History of Freestyle
The Berkely Frisbee Group
The IFT/IFA newsletter brought together Wham-O and the BFG (Berkeley Frisbee Group). The BFG was started in the late 1960's and met regularly to play frisbee at Sproul Plaza on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. The core of players is a veritable who's who of freestyle: Roger Barrett, Chuck Shultz, John "the Dreamer" Weyand, Victor Malofronte, Dave Book, Jay Shelton, Bob May, Chuck Pitt, Tom Boda' and Steve Sewell. They took frisbee play beyond mere the simple throw and catch. They developed new types of throws and catches. They were the first individuals to regard throwing and catching as an art form. The leading freestylers of this group were John "Dreamer" Weyand and Victor Malafronte. This pair created the notion of freestyle "routine." Some of the BFG players, including Malafronte, attended the IFT where their impact was dramatic. Each year they introduced more refined combinations of fancy throws and trick catches. A freestyle culture began to develop. Frisbee notables like John Connelly, Tom Cleworth, Alan Blake, Scott Dickson, and John Sappington shared in the development of this new disc art form. The 1973 IFT was especially significant. Dan "the Stork" Roddick, Bob "Flash" Eberle and John Kirkland made their first visit. Irv Kalb and his New Jersey ultimate contingency were there. Jim Kenner and Ken Westerfield, widely considered the second freestyle team, were there.
Octad and the Canadian Open, the first freestyle tournaments.
After the 1973 IFT, Dan Roddick and Bob Eberle began a feverish period of work that established the roots of competitive freestyle. First, they laid the groundwork for a flying disc event called Octad, which was comprised of eight distinct skill events. Then they published their first issue of the "Flying Disc World" newsletter in March of 1974.
Octad was held in May of 1974 and featured an event called "Eastern Trick Catch." This skill test consisted of two players, competing against one another, taking turns throwing the disc back and forth with points awarded for trick throws and catches. Unfortunately, the adversarial aspect of the game left the players dissatisfied and a post event discussion on the game generated the suggestion that the two players should work together rather than against each other. It was also suggested that the players should be judged in a manner similar to ice skating and gymnastics. Dan Roddick's reply to this suggestion, "Oh I don't know, that would be so subjective. I don't think it would work too well," is a criticism that still reverberates at modern freestyle events.
Jim Palmeri hosted a big disc golf and double disc court tournament in August of 1974 that was the backdrop for the burgeoning freestyle movement. Players spent much of their free time working on new throws, catches and tipping. Victor Malafronte showcased behind the back throws, Irv Kalb displayed accurate and powerful one finger throws. Doug Corea was developing aerial between the leg catches. John Kirkland was trapping high curving shots between his knees and feet. Multiple tipping became the latest game of one-upmanship. A two-hour rain delay on Sunday moved the fun indoors. It was there that Kirkland unveiled the air bounce throw and by the end of the day, ten consecutive tips had been achieved.
Freestyle was reaching critical mass. Two weeks later, virtually the same crowd appeared at the third annual Canadian Open Frisbee Championships. This event featured the very first freestyle pairs competition, conceived by Jim Kenner and Ken Westerfield. Players were judged by their fellow competitors. Along with the IFT, the late Mike “Muk” Young influenced Jim and Ken. The pair had been doing shows for several years before the 1974 Canadian Open. They thought freestyle was a natural addition to the traditional guts, distance and accuracy events that comprised competitions of that era.
The Canadian Open featured eight freestyle teams. Among the illustrious pairings were Doug Corea/Jim Palmeri, John Kirkland/Jose Montalvo, Irv Kalb/Dave Meyers, Dan Roddick /Bruce Koger, Tom Cleworth/John Connelly and finally, Jim and Ken. The competitive art form, which began it's gestation at Berkeley six years earlier, was born at the Canadian Open on Sunday August 18, 1974 at approximately 3:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time.