”

For more information about footbagging, visit www.footbag.org or www.quebec.footbag.org. The AQF usually can be found practicing on Sunday afternoons at Jeanne-Mance Park. They are open to newcomers. :