Juggler's World: Vol. 39, No. 3

Juniors Championship

Close friends compete on Juniors stage

by Todd McLeish

The 1987 Juniors Championship was a competition among friends. Close friends.

In fact, the first and third place finishers, Curt Bonnem and Mark Faje, have been performing together since they learned to juggle a little more than a year ago. And David Cain, the second place winner, was competing against his twin brother and partner, Scott.

This friendly atmosphere made the competition all the better.

"It was fun competing against Mark," said Bonnem. "We learned together and have the same style, but Mark is really the better juggler."

Nonetheless, it was Bonnem who most impressed the judges.

His routine began with a "cave man" opening as he juggled a skull, club and bone. He quickly moved into flashy three and five ball patterns. Using acrobatic leaps and flips as transitions, Bonnem ended with three and four clubs.

David Cain's second place finish was highlighted by an excellent three, four and five club routine which garnered him the highest technical score of the competition. He also juggled three and four balls and five rings.

"Clubs are my forte," he said, "and I really nailed them today. I think the drops I had in my ball routine made me do better in the clubs."

Like Bonnem, Faje had a flashy acrobatic routine featuring three and five balls, five rings, and three, four and five clubs. His five ball work included a difficult multiplex bounce pattern. He also managed a chin roll with four clubs, which he considered his most difficult move.

Among the other competitors were:

• Jamie Adkins, in a beach costume, juggling three, four and five balls and three and four clubs.
• Tony Palomino, a tap dancing juggler who manipulated five balls with under-the-leg throws, three and four rings, and three clubs.
• Matt Linnell, who opened with a briefcase and trench coat on a unicycle to the Mission Impossible theme song and juggled up to five balls, five rings and four clubs.
• Eric Parkey, whose oriental theme featured a devil stick routine.
• Jason DePuy, with a very smooth three and four ball routine and ball spinning.
• Scott Cain, with color coordinated costume and props and a comedy ending.
• Jonathan Rosenberg, whose routine featured a tennis racket and two balls.
• Kenny MacLean, who finished with three machetes.

Juniors Championship Results

Barry Bakalor, Championships Director

                        Total  Tech.  Perf. age  home town
 1. Curt Bonnem         56.40  24.65  31.75  16  Elmhurst, IL
 2. David Cain          52.80  27.90  24.90  17  Middleton, OH
 3. Mark Faje           52.45  23.95  28.50  17  Elmhurst, IL
 4. Jamie Adkins        46.25  21.20  25.05  16  San Diego, CA
 5. Tony Palomino       42.12  11.82  30.30  11  Gresham, OR
 6. Matt Linnell        40.05  16.35  23.70  15  Albuquerque, NM
 7. Eric Parkey         37.88  17.58  20.30  13  Krum, TX
 8. Jason DePuy         35.65  13.90  21.75  15  Albuquerque, NM
 9. Scott Cain          32.90  12.90  20.00  17  Middleton, OH
10. Jonathan Rosenberg  32.24  11.34  20.90  12  Oswego, NY
11. Kenny MacLean       15.90   7.40   8.50  11  Brentwood, TN

Judges: Paul Bachman, Craig Barnes, Brian Dube, Michael Kass, Scott Meltzer, Todd Smith. Timing and scoring: Paul Belanger, Adam Levine.