International Jugglers' Association
The International Jugglers' Association or IJA is the world's oldest and largest nonprofit circus organization, and is open to members worldwide. It was founded in the United States in 1947, with the goal of providing, "an organization for jugglers that would provide meetings at regular intervals in an atmosphere of mutual friendship." Although its focus lies on juggling, its programs also support other circus disciplines.
Programs and events
The International Jugglers' Association runs the following programs and events:- IJA Regional Competitions - stage juggling competitions at festivals around the world
- World Juggling Day - worldwide celebration of juggling
- eJuggle - the IJA's official publication
Conventions and competitions
The convention is held in a different city each year during mid-to-late July since 1948. There were also additional winter conventions in the 90s. Aside from the competitions, at the convention there are: shows open to the public in which professional jugglers perform; workshops taught by jugglers of all skill levels; and a gym in which hobbyists through professionals get together to juggle.
The organization maintains lists of IJA record-holders, and IJA competitors.
IJA Juggling Championships
The IJA's Juggling Championships are the formal world juggling championships that offers medals and prize money for juggling performances. These competitions are held during the week at the IJA's annual festival, held in the summer. There are three divisions in the IJA Juggling Championships: Individuals, Teams and Juniors. The first annual world juggling championships were held at the Sheraton West Hotel in Los Angeles in 1969.| Year | Individual | Teams | Juniors | - |
| 1969 | George Zsilak | N/A | N/A | - |
| 1970 | Danny Rees | N/A | N/A | - |
| 1971 | Tommy Curtain | N/A | N/A | - |
| 1972 | N/A | N/A | N/A | - |
| 1973 | Jerry Greenberg | N/A | Martin Gray | - |
| 1974 | N/A | N/A | Nate Stein | - |
| 1975 | N/A | N/A | Peter Cuneen | - |
| 1976 | N/A | N/A | Norm Johnson | - |
| 1977 | N/A | N/A | Lenny Mazel | - |
| 1978 | N/A | Fred Garbo, Allan Jacobs | Ben Decker | - |
| 1979 | Edward Jackman Larry Vaksman Peter Davison | The Wimbledon Brothers J. Held, B. Felker Locomotion Circus | Lindsey Morris Maria Alcarese Nguyen Phuc | - |
| 1980 | Michael Kass Edward Jackman Larry Vaksman | Magnificent Material Movers ISU Gamma Phi Jugglers Les Foubrac | Kezia Tenenbaum Nick Newlin Jon Leffingwell | - |
| 1981 | Tommy Curtin Edward Jackman Allan Jacobs | Gravity's Last Stand L.A. Juggling Company Up In the Air Juggling Club | Anthony Gatto Patrick Dempsey John Webster | - |
| 1982 | Peter Davison Anthony Gatto Michael Marlin | Airjazz Gravity's Last Stand Not Awarded | Andrew Allen John Webster Christa Rypins | - |
| 1983 | Allan Jacobs Edward Jackman Anthony Gatto | Bryan Wendling, Scott Burton Jongleur Jugglers Raspyni Brothers | David Deeble Rick Coleman Patrick Cox | - |
| 1984 | Albert Lucas Mark Nizer Dan Holzman | Raspyni Brothers Young Gentlemen Jugglers Circus Shmirkus | David Lee Dana Tison Robbie Weinstein | - |
| 1985 | Andrew Head Dan Holzman Arsene | Benji Hill, Dana Tison Benji Marantz, Tom Murphy Live Aid | Ken Falk Robbie Weinstein Bogar Zuniga | - |
| 1986 | Anthony Gatto Scott Burton Benji Hill | Jet Set Jugglers Jongleur Jugglers | Robbie Weinstein OranCanfield Mark Bakalor | - |
| 1987 | Benji Hill Jeff Mason Dana Tison | Manic Expressions Raspyni Brothers Doubble Troubble | Curt Bonnem David Cain Mark Faje | - |
| 1988 | Jeff Mason Ryder Schwartz Benji Hill | Raspyni Brothers Passing Zone Philippine Pride Jugglers Doubble Troubble Clockwork | Jonathan Rosenberg Brian Patz Alfonso Guerra | - |
| 1990 | Mark Nizer Carlos Rodriguez Dan Holzman | Darn, Good and Funny Raspyni Brothers Not Awarded | Chuck Gunter Joel Purcell Brian Patz | - |
| 1991 | Not Awarded Andrew Head Jason Garfield, Dana Tison, Tuey Wilson | Not Awarded Doubble Troubble Clockwork | Pat McGuire Brian Patz Sean Mckinney | - |
| 1992 | Not Awarded Miguel Herrera, Dan Holzman, Dimitri Mourkes France Robert, Larry Vee, Bob Whitcomb | Not Awarded Chuck Gunter, Benji Hill Dew Drop Jugglers | Sean McKinney Ben Tolpin Brian Patz | - |
| 1993 | Fritz Grobe Not Awarded Jill Westover, Eric Wenokor | Not Awarded Benji Hill, Chuck Gunter Not Awarded | Jay Gilligan Corey Hoelcker Jason Kariotis | - |
| 1994 | Tony Duncan Brian Patz Martin Mall | Crash and Burn Darn, Good and Funny Clockwork | Joey Cousin Artom Khomanko Casey Boehmer | - |
| 1995 | Francoise Rochais Jay Gilligan Jochen Schell | Blink Cousin Brothers Trio One Over Par | Vladik Miagkostoupov Casey Boehmer Kevin Bylund | - |
| 1996 | Greg Kennedy Jay Gilligan Brian Patz | Dew Drop Jugglers Tripp and Fall Not Awarded | Casey Boehmer Mike Price Rick Friscia | - |
| 1997 | Vladik Miagkostoupov Brian Patz Matt Henry | Mark, Charlie Peachock Flight Patterns Stoolies | Adam Kariotis Emil Carey Rick Friscia | - |
| 1998 | Jason Garfield Dana Tison Brian Patz | Les Tourisks Raising Cain Redefining Gravity | Jeff Civillico Luke Jay Mike Roberts | - |
| 1999 | Adam Kariotis Sean McKinney Jay Gilligan | The Mad Five The Fling Kings Marty and Jake | Peter Gerber Emil Carey Christopher Chiappini | - |
| 2000 | Michael Price Jason Garfield Patrick McGuire | Redefining Gravity We're Not Clowns Propellorheads | Christopher Chiappini Nate Seefeldt Dorothy Finnigan | - |
| 2001 | Matt Henry Nicolas Souren Jeffery Daymont | The LaSalle Brothers Team Rootberry Raising Cain | David DiMuzio Nate Seefeldt Josiah Jones | - |
| 2002 | Jason Garfield Pat McGuire Rod Laver | Saccade Team Rootberry Stoolies | Ryo Yabe Josiah the Bold Stephen Caruso | - |
| 2003 | Bill Berry Matt Hall Vova Galchenko | Team Rootberry Olga, Vova Galchenko Jugheads | Jonathan Brady Charles "C.J." Smith Jr. Leo James | - |
| 2004 | Thomas Dietz Ivan Pecel Emile Carey | Olga, Vova Galchenko Stanford Juggling Research Institute The Jugheads | Wes Peden Leo James Edgar Mkrtchyan | - |
| 2005 | Ryo Yabe Mark Kolbusz Cecile Poncet | Jonglissimo Kikyo Brothers | Kazuhiro Shindo Komei Aoki Takashi Kikyo | - |
| 2006 | Artem Khomanko Yuki Kojima Michael Karas | MHD Swatch Vanillatown | William Wei-Liang Lin Tony Pezzo Billy Watson | - |
| 2007 | Thomas Dietz Wes Peden Vova Galchenko | Jonglissimo Kikyo Brothers | Yoshiaki Nagatake Nate Martin Teruki Okamoto | - |
| 2008 | Vova Galchenko Billy Watson Yoshihisa Suehiro | Sharpe Brothers Kikyo Brothers Taiwan Physical Education College Smirk Poetic Motion Machine Poetic Motion Machine The Five of Clubs Smirk The Jugheads | David Ferman Jack Denger Patrick Fraser | - |
| 2012 | Satoshi Eto Thom Wall David Ferman | Daniel, Dominik Institute of Jugglology Kikyo Brothers | Kellin Quinn Jack Denger Ashley Ellis | - |
| 2013 | Kyle Driggs Wes Peden Kellin Quinn | The Pastels Kikyo Brothers Mountain Motion | Ashley Ellis Yusuke Yokoyama Patrick Fraser | - |
| 2014 | Kota Hayashi Yusaku Mochizuki Thom Wall | Institute of Jugglology Duck and Cover The Nine Hips | Jack Denger Patrick Fraser Delaney Bayles | - |
| 2015 | Yusaku Mochizuki Yosuke Ubukata Kento Tanioka | Kentokaito The Jugheads The Bling Bros. | Delaney Bayles Max Poff Daniel Van Hoomissen | - |
| 2016 | Hiroki Kamei Jorden Moir Scott Sorensen | Jonglissimo Totchees Aki and Takeru | Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse Christopher Haaser Bennett Santora | - |
| 2017 | Hayato Watanabe Shinya Yamane Delaney Bayles | CAPT – New Style Crew CAPT Duo Octo | Bennett Santora Christopher Haaser Houston Odum | - |
| 2018 | Masayuki Furuya Jonah Botvinick-Greenhouse Makoto Hanada | Cosmic Cousins KK Staff The LemonHeads (Isaac Cantor, Joshua Nelson | Sho Kasuya Grant Bishop Christopher Haaser | - |
| 2019 | Zak McAllister Eric Jackson Elia Taylor | Zak and Delaney CBO Juggling Team Jugheads | Christopher Haaser Kyle Albrecht | - |
| 2022 | Ho Lam Pun Kathryn Carr Futa Fujimoto | N/A | Matthew Walmsley LilyRuth Mamary Leona Barocas | - |
| 2023 | Shih Rong Huang Michael Karas Matan Presberg | Manuel Mitasch & Moritz Rosner | N/A | |
| 2024 | Delaney Bayles Galen Harp Gideon Elson | Daniel & Julius Smile Group Canada | Stefan Hart Chu-Huan Wang Atticus Abraham | - |
| 2025 | Sereno Aguilar Izzo Jack Denger Alexander Tai | GOBSMACK The Gravity Doctors The Relection | Tamino Patricio Soto Luo-Hua Wang Easton Smith | - |
IJA Online Juggling Championships
In response to COVID-19, IJA created an annual event based on IJA Juggling Championships normally held at the annual IJA Festival, but with some modifications to accommodate the circumstances. Instead of a live event, videos submissions judged by the entire attending IJA membership in five categories of Juggling Difficulty, Juggling Creativity, Juggling Execution, Entertainment Value, and Presentation.| Year | Individual | Teams | Juniors |
| 2020 | Hazel Bock Kohei Itabashi | N/A | David Pavlove Cunsolo Zaila Avant-garde Thomas Whitaker |
| 2021 | Adam Dipert Cinthia “La Flaka” Buitrón Keisuke Yamazaki | Raising Cain | Nikolai Marshall Ella Catanzaro Janice Chao |
IJA Numbers Championships
The Numbers Championships awards Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals to those who demonstrate that they can juggle the most balls, clubs or rings for the highest number of catches. Competition occurs in three categories: Individuals, Duos and Trios. See the current IJA records. Starting at the 2006 convention, prize is given to each "numbers" winner, with an extra prize for anyone who breaks an existing International Jugglers' Association record.Other competitions held at the IJA's annual festival include the Individual Prop Competitions, the , the World Joggling Championships, as well as traditional juggling games and events.
Publications
The IJA has published Jugglers' World and JUGGLE magazine. In 2012, the IJA transitioned to an all-digital form of communications, halting publication of JUGGLE magazine. Today, members read juggling news through , hosted on the IJA's website.In addition to the online magazine, the IJA also produces a monthly with IJA news, articles of interest, and news from the global juggling community.
Notable members
- Thomas Dietz
- Vova Galchenko
- Marcus Monroe
- Christoph Mitasch
- Manuel Mitasch
- The Passing Zone
- Thom Wall
- Sergeij Ignatov
- Anthony Gatto
- Erin Stephens