B AGGRESSiVE Results Database
Santa Barbara 1999
18 July 1999
Venue: Storke Field, UCSB USA
Organizer: Erik Fields
Info:
from Dan Neelands
Reported conditions from the airport nearby during the tournament ;
high temp 73F
low temp 69F
max. wind 11.5mph
min wind 6.9mph
clear skies. Observed conditions at the field were somewhat hotter and
somewhat less wind. There was extreme thermal activity.
Organized and hosted by Erik Fields, Santa Barbara is the premiere US
long distance event. This year 17 throwers competed with most
completing 3 sets of 5 throws each. 8.5 % of the throwers were women,
8.5% were left-handed, nearly 25% of the group got into the 100m club,
58% threw over 100m and 100% had qualifying throws.
Everybody competing threw amazingly well. All day long people claimed
greater and greater personal best distances. Several
people got into the 100 meter club and a US record was broken. The
overall mood was one of camaraderie and mutual
support. Only a year after David Schummy introduced the Buzzwhip and a
few months after plans for Manual Schutz Voyager
were published throwers showed up with many beautiful versions of these
high performance boomerangs. A good bit of time the day before the
tournament was spent tuning booms and adjusting throws. David Schummy
shocked the LD scene yet again with his newest
developmental boomerangs of the "Protégé" class. With some full returns
easily in excess of of 200m, these boomerangs take
a very high throw and seem to require almost no wind. After spotting
some throws out in the 200m area, I am convinced that
300m is not impossible. Throwers were welcome to try David's boomerangs
and several people started to get the hang of the
new throw with David's expert instruction.
Beginning distance throwers faired well in the tournament. Notable
achievements were Bud Jamieson with 121m his second
day with a long distance boomerang and Rob Lands throwing in excess of
120m at his second only LD tourney. Paul Cooper
from Lake County CA started the day with no experience in LD. Paul's
day ended with solid 85m ranges and a vow to be at
every LD event he could get to. Southbay Johnny strengthened the case
for Super Aussie Round by throwing a 124 that
shocked the judges by hovering into his hands for a gentle catch a few
paces behind the line.
At the beginning of the day throwers were awarded commemorative boom
socks with custom labels sewn by the Harding
family(mostly Sue I think but they operate as a team). Each sock had a
place to write the throwers best distance of the day. The "fill in the
blank" idea became more and more fun as ranges increased steadily during
the day.
After the competition throwers reconvened at Erik fields house for
an "all you can eat" feast of fresh grilled beef and unlimited side
dishes prepared by Steve Conaway with the support of his rad family.
Spirits were generally very high although we were all tired. Erik
presented each thrower with a cedar stake painted with the word "Storke"
and the range of their longest throw. Awesome cakes were provided by
Sue Harding and Andrea Lehman just when we thought we couldn't eat
another bite. We were wrong.
While the US record of over a decade was finally bested, I think this
was only a formality and a way to recognize our entrance into a new era
of fun long distance boomerang throwing when everyone will improve by
leaps and bounds. The record will most likely stand for a very short
time with throwers like Dan and Mike Harding improving quickly and Erik
Fields throwing distances like this regularly in practice. Other
contenders include throwers like Rob Land and Bud Jamieson whose
potentials are yet unknown. Andy "Strong like tractor" Strum may amaze
us all if he ever retires his beloved dinosaurs. Southbay Johnny should
be doing hacky catches from 150 meters soon and if that gets boring
there will always be 200m Glorp. Steve Conaway is claiming some sucess
with frozen turkeys without wings though this technology may be a ways
off.
Erik's tournaments showcase the sport of Long distance boomerang
throwing in a celebration of friendship, excitement and fun. In 2 years
throwers at these tournaments have raised about 400$ for the UCSB Rec. sports
"HOPE" fund just by doing what they love.
Many thanks go out to sponsors at UCSB Rec. Sports Erin Dominy, Qiara
Edwards, Nancy Clayton,
and Dave Lagomarsino from Rec Sports. Without their help we couldn't
have had such a great, safe event at such an awesome field.
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